Category: advertising
Time to stop pussy footing, creative folks.
Image by musha68000 via Flickr I'm a copywriter and also a social media guy. So a post by Jim Mitchem got me fired up last week. And it also got me thinking about the role that creative folks are playing in the social space right now. The reality is we're…
The risk reward index. Or are you trying hard enough to embarras yourself?
Back in the days when I used to produce a lot of television spots, I sat through hundreds and hundreds of the most awkward auditions. Some were more like an American Idol outtakes show than you'd like to believe. Why? Because actors are willing to take huge risks to get…
Halfway-serious webvertising predictions for 2010
Most predictions are either easy, safe, or just wrong. So why not add a few more to the list? I dare you to go on the record on which ones of these are wrong. Mobile Web will become even bigger. The kids will continue to text at an alarming rate…
Give yourself a holiday bonus
It's been a difficult year in advertising and marketing to say the least. The worst in my memory. And the memory of everyone I've talked to - even the old timers. Signs point to a recovery in the spring for most businesses but the agency business is always quicker to…
White elephants, advertising, and interactive and social media marketing
[caption id="attachment_319" align="alignleft" width="392" caption="Are you prepared for the risk?"][/caption] Today we're doing our annual white elephant gift exchange. It can be a blast if you end up with a nice bottle of wine or an iTunes gift card. However, the unlucky end up with garden gnomes and REO Speedwagon…
Fast enough is the new good enough
[caption id="attachment_295" align="alignleft" width="203" caption="Pick two and only two sides"][/caption] Today fast enough is the new good enough. Fortunately, this will change and clients will start by asking for quality again, in addition to cheap and fast. The cyclical nature of business will cause them to demand memorable and even…
Faster copywriter! Kill! Kill! Or have ad agencies painted theseleves into a corner?
Gone are the days of the long lunches and concepting over beers. I have accepted it. The new norm is "I need it tomorrow." Or, "do you think you can have something by end of day?" No self preserving account executive uses the word "no" anymore. This leaves us creative…
Not every experience is valuable
Image by Rishi S via Flickr Why do people always say if you've had a particularly bad experience that you should "learn from it?" Do they really mean it? It's not always possible to grow from something. Especially if that bad experience lasts longer than say five minutes. (I want…
Return to Normalcy?
Warren G Harding ran for president for promising a "return to normalcy." The word normalcy didn't sound normal back then either. But his slogan did tap into the uncertainty and rapid change of the time. They'd just gone through a war in which the rules had changed thanks to a…
Think TV Is Dead? You must still be looking at the idiot box.
I can't tell you how many people have told me in the last year that TV is dead. Unlike the changes we're seeing in printed media, this couldn't be further from reality. Nevertheless, the way we're watching TV has changed. But there are some misconceptions about the way we're watching…
