Category: advertising
Binary thinking vs creative thinking
Non-creative people think about things in either yes or no. It's blue or not. The project is completed or not. The books balance to zero or not. This is what most people do at their jobs everyday. They look for binary patterns and make decisions based on those patterns. This…
Lessons from a negative campaign
As we wind down to the last days of what seems to be the worst, most negative, election in our nation's history, it's a good time to see what an advertising and marketing pro can learn from it. I have a few takeaways. 1) None of this really applies in…
Marketing a damaged brand. The elections race to the bottom explained.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the negative marketing aspect of a US election is different than any other marketing category. The fact that there are only two options for voters to consider makes the race to the bottom attractive. Throw enough mud and folks won't have a choice but…
They’re both the best! Or is half the country crazy?
Advertising pros that have careers that last more than a couple years will find themselves working on more than one brand in a single category. I, for example, have worked on multiple hotel brands including Ritz Carleton and Hilton hotels. Multiple motorcycle brands including Kawasaki and Suzuki (twice). And multiple…
“Save the Day, Vote” or not. An ad guy explains to Joss Whedeon why his ad misses.
What does a bunch of celebrities and a dose of condescension add up to? Answer: Ennui. Sorry, Joss. Read the comments on YouTube, they're priceless. Anyone who's turned a TV or opened a laptop or tapped a smartphone screen in the past year has heard or read what a despicable…
Hey, Donald Jr. Taste the rainbow.
Last night the Wrigley corporation was faced with a difficult situation. A really stupid analogy was made by Donald Trump Jr. comparing skittles to potential terrorist refugees. Not only did Wrigley's take the highroad, they shut the conversation down by saying continuing it could be misconstrued as marketing. And we…
Why creative people love problems
Problems, problems. We creatives love problems. We embrace them with open arms, eyes and minds. Problems are the things that get us up in the morning. You see, if everything was going swimmingly, no one would ever need us. We like to be needed and appreciated. The bigger the problem,…
Taking a knee on America’s brand: An advertising creative director’s take
When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the pledge he gave his employer, the NFL, has a difficult brand problem. Many of its biggest customers started to say the NFL's stars are anti-American. Politics is somewhere most brands and anyone in business probably shouldn't go if it's not literally their…
What’s in a Basket of Deplorables? An Ad Guy Explains
I wrote a few weeks ago on why negative advertising is so effective in politics but is much more rarely used in consumer brand advertising. But what about basket of deplorables? It seems a lot different. It's also been compared to Mitt's 47% comment. But that's the politics side of it…
The power of visual ideas. The election explained by advertising creative director.
In the advertising world, we love a good "visual solve." When we see a really good one we'll often say to one another. "Wow, I wish I would have thought of that." There's a simplicity of communication that's not easily done with words. Words can get complicated and require a…
