Tag: Copywriter

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

In advertising we deal with competing brands all the time. Logically thinking, you might assume that one brand really is better than another. But if facts and logic where what consumers were in the market for each product category would have one dominate brand and everyone else would just get…

I'm sure you've never been influenced by a political yard sign. Never. I mean, there's nothing to them but Clinton/Kaine or Trump/Pence. I suppose some of them may say "I'm with her" or "MAGA." But there's no real message there right? Just names. But according to what we know in…

Hillary Clinton's campaign tactics, public statements and brand promise are all a lot more understandable than Donald Trump's, which I've previously written about. In fact, Hillary's campaign feel a lot like it could be for a packaged good's company than her competitor. After all, Proctor and Gamble's motto is "The…

Donald Trump is famous for using the Ad Hominem attacks like "Lyin' Ted", "Crooked Hillary" and "Little Marco" on his opponents rather than the logical take down. Why does he do it? Simple: people don't care about facts in marketing, advertising and politics (and really, in most things). For example:…