Some say traditional advertising is dead. Or dying pretty quickly. They say we’re living in a post-advertising age, where the “interruptive” ad no longer works. I say nonsense. Below are examples of companies using old media to grow their digital-age brands. Before jumping ahead though, allow me to indulge in a little rant. Not so […]
Are you letting your freelance creatives go too soon? Of course I’m going to encourage you to keep freelancers employed for longer. After all, I am one. But if you’ll indulge me a bit, you’ll see that I also have your interest at heart. You’ll often hear freelance copywriters and art directors complain they hardly […]
Can you imagine what it must have been like working for Joseph Stalin? One foot wrong and you’d be heading off for porridge in Siberia. Or worse. So you can sympathise with Alexei Shchusev, a famous Russian architect who Stalin hired to design the original hotel Moskva. The communist leader wanted the hotel to be […]
A freelance copywriter friend asked me to look at some ad concepts she and her art director had done. The posters were visually arresting. Headlines were short and witty. And the concepts held together as a campaign. But something was wrong. I just didn’t feel like buying the service they were selling, and I couldn’t […]
I saw an extraordinary guy walking through Golden Square the other evening. He had a style all his own. A lean, wiry chap of at least 60 years, and white haired, he wore an incredibly loud sky-blue, close-cut suit. He also had on white shoes, a bright tie and a red wool ear warmer, which […]
A good planner, as I mentioned in my previous post, can be a real asset. Sometimes though, marketers can’t afford one. What do you do when that happens? You have to do some strategic thinking yourself. Yes, copywriters and art directors can think strategically like planners, too. My art director Jeff and I often have […]
Some copywriters and art directors I know would say that question is a contradiction in terms. It’s like asking them, what makes a nice serial killer? For them, planners are people who mess up the creative process and prevent us from producing outstanding work. I don’t buy that view, at least not entirely. As a […]
This Hot Wheels poster, by Ogilvy Mexico, won a Silver Lion at the 2010 Cannes Advertising Festival. Isn’t it terrible? I mean, where’s the headline? And just look at all that printed space without any copy whatsoever. What was the copywriter doing? I’m kidding – I think this poster’s great. But I can recall a […]
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