MEDIA COMMENTARY, MUSINGS, & GENERAL CRANKINESS
Posted in Advertising, Education on Dec 19th, 2011
(I just “liked” my own essay to see what would happen. What happened was my name ends up in the list of likers. Made me feel creepy. Please forgive, won’t you?) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • [...]
Posted in Advertising, Education on Oct 16th, 2011
This is the cover of the new book from London’s D&AD, The Copy Book. I am crazy proud to be one of the featured writers. That said, I would have trouble looking anyone in the eyes and claiming my work should be featured in this book, and not that of my friend Greg Hahn’s. Or [...]
Posted in Advertising on Oct 9th, 2011
Steve Job intrduces Chiat\\Day\’s new campaign 1.) He didn’t work from notes. Notes suck. Notes say, “What I’m saying is so unmemorable, even I had to memorize it.” Speak from the heart. 2.) It didn’t feel like he was presenting. It felt like he was talking with us. 3.) He stopped 23 agencies from pitching [...]
Posted in Advertising, General Crankiness on Oct 3rd, 2011
Okay, Zen parable time. And I’m gonna update mine a little bit for the modern palate. Okay, so you got this Zen master dude, right? Dude looks totally like Uma Thurman’s teacher from Kill Bill Vol. 2, always brushing that long white mustache to the side and everything. He’s pouring tea for his student, Grasshopper. [...]
Posted in Advertising, General Crankiness on Sep 25th, 2011
The other day in class we were reviewing some work the students had done and an interesting conversation took place. As I looked at the work the students had produced, I asked one of them, “Where were you when you were working on this?” He said he’d been working on concepts while watching a movie. [...]
Posted in Advertising, Commentary on Sep 1st, 2011
Advertising is an itinerant business. I tell students when you step out of school and into the river of commerce, let the current take you where it may. Yes, you can have your target cities, your preferred agencies, but the creative process and the creative life are unpredictable and full of unexpected left turns. I [...]
Posted in Advertising, Commentary on Jun 20th, 2011
An excerpt from the 4th edition of “Hey Whipple, Squeeze This,” due out in February, 2012. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Remember how it felt the first time you held [...]
Posted in Advertising, Commentary, General Crankiness on Feb 14th, 2011
As expected, U.S. entries to Cannes were way down this year given the recent Zombie Apocalypse. Observers are surprised ad people continue to even exist given their worthlessness in a economy that now values productive trades like farmers, electricians, and mechanics. In fact, the few agencies still operating attribute their success almost entirely to being [...]
Posted in Advertising on Jan 10th, 2011
Last week I posted an old video of myself doing stand-up comedy back in 1981. As I said then, my brief foray into the world of stand-up was one of the best things I did to accelerate my career in advertising. (This, in spite of that final horrible night, one drenched in such incredible flopsweat [...]
Posted in Advertising on Jan 4th, 2011
Back in 1981 and ‘82, I had a short career in doing stand-up. My days on stage started off pretty well but ended in disaster, in a blizzard that happened on Christmas Day. Doing stand-up was actually one of the best things I ever did for my advertising career. In fact, I understand Miami Ad [...]
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