MEDIA COMMENTARY, MUSINGS, & GENERAL CRANKINESS
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 [...]
Posted in Advertising on Dec 8th, 2010
In 1992, I started scribbling down notes about my family history. 18 years later I have finished the project, and it’s now a memoir of growing up in the ’50s and ’60s with my five brothers in a big house in Rochester, Minnesota. I’m proud of the work and though my good agent couldn’t find [...]
Posted in Advertising on Nov 8th, 2010
Fallon was a fun place to work, partly because no one was safe from random acts of mean-spirited disrespectful treatment, including the CEO, Pat Fallon. One year Fallon decided he needed a bigger office with a little more meeting room, and so he knocked down a wall and annexed the office next to him, making [...]
Posted in Advertising, Radio on Aug 19th, 2010
As long as there are carpenters, lifeguards, and cars, there’s gonna be radio. Even if the day comes when the internet gets wired directly into our brains, anybody who can write a great radio spot will probably have a job somewhere in this business. I love radio. And starting today, I’ll be featuring some of [...]
Posted in Advertising, General Crankiness on Jul 27th, 2010
Most of the time it was probably real bad being stuck down in a torture dungeon. But some days, when there was a bad storm outside, you’d look through the bars of your little window and think, “Boy, I’m glad I’m not out in that.” –From “Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey.” ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I remember a [...]
Posted in Advertising, Commentary on Jul 20th, 2010
What follows is one of the single most interesting passages I’ve read in my 50-some years of reading. It’s from a marvelous book called 1939: The Lost World of The Fair, by David Gerlernter. It paints a picture of an America that no longer exists. “Question: What is wrong with this picture? [Rhetorical; there was [...]
Posted in Advertising on Jun 22nd, 2010
When I joined Fallon McElligott, I would tell my friends how intimidated I was by all the smart people already on staff there. I used to say, “Okay, the office arrangement on my side of the building goes like this: Genius… genius… genius… Luke’s office… genius… genius.” That’s when my friend Rod Kilpatrick (already a [...]
Posted in Advertising on May 6th, 2010
People tell me I cuss too much. And this video is proof. It’s an hour-long speech to ad students at Miami Ad School. Where I got such a potty mouth is a mystery to me, because my Mom, she’s just as nice a lady as you could care to meet. Go figure. Luke Sullivan from [...]
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