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Quote Post

The next time you end a sentence with an exclamation point, imagine a period in its place. If your sentence withers, no quantity of exclamation points can save it.

—

Stylish Punctuation

I must admit, I am often at fault for this. It’s easy to write copy that consists mostly of fluff, which leaves you pulling out a tired exclamation point to try and convince your reader that, “No! Trust me! This is really exciting stuff!” while not actually saying anything interesting.

I hate high standards.

Posted May 15, 2013 at 3:18pm in advertising copywriting | 5 notes

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Quote Post

However, for those of you trying to get into the ad business (or any creative industry for that matter), let me assure you that no recruiter or CD will ever ask you what your GPA was. They will not care what school you attended, nor will they care if you even graduated. All that counts is your book. “Show me the work” comes before “Show me the money.

—

Luke Sullivan

This is very true. Of course, the rub is that creating a great book can drive you insane, as Sullivan continues:

But getting to a great ad portfolio is very different — and much harder — than getting great grades. Mostly because there’s a single correct answer for any test question, one you can usually find written down somewhere in a book. A great portfolio, on the other hand, is a big hot mess of mind-roastingly cool ideas pulled out of the thin blue air and executed so well they raise the hair on an interviewer’s arms. But the main difference is this: the really great books are the ones filled not with problems someone solved, but problems they found.

I think I’m going to start describing my jobs as that when I meet new people.

“What do you do?”

“Oh, I’m an advertising copywriter.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means I exist in a big hot mess, looking for a mind-roastingly cool idea.”

Sounds about right.

Posted April 29, 2013 at 4:42pm in advertising copywriting luke sullivan hey whipple | 1 note

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Quote Post

Just leave us with ten lines of emergency copy.

— My boss’s instructions upon me leaving early today for the IOA Corporate 5k. LOL.

Posted April 18, 2013 at 4:45pm in copywriting advertising | 2 notes

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Photo Post

Great headline (and tag), but when was the last time we saw Sony positioning itself as a high-cost, premium brand? Crazy.

(Source: helloyoucreatives)

Posted April 18, 2013 at 1:54pm in advertising sony | 659 notes

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Vid Post

Funny, on target, memorable, and combats showrooming. Great work by DraftFCB Chicago for Kmart. You might just ship your pants.

HT: Todd

Posted April 12, 2013 at 11:07am in advertising DraftFCB Chicago kmart ship your pants | 5 notes

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Vid Post

Nordstrom has some good fun with the #menswear crowd with this tongue-in-cheek spot. There’s plenty of snark for the fashionistas, too.

via adteachings

(Source: adverve)

Posted April 11, 2013 at 11:57am in Menswear Fashion nordstrom Advertising | 5 notes

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Quote Post

If you can’t tell the difference between the idea and the execution of the idea, you’re of no use to me.

— Peggy Olson, who is winning the night.

Posted April 7, 2013 at 11:32pm in mad men peggy olson advertising | 18 notes

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Photo Post

View high resolution

Season 6 poster revealed, although I want to think it’s an illustration of what the actual poster will be. Odd that they’re moving away from photography this season.

Oh. That’s why. Cool story, bro.

HT: Berry

(Source: sea-hag, via stuffbyberry)

Posted March 11, 2013 at 5:04pm in mad men jon hamm don draper amc advertising | 1,067 notes

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Quote Post

All design is a series of compromises; but good design finds the right ones.

— Doug Bowman

Posted February 6, 2013 at 9:13am in design marketing Advertising graphic design copywriting

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Vid Post

SodaStream Banned Ad I can barely type the phrase “the best Super Bowl ad you never saw” because it sounds so cliché. But this time, it’s the truth.

CBS refused to air this clever ad (what else would you expect from Alex Bogusky?) for SodaStream because it was too direct of a competitor for two of the network’s biggest sponsors: Coke and Pepsi.

I happen think CBS has the right to air whatever commercials it wants to—it owns the network. I also think it is a HORRIBLE business decision that shows a lack of vision and integrity. First they 86 awarding the Hopper and now this? Bad form, CBS.

Big Media’s protection of Big Sugar just shows that it’s in its death throes. Does it not realize that?

UPDATE: I had originally embedded the spot CBS did approve for broadcast. Patrick’s tweet tipped me off. I’ve replaced it with the banned version.

Gotta say, I’m kinda partial to the approved one, from an advertising standpoint. It features the product a little more while still communicating the same message. I’m not sure how much you gain by directly attacking the competition like they do in the banned version.

All my comment re: CBS remain unchanged. :-)

Posted February 4, 2013 at 11:10am in Advertising sodastream cbs super bowl commercials | 3 notes

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Tumbling Back Home

The bits of Internet goodness that get stuck in my teeth.Full blog over here.

The bits of Internet goodness that get stuck in my teeth.
Full blog over here.