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“Taste the Feeling?” Coke’s new ad campaign couldn’t be more generic if it...
“It’s sacrelicious!” When I first saw the headline in AdAge, I joked on Facebook that it read like something culled from The Onion or even The Simpson’s: “In major strategic shift, Coke replaces ‘Open...
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Where are my dragons! The joys and catharsis of Kung Fu movies.
Bruce Lee. Nobody did it better… Growing up in the Lake View neighborhood of Chicago, there was a grindhouse on Clark street called the Parkway Cinema. It showed nothing but Z-grade movies, usually...
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Lots of talk about the new Barbie. But what about her commercial?
So, after all these years, Barbie is finally making her foray into the real world. A new commercial from Mattel heralds the diverse line-up of figures, featuring a curvier doll, a petit doll, and...
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Oh, Manifesto! Why copywriters love writing them… sometimes to excess.
Crazy good… For the past few days, even longer, I have been working on a manifesto for one of our clients. Actually, I’ve been working on two. Even more actually, I’ve been working on manifestos for...
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The 2016 SuperBowl -the game, the ads, the halftime show- was profoundly okay.
Gaga did good… Outside of picture-perfect weather and a truly beautiful performance of our National Anthem by Lady Gaga, little about the Super Bowl was amazing. Unless you’re a fan of crushing...
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Every creative philosophy demands passion but what about responsibility?
With great passion comes great responsibility. Recently, I was asked about my creative philosophy. Namely, do I have one? Seems like a reasonable question. Seems like something an Executive Creative...
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Marketing masterpiece: Crazy good recreation of Van Gogh’s bedroom defies...
Van Gogh’s newest bedroom There is so much I like about this concept I don’t know where to begin. The idea: To celebrate the Art Institute of Chicago’s new exhibition bringing together all three of...
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Some products are just so lame the advertising is doomed to be so as well.
“I know – Let’s put this shit in a can!” A while back I was tasked with developing campaigns for a caffeinated malt liquor. It shall go nameless. The idea for this heinous concoction could only come...
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Oh, Adland. Oh, Exodus. Making people want what they don’t need.
The glittery potential for every brand… According to Zen, one’s serenity is inversely affected by one’s attachment to things. The more you live the more you realize it. Obviously, you can’t take...
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Steaks on a plane! A tale of two business trips, then and now.
Hopefully, I strike oil… I’m writing this on board an American Airlines flight to Dallas, Texas, where I will be meeting some folks about a cool project. I haven’t been to the Big “D” in a long time....
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Costing creativity: the creative process versus the way agencies try and...
How in hell do you scope this? From a business perspective, “creative process” is an oxymoron. Yet, every agency has one. In the age of projects versus client relationships, the process looks like...
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What I’ve learned: Negative expectations and latent resentments foil...
Graceless expectations… “Expectations are resentments under construction,” wrote Bay Area author Anne Lamott. There is much wisdom in her statement, but for most of us it takes a lifetime to learn. Or...
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The greatest impediment to creativity was, is and always will be: fear.
Why are client’s so difficult? Those of us in the creative department have asked the question so many times it has become rote. Clients are difficult. Period. Especially when it comes to buying and...
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Recalling beer wars of old, Miller Coors distributors kill new Leinenkugel’s...
Time for a new campaign… The headline in AdAge: “Miller Coors Distributors nix planned Leinenkugel’s campaign.” It’s a story as old as the advertising business, though less common now than it was in...
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Racist? Backlash (and apology) over Gap Kids ad is ridiculous.
Her shirt says “love” not “hate.” Apparently, this seemingly benign ad for GapKids elicited a shit storm on social media, critics from hither and yon claiming it racist on account of a white girl...
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The Maverick Nerd: Ode to the Beanie Boy!
A while back, in the Admiral’s Club at Laguardia airport, this youngster caught my attention. Regular looking kid, a bit disheveled in his ill-fitting blue sweatshirt and no-name blue jeans. But...
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If an employer asked you to remove a post from Facebook would you do it?
In my last job, I was asked by a colleague to take down a Facebook post because it apparently offended someone in the office. I had offered a less than politically correct view on the hot button issue...
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Brands paying tribute to Prince: Is this what it sounds like when doves cry?
Lovely but is it also tacky? The unexpected death of prince created a maelstrom of activity in the social spheres. Not surprisingly, a bunch of brands wanted to, ahem, pay their respects as well. I...
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A true story and a parable for the malcontents in Adland.
Looking for my next gig, I have visited a fair number of agencies. Typically, I meet with people representing the management team. It’s a bit of a gauntlet. In that context, one expects a positive...
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Nature prevails in new campaign from Grey New York celebrating 100th...
First, let me say Happy 100th birthday to the National Parks of these great United States. It seems like only yesterday I was hiking through Muir Woods gazing up at the towering redwoods. Actually, it...
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