Tag Archives: Advertising
Grammar is your friend.
Save for frequent bouts of laziness, I consider myself something of a grammarian. I don’t know all the rules, and the ones I do know, I break (sometimes accidentally and sometimes on purpose). I come by it honestly. I used … Continue reading
The Folly of “And”
Nothing kills a good ad, email, TV spot, or whatever as quickly and as assuredly as the word “and.” Sadly, the most common place to find the dreaded “and” is on the creative brief. It lives right there in the … Continue reading
Why Most Ads Suck
I don’t subscribe to any magazines, but whenever I’m near one (no matter the publication), I flip through. I generally do it to keep an eye on advertising trends. One thing’s for certain, there’s a lot of craptasic advertising out … Continue reading
Copywriting Job Searcher’s Lament
In a previous post, I talked about the changing nature of the job search for a copywriter. It’s gone digital. It’s gone cold, clinical, and corporate. And for the most part, it’s gone quiet. But one thing that hasn’t gone … Continue reading
Variety is the spice of online advertising
I watch a lot of TV. I also watch a lot of Web videos. Of my 17 waking hours a day, roughly 16 of them are spent with some sort of screen beaming something into my eyeholes. I am a … Continue reading
What’s in a Name 3 (not) in 3D
It’s been just over three years since I got laid off. That’s nuts to me. When I was told that the company would be better off without me, I figured I’d be out of the 9-to-5 grind for about a … Continue reading
Advertising Dinosaurs and Five-Dollar Whores
Today I learned that I am a dinosaur. No, really. I am the product of a long-gone age of advertising. (And I’m not really all that old.). When I started in the industry, we measured our work in column inches … Continue reading
Borrowed but worthy: 13 Ways to Kill Creativity
Years ago, I worked at an ad agency about which I used to say, “It’s like the owners read just the first chapter of ‘Running an Ad Agency for Dummies,’ set the book down, and said, ‘Yeah, I think we’re … Continue reading
Requiem for a Form Letter
When I started out in business, applying for a job was a rather formal and prescribed thing. The candidate sent out a cover letter expressing interest in working for the company (or in a specific open position), highlighting qualifications, and … Continue reading
Living the Dream
This past Christmas, the in-laws graciously gave me a t-shirt that had a street-sign-esque drawing of a dude playing video games with the words “living the dream” emblazoned below it. I walked away from the tree thinking they bought it … Continue reading