Dave Grohl: “Why can’t it always be this easy?” Paul McCartney: “It is.” From the film Sound City Fellow Creatives, your suspicions are correct. Despite all the PowerPoint decks, hours-long strategy sessions and touchy-feely tortured logic masquerading as valuable insight you’re forced to sift through every day just to make sense of your newest banner [...]
About Wade Sturdivant
Creative Director/Copywriter at The Richards Group, Wade spent his formative years in Chicago (DDB, Leo Burnett) and has worked on accounts as diverse as BMW, Firestone, Bud Light, McDonald’s, Kellogg’s and the U.S. Army.
Pepsi Next and TaskRabbit Make Time For You
October 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
So busy you don’t have time to drink a Pepsi? Then Pepsi Next and TaskRabbit have just the thing. In a new promotion from The Barbarian Group, Pepsi Next is giving away free TaskRabbit services in order to give you enough free time to try “the unbelievable taste of Pepsi Next.” For those who don’t [...]
Also Made In USA? Our Conflicted Emotions About Overseas Manufacturing
August 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In the wake of the US Olympic Team’s Chinese-made uniform kerfuffle, kiplinger.com has an interesting feature showcasing some fashion brands that are still made in the USA, including familiar names like New Balance, Hickey Freeman and Pendleton. I’m sure we all know a few more names we could add. Still, it’s a pretty short list. [...]
Too Many Opinions? Let Me Tell You What I Think About That.
May 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Separating fact from opinion ain’t what it used to be. There was a time when the more you read, the more engaged you were with your world. Your city. Your neighborhood. Not some imaginary world you wished could be, but the world as it actually existed outside your door. Back in these ancient times (otherwise [...]
When The Creative Product Is Just A Commodity
April 6, 2012 By 1 Comment
Just as news of Havas’ acquisition of Victors & Spoils brought everyone’s favorite buzzword, crowdsourcing, back into the spotlight this week, I received an email alerting me that one of my neighbors had chosen a logo for his new business. Where did he get it? From the crowd, of course, via 99designs.com. Check the screen [...]
Pop Will Eat Itself: Long-Form Ads Jump From Web To TV
March 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
It’s no secret that people will watch long-form video ads online. BMW Films proved that long ago, spawning a slew of adland imitators in the process. Today, so many brands have their own “Brand X Films” online that it seems long-form ads were bound to cross over to the TV screen sooner or later. (Which [...]
Thinking Beyond The :30. TED’s Ads Worth Spreading 2012
February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
For those with more than thirty seconds to spare, the TED Conference has announced the winners of this year’s Ads Worth Spreading, their annual salute to the best in online video storytelling. Entries were solicited via YouTube.com and ranged from 30-second spots to 5-minute mini-documentaries, as well as several custom-made TEDTalk-like pieces humanizing companies and [...]
Not Your Father’s CMO
February 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Today’s CMOs are more than marketers, they’re “Marketing’s CEOs.” That’s according to CMG Partners and their 4th Annual CMO’s Agenda, a study of the latest trends and issues facing CMOs today. Based on interviews with 30 CMOs at U.S. companies, the study identified five trends affecting Chief Marketing Officers, including a reported increase in influence [...]
One Badass Product Positioning
February 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In the world of rock guitar, you can never have too many effects pedals. Especially distortion pedals. Guitar players talk about distortion the way wine drinkers talk about wine. One pedal has “a brittle edge with a sweet undertone.” Another features “boosted mids and a smooth top-end.” One pedal pairs well with a vintage tube [...]
Jean Paul Gaultier Proves Thinking Is Always In Fashion
January 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Holidays are always a good time to relax and recharge, and if you can do something that inspires you during your time off, so much the better. That’s exactly what happened this year after I gave my wife a Christmas gift of tickets to the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. [...]
Connect