This is another guest post from Portlander Peter Levitan, a former ad agency principal and Baby Boomer with a new book out about Boomers “offing themselves” before they go broke. Ad agencies fail in many areas, but not asking for the order takes the cake. How can agencies be so passive when it comes to [...]
I Would Write Anything For Cash, But I Won’t Write That
October 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment
It’s been a long time since Neil Young sang about…well, who he wouldn’t sing for: But when it comes to advertising people, most of us have few, if any, clients we wouldn’t work on. What does it say about us if we refuse to work on something, or oppose the way a prospective or current [...]
To Cook A Pizza, You Need An Oven
October 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Deutsch LA is “conceiving and developing digital products at an affordable cost” under its newly hatched Invenionist label. According to Adweek, Winston Binch, the agency’s chief digital officer, says, “We think great advertising can do a whole lot for a brand, but remarkable products are the best ads.” “Sometimes we feel like the best way [...]
Find Your Way To Tolerance And Other Wonderful Places
October 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Today, we must ask ourselves what is the difference between content and a commercial? Some say that content is everything, thus the innards or makings of a commercial. Though technically that is true, I don’t define content that way. In a marketing context, content is the long-form narrative thread that customers connect with because it [...]
Facebook Doesn’t Want You To Be Lonely In The Vast, Dark Universe
October 4, 2012 By 2 Comments
This is a cardinal rule: DO NOT DEVELOP AN AGENCY STYLE. This is a cardinal rule because look and feel, a.k.a. style, belongs to the brand, not to the agency. Somewhere along the way, Wieden + Kennedy, one of the world’s few great big agencies, forgot about the cardinal rule. How do I know this? [...]
Advertising Is A Business Full of Generalists, Specialists, And Listlessness
September 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
One time, I mocked up a few ads for a client presentation because I knew where the line breaks looked best in the headlines for maximum effect. My CD (an Art Director by trade) did a few as well. When the client preferred my comps more than the typographically-challenged Creative Director’s comps, the CD said [...]
We’re Shaped By Our Environments, And So Is “The Work”
August 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Agencies are often known not just for their work, but for their design-centric office spaces. Given that agencies advise clients on how best to live and breathe their brand, it’s important for agencies to lead the way. In other words, “judging a book by its cover” is part of the brand identity game. According to [...]
The Google To Adlandia: Be Lean And Agile Like Us, And You’ll Be Rich Like Us
August 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Earlier this summer, a technology company executive suggested I look into “lean and agile development.” Seeing a parallel between our work environments, he thought it might help me improve the way I make work. I’ve been intrigued by the idea ever since, but I probably need to read a book about it to get a [...]
Slicing Up The New Apple Spots
July 30, 2012 By 1 Comment
“Steve would’ve killed these.” “Lee oughta know better.” It’s no secret that Apple’s current spots, featuring a typical Apple store “Genius,” are getting panned. I’m not here to pour more criticism on. My question is simple: How did they get these done? By that, I mean: Who approved this strategy? Who thought this kind of [...]
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