The work, the work, the work. This is what ad people fret over and obsess about. The work has to be much better, or else. Or else no raises, no promotions, no trophies, and no second home, no country club memberships, and no private schools for the kids. What ad people do not obsess over is how to make better work. We do not obsess over how to make "the work" better because the prevailing assumption is one must …
Remote Workers Are Holdin’ It Together, In Advertising and Elsewhere
When was the last time that you spent time with your closest colleagues in person? For many of us, the answer is last March. For me personally, I work most closely with two people in Omaha, a.k.a. "Joemaha." I have not seen either of them in person in three or four years, which is a stretch too long. At the same time, we've worked remotely as a team since the aughts, so we got this. Due to the disruption …
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Let Her Run—A Powerful New Campaign for Gender Justice
Gender discrimination is rampant throughout society. In sports, it's as painful as it is elsewhere, despite the fact the women discriminated against are elite athletes. Female athletes are banned from participating in official sports competitions because they have above-average natural testosterone levels. This has prematurely ended the career of dozens of athletes and threatens the journey of several world-class …
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Slack On You Crazy Diamonds
I asked Darby to turn off her Slack notifications earlier this summer. The constant pinging from her office was driving me slightly mad. As with any new tech, it's how you choose to use it. Thankfully, Slack has many customization settings and a bevy of How-To videos to dive into for new users. Slack also has commercials and we like well-made commercials. https://youtu.be/MYA_I6m2cmg I particularly like how …
There’s A New School In Ad City, It Is Free To Attend and “Unapologetically Black”
Access—you can't get there without it. In the advertising agency business, access has been afforded to the few. The industry is elite by design. The people on the inside ask those on the outside to "break-in," if they can. The entire set up is adversarial from the get-go. Yes, there's talk of a meritocracy for creatives and that's what it is—talk. In reality, aspiring creatives learn to mimic award-winning work …
Business Journalists Have Harder Truths To Tell, And Now Is the Time
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” -George Bernard Shaw I have covered the marketing, media, and advertising industries on this website for 15.5 years now. What began as a place to have digital "watercooler discussions" about ads, quickly grew into something bigger and better. Adpulp.com has also been driven forward by the power of our …
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Corporate Innovation and the Risk/Reward Equation
This new article in our Emerging Voices Series is made possible by the generous support of Adpulp's patrons on Patreon. Please join us and help pay writers. Corporations have been wrestling with an innovation problem for decades. Some of the most well-known are infamous for it, with an innovation strategy that appears to downright steal ideas or absorb innovative upstarts into venture funds and incubator …
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Meritocracy Is A False God. Instead, Practice Gratitude and Cultivate Good Luck.
Editor's Note: The following article is by Clifton Mark. It was originally published at Aeon and has been republished here under Creative Commons. ‘We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else …’ Barack Obama, inaugural address, 2013 ‘We must create a level playing field for American companies and workers.’ Donald Trump, …