Advertising people are advisors and consultants to CEOs and CMOs. We also make things, but that follows the discovery and strategic planning phases. Right now, in the face of a global pandemic, there’s a new kind of advice emerging. Lots of people are genuinely offering to help others in distress, while others are working to […]
Ad People
Fear of Unemployment Is Spreading Fast, Ad Workers Far from Immune
Fear sells. Fear also spreads. People who work in advertising are correct to feel fear, right now. According to The New York Times, more than a million Americans are expected to lose their jobs by the end of March. According to Moody’s Analytics, nearly 80m jobs in the US are currently at risk due to […]
Courting Positivity
Court Crandall is a positive person. He also an advertising legend and Hollywood storyteller with one infectious idea after the next. Crandall’s latest idea, The Positivity Magnet, is an interactive installation that helps draw positive thoughts and emotions from the people who encounter it. It’s like a waterless wishing well, but with wishes that others […]
FORD v FERRARI: A Classic Tale of Suits Versus Creatives
Have you seen FORD v FERRARI? It’s the true story of the visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby and the fearless British-born driver Ken Miles, who together battled corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race […]
Laura Desmond Meets with Advertising Students at UT, Learns Why They Block Ads
Stan Talks is a library of short videos produced by the Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations in the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin. This new talk, released last month, features Laura Desmond, founder and CEO of Eagle Vista Partners in Chicago. Desmond is intent on building […]
Talent Matters: Agency Layoffs, Repeat Resignations, and Recruitment Hurdles
Layoffs. There’s a word you don’t want to hear at the start of a new year. Nevertheless, business realities creep in and staff reductions are often the result. WPP’s Ogilvy just laid off 80 employees across nine offices, amounting to 3.7 percent of its U.S. staff. Ogilvy’s chief creative officer Leslie Sims was one of […]
Leo The Lion, Maker of Tony the Tiger, et al
Want to impress an ad geek? Buy and wear (or gift) this new “Leo Burnett, Ad Legend” t-shirt. This new t-shirt is offered by Go Ahead! Merchandise from Evanston, IL. The illustration is by Jason Walton from Portland, OR. The art was commissioned as part of my new Ad Legends Workshop. Leo Burnett left an […]
FCB’s “456 Scale” Helps Global Agency with 8600 People Do Provocative Work
Agencies are judged by their award show hauls. Evidence is all around us. Just look at how much your agency spends to enter the back-slapping contests. Or read the industry press. Here’s a lede from a source I respect—Epica Awards: Until recently, Foote, Cone and Belding felt like a fairly discreet agency, doing solid work […]
Hal Riney, Ad Legend
The year was 1956. The city, San Francisco. The agency, BBDO. The job, Mailroom clerk. The future advertising legend, Hal Riney. Riney was born in the depths of The Great Depression in Washington, a fact of his life that influenced his later work, including “It’s Morning Again in America” which helped re-elect Ronald Reagan in […]
Treating Women Fairly Means Paying Women Equally
Can we, the people, shop our way to social change? Definitely not. Can we favor manufacturers and retailers that explicitly appeal to our values? Naturally. This December 4th, ChooseWOMEN, an international platform piloted by Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization, is asking for a focus on the female. “Choose Women Wednesday” invites everyone to shop at women-owned […]
Respect for the Ad Industry Starts At Home, But It Doesn’t End There
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” -John Wanamaker R-E-S-P-E-C-T—it does not come easy for people working in advertising. It never has. In an examination of one of the most intense pressures on agencies, Campaign examines the pitch process today. It’s not a pretty […]
What’s Your “Truth Well Told”?
Quick. In a sentence tell me what your agency is all about. Come on, we don’t have all day. Ad People Can’t Seem To Sum Themselves Up Darren Woolley is the founder and global chief executive of TrintityP3, an independent global marketing management consulting company. Q. A what? A. He’s a consultant. Over the past […]
