Can you hate a brand? I'd argue that it's technically possible to hate a company for whatever reason, but hate is such an extreme emotion. It seems like we ought to save it for the big things, like war, poverty, and violence. But no. Reviewing a range of information, including major news events from the last year, customer survey results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, employee reviews on …
The Digital Divide In Adland Is Widening
How many times have you heard the term "digital transformation" in the past year? Are you feeling transformed yet? San Francisco ad man Tom Bedecarré doesn't understand what's taking so long. In response to a Wall Street Journal article about Publicis' efforts to get the cool kids in a room, Bedecarré wrote this on LinkedIn: It's been more than 23 years since the introduction of digital advertising, and Madison …
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Is Advertising Radical Enough? Weigel Weighs In
“Is advertising radical enough?” Martin Weigel, Head of Planning at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam since 2009 was asked to present answers to this non-rhetorical question. He came up with 80 answers, all pithy, and all on point. Weigel's radical vision is laid out in black and white on his website for all to see. Okay! Any questions? When you're a serious ad person, your first item of business is to free …
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The Quants Runneth Over
Data collects, mostly into piles of digital rubble. Yet, data is prized and those who provide it are revered. The high priests of data analytics have the floor right now, which is understandable and ridiculous at the same time. It's understandable that clients are scared to death of their own intuition and risky creative ideas from the agency. And it's ridiculous because marketing is for the brave. A degree …
Happiness Is A Tweetless Holiday
Holidays are full of travel, family, food, and for many people today, an unending stream of social media updates to their "smart" phone appendage. Sadly, this is where politics and the weight of the world can creep in. Tessa Films in Chicago believes we can put our phones down for the betterment of America and a more enjoyable holiday. https://youtu.be/qumkBh5GWps According to Reel Chicago, "A Holiday Wish" …
Dear Bad Men of Advertising, Your Reign Is Over
Cindy Gallop takes names and zero shit. For the sexual harassers in the ad industry, you best run and hide. For everyone else, here's compelling documentation about just how degrading it is to be objectified at work, and then asked to objectify women in ads. https://youtu.be/ruowB5L33gY "The biggest issue facing our industry today is not diversity," she says. "It’s sexual harassment because it prevents …
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Digital Advertising’s Frankenstein Is Wreaking Havoc and Damaging Democracy
"We need a digital economy where our data and our attention is not for sale to the highest bidding authoritarian or demagogue." -Zeynep Tufekci What has the digital ad man wrought when the same algorithms companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon use to get you to click on ads are also used to organize your access to political and social information? Zeynep Tufekci an associate professor at the School of …
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Will Ad People Ever Focus On The Right Things?
Karoshi is the Japanese word for "death by overwork." Sadly, the term has currency today, inside and outside of the ad world. On Christmas Day in 2015, 24-year-old Matsuri Takahashi jumped to her death from her Dentsu-supplied dorm in Tokyo. In September last year, a labor standards office in Tokyo determined she had worked 105 hours of overtime over a one-month period before showing symptoms of depression. …
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