Happy Holidays

The Ad Contrarian is on vacation till January 3rd. Happy Holidays

Top 10 New Year's Resolutions

My New Year's resolutions for 2008:1. I will vote for the first presidential candidate who can complete a sentence without mentioning god.2. I will strike dead anyone in my employ using any of the following words: engagement, branding, aspirational, counterintuitive, webinar, or quirky.3. I will stop sending those pictures to Katie Couric.4. I will buy a new Samsung TV because it is the official

Three Worst Christmas Songs

TAC is supposed to be on vacation but can't stop having tiresome opinions. Listening to the radio this week lead me to this list:The Three Worst Christmas Songs Ever1. Holly, Jolly Christmas -- Far and away the worst. A very annoying song sung by Burl Ives, a very annoying person.2. O Holy Night -- I've heard this song a thousand times and still can't figure out the melody.3. The Little Drummer

Guest Blog: The Disconnect

The following post was written by guest blogger John JossThe disconnect between advertising claims and service to customers can cause deep dissatisfaction that may take immense effort to reverse, if indeed it is ever reversible. I refer in this guest blog specifically to a company that has been using the 'snide ridicule' approach to advertising in which is denigrates competition and claims

It's Still Simplicity, Stupid

Have you tried to set the alarm clock in a hotel room lately? Have you tried to read a cell phone operating manual? Have you attempted to use the GPS navigation system on a rental car? Well, the same exasperating complexity that has infecting technology is creeping into marketing.More than ever, the key to advertising success is a simple message.Marketers have way too many messages and way too

Brand Tinkering

As we mentioned in a recent post, tinkering with the brand is way more fun than solving real business problems.Solving problems requires unpleasantness. Floors have to be swept and walls have to be painted. People have to be fired. Systems have to be changed. Products have to be redesigned.Brand tinkering, on the other hand, is generally quite agreeable. All it requires is money and a bunch of

Internet Chaos

Here's why your viral campaign went nowhere; why your video on YouTube is getting way fewer hits than you expected; and why your blog was a bust.The internet is chaotic. Success is random and unpredictable. Most success is the result of one person's good, odd idea and is very hard to duplicate or recreate. Creative strategy is less important than execution on the web.You can make a hit record by

Web Films vs Bagels

I had a chance to stay at a Ritz-Carlton last week. The convergence of two recent posts -- Ritz Bits and The "Brand Problem" Problem -- came together in a perfect storm.I stayed for 2 nights and had no turn-down service either night. I had horrible French toast for breakfast, made with stale bread. I sent it back and asked for a bagel. I got a stale one.Meanwhile, Ritz is spending lots of time

The "Brand Problem" Problem

There was a time in America when every problem was a "communications" problem.If you couldn't get along with your husband, you weren't communicating. If your kid was incorrigible, you probably weren't on the same wavelength. If your boss didn't like you, you just didn't communicate well with him. There were no problems of substance, just problems of communication.Well, the truth is, sometimes

Guest Blogger: TAC Needs A Better System

The following guest post comes from John Joss, a regular commenter here at TACHaving seen, read and enjoyed the earlier TAC book, I willingly signed up to receive the new, expanded and improved edition. Imagine my disappointment, then, when after three attempts to execute the 'order' I found that there was no apparent, obvious way to send it.This failure to devise a complete system that works end

Now With 20% More Cranky Opinions

The new edition of The Ad Contrarian book is being printed and will be available shortly.The difference between the blog and the book is that in the book we don't just whine about everything, we also give you ideas about how to make your advertising more effective. Also, the book burns easier.And, it makes a great Christmas gift for people you don't really like.Best of all, it's free. Just click

The Ignoramus Superhighway

For those silly enough to believe in the "The Information Age" and "The Information Superhighway" here are Yahoo's Top Ten search subjects of 2007: 1. Britney Spears2. WWE3. Paris Hilton4. Naruto5. Beyonce6. Lindsay Lohan7. RuneScape8. Fantasy Football9. Fergie10. Jessica AlbaIt's encouraging to see Americans getting so much useful information about so many important subjects on the

Ritz Bits

People over 50 control 77% of the financial assets of this country and are the target for 10% of all advertising. The prejudice against older customers is so strong and so pervasive that even smart companies can't see beyond it (see Aiming Low.)A few years ago, Saks Fifth Avenue decided their customers were too old. They embarked on a plan to attract younger, hipper customers. After two

In-Your-Face Book, II

According to The New York Times, Facebook is changing its "Beacon" marketing scheme after 50,000 people signed a petition protesting it.As we reported earlier in "In-Your-Face Book", Facebook was playing with fire by paying only perfunctory attention to privacy sensitivities.While consumers still don't fully understand internet privacy issues, TAC predicts that web-based marketing schemes --

Unreasonable People

One of the things web providers are going to have to get used to is the irrationality of everyday people.This can be seen in the reaction of webbies to the fuss over Facebook's "Beacon" program (see In-Your-Face Book). They point out that people put their most intimate details on their Facebook page and then get all stirred up when Facebook publicizes what they've been buying. Isn't this complete