Halloween

I hate Halloween.It's Christmas for the maladjusted.I'm taking the day off.SUBSCRIBE TO THE AD CONTRARIAN

The Ribbon, cont.

As a follow-up to last week's "The Ribbon", you might want to have a look at this and this from Ad Age.

The Yellow and Brown Process

Prospective clients want to believe that there is a method to the madness.More and more, success in winning new clients is not about the effectiveness of the advertising you create, but about how clever you are at articulating a convincing process behind your creative endeavors.Well, there are processes for doing just about everything an agency does. But when it comes to creating ideas, sorry,

Nobody Knows Anything

In Hollywood they have a saying: "Nobody knows anything." This explains how huge-budget, big-star, focus-group-approved movies manage to bomb on a regular basis.It is not dissimilar in advertising. Most of consumer behavior is perfectly obvious -- people like things that look nicer, taste better, work more dependably and cost less (see Salesmen & Sociologists.) But then there’s the mysterious

Stay Foolish

"Don’t let the noise of other people’s opinions drown out your own inner voice... Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”- Steve JobsSUBSCRIBE TO THE AD CONTRARIAN

The Ribbon

One of the things that worries me about the internet is the naive and foolish belief that it has, and will continue to have, a substantially empowering effect on the individual.Web advocates speak eloquently about how the advent of the internet has allowed individuals to influence communities, organizations, and enterprises in completely unique and original ways. While there is some truth to

Marketing Tips for Geniuses

DOTAC (Daughter of the Ad Contrarian) is in full college application mode, which means we've been traveling around looking at colleges. We've met some genius-type people on our visits but have witnessed some woefully inadequate marketing practices. If you're a college or university marketing or admissions officer, here are some tips:1. A visiting high school senior bases about 99% of his/her