Twitters Never Win. Winners Never Twit.

Okay, I tried it.Now my fair and balanced analysis: Twitter is the biggest, stupidest fucking waste of time since Cats.How intelligent people can possibly squander their precious hours on Earth reading about how other people are about to get their drapes dry cleaned or their colons scoped is beyond comprehension.It is a commentary on the nature of our age that we have to resort to such

Copywriters Are Smarter Than Economists

At its heart, advertising is the art of giving people a reason to prefer a product when there is no reason.Call me cynical.The principal underlying this definition is that human beings are not logic machines. Their decisions are always emotional. Even when they utilize logic, they use it as one component of what is ultimately an emotional decision.Copywriters understand this. Economists don't.

A Tribute To Second Rate Things

I like...hamburger better than steakspring training better than the regular seasontv better than movieslimericks better than poetryrock better than jazzbeer better than winekhakis better than slackssneakers better than shoes.Timex better than RolexNew Jersey better than New Yorksalesmen better than marketersmutts better than poodlesMel Brooks better than Woody Allencandy corn better than

Ad Agency Nuclear Waste

Our agency has about 100 people. It's pretty big by independent agency standards, but tiny by global agency standards.One thing I love about our agency is that my partners have developed their own morality about our business. One aspect of this is that they take particular interest in protecting the people who work for us.People have left good jobs to come to work for us. Some have moved across

I Am A Twit

I believe that social media is one big circle jerk.I am convinced that the same people read this blog every day. I am certain this is true of all blogs and social sites -- the only difference is the size of the circle and the vigor of the jerks.Along those lines, those who follow TAC know that I have had very harsh words for people who Twitter. (See "How The Narcissistic Keep In Touch With The

Is "Search" Advertising?

When I think of advertising on the web, I think of three different flavors:Search: Listings on Google or some other search engine.Display: Banners or other types of static or moving ad units.Social media: Advertising disguised as something else (blog, website, online community, etc.)The most effective seems to be "search." It accounts for over 40% of all on-line ad dollars. From what I've been

Crisis Of Advertising, Part 3: Talent

This is Part 3 of a 5-part series on "The Crisis of Advertising." You can find the first two parts here: Part 1, and here: Part 2.TalentAt one point in my career I left the agency business for three years and did creative work directly for clients. During those three years I learned a very important lesson about ad agencies. Clients do not like working with us.They mostly laugh (behind our backs