The Devil, in Fact, Wore White House Black Market
I was Andy before Andy was cool. Not entirely, of course. For instance, I made it two years at a national fashion industry publication that shall remain nameless but was …
11 Nouned and Verbed Taglines That Cringe My Y’all
Y’all, it’s all in fun. <3 to all the creative (adjective) teams that worked hard on this creative (noun), except maybe the Hotel Chocolat one. One might think that I, …
Five things I’m arguably better at because I’m autistic, and you’re welcome
It’s Autism Acceptance Month, and… I am that. It’s not something I’ve been secretive about. And I’ve tended to talk about challenges I deal with related to it, in part …
The 5 Worstbest Tropes in D2C Pharma Advertising
Why is the U.S. one of the only two countries in the entire world that allow D2C prescription drug advertising? Probably because it takes a very specific balance of healthcare …
Dear Baby Creatives: The brief is not the enemy
Dear Baby Creatives, The brief is not the enemy. Is it restrictive, reductive, and occasionally written by someone who doesn’t fully understand exactly what creative does? Absolutely. But even that …
Give me a passive-aggressive brand-on-brand snarkback.
Someone tell me who willed Fast Food CEO Mukbang into existence. Why did Wendy’s U.S. President Pete Suerken go on Xitter to very pointedly eat a Wendy’s hamburger (while very …
Unrelated to Advertising: Robert Smalls, who stole a Confederate ship and piloted it to freedom
Do I usually do the Famous Person in Black History kind of profiles? No, and no judgment — I just lean more toward contextual stuff. But now here I am, …
The 2026 Creepy Awards Take a Dark Turn
I introduced the Creepy Awards (a companion piece to our annual Weepy Awards) in 2023 as a celebration of the weird-ass stuff many ad agencies crank out every year for …
How Polling Language Can Mess With Your Head
(Content note: This isn’t a post about politics, but it definitely has politics, and you can probably guess what kind. The “close tab” button is the little X at the …
Happy Friday, this Italian commercial is bonkers.
Ads I Wish I’d Ever Been Drunk Enough to Make? Happy Friday, here’s an absolutely batshit Italian commercial for Italian breakfast snack Buondì Motta from 2017. Do you have to …