The Definitive Copywriting vs. Content Writing: Justin Returns
Last week, we met Justin, the super-elaborate personification of a brand I’ve worked with in the past. And I promised our buddy Justin, believe it or not, has a lot …
Brand persona, personality, cohesion, and Justin
So, here’s the thing about brands: We talk about brands having a face and a voice. We talk about trying to build relationships and trust. We talk about growing a …
Weird English-language rules you didn’t realize you were already following
I’ve generally made it clear that I’m a big fan of understanding, and then strategically breaking, rules. I’m a fan of rules that make sense and contribute to smooth operational …
NaNoWriMo’s AI BS
NaNoWriMo has come out with a statement of “If you don’t write the novel yourself, we’re cool with that.” And people have things to say about it. NaNoWriMo — National …
7 tips for feeling comfortable in front of the camera
Am I comfortable in front of the camera? Hilarious. You’re adorable. Point a camera at me, and I have a tendency to fully dissociate — just mentally bail and hope, …
Free ebook download: When to Trust a Robot
So, around 40% of marketers say they don’t fully know how to effectively use generative AI. And that’s understandable, because there’s a lot to get, but it means marketing leaders …
Intro to the Mechanics of Communication for Arty Types
So, a couple of weeks ago, I’m pretty sure I might have given a sadz to some corners of the creative community in my post analyzing the new iPad Pro …
Egad! Bad ad: The Apple iPad Pro ad
Last Tuesday, Apple released an ad for its new, improved iPad Pro — a video once, but no longer, destined for TV — and it was… controversial. And in the …
So Xtra: Just a bunch of people dunking on the Twitter rebrand
So, the notoriously business-savvy Elon Musk has decided to bail on over a decade of brand equity by rebranding Twitter to… X. The dude apparently has a thing about the …
One from the Vault: That’s What She Proclaimed
Note: This piece predates my freelance career considerably — we’re talking about the era of sparkly vampires, here, c. July 2009 — but the plague of writers afraid to use …