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 …
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 …
Oh, honey, no: Copywriters vs. content writers
Recognize this? (It belonged to your father.) I’ve seen the non-annotated version floating around, sometimes with commentary (h/t Flint Cohen, most recently), and I’ve certainly heard the sentiment expressed. And …
How to make ads on the fly like Ryan Reynolds
Update 12/17: And Just Like That… Peloton has pulled the ad because it turns out Chris Noth might be a rapist. The turnarounds keep turning. All indications are that Maximum …
Baltimore’s comma-dumbass COVID campaign
In our household, there’s a phenomenon known as “comma dumbass.” It shows up when you say something that sounds like it ends in “dumbass,” and probably should end in “dumbass,” …
The 2021 Olympics Ads Olympics* (*please don’t sue me)
I know 2021 has been a weird year for anything Olympics-related because, well, there wasn’t supposed to be an Olympics in 2021. The Olympics were supposed to be last year, …
What if Nas was one of us?: Lil Nas X, Pro Digital Marketer
In which I ruin a good thing by over-analyzing it. As is my way. Unless you’ve been on a full media cleanse for the past six months, you’ve heard the …
Aww, man: The most disappointing brand April Fools’ pranks
April Fools’ Day can be a fun one for advertising people. It’s hardly mark-your-calendars fun, really, but it’s fun to have the freedom to think up non-campaign-related, mildly off-brand high …
Beat ‘em v. Join ‘em (2020): When brands meet fan content
Brands have a delicate balance to maintain when it comes to fan-generated content. On the one hand, intellectual property (and, for that matter, physical properly) is a real and valuable …