So anyway…

I realize Christmas is over (I hope you all had a good one), but I still have retail on my mind. First, a quick lesson on retail advertising, then a story about when I worked retail at Tower Records. Continue reading “The Best Retail Job Ever: Tower Records”

As you know, I am a professional Question Asker. I realize, though, that the talent of getting to the heart of the issue is not the sole purview of ad people. I would think teachers excel at this, as do most parents. So today’s post, frankly, is telling you nothing you didn’t already know. But as my faithful subscribers know (if you don’t subscribe, you are a source of sadness to me), my primary goal here is to brighten your day heading into the weekend. Sort of a happiness head start. So here’s one from the Reeves family archives about trying to get past the obvious. Continue reading “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: School Plays”

I mentioned a couple of posts ago how advertising is one-on-one communication. And how your goal is to connect with your audience on an emotional level so you can begin to establish a relationship. But there is such a thing as being an annoying brand. Continue reading ““Oh hi Joe””

Preamble: I couldn’t make the title of this post a hot link, so please enjoy this link to my pop culture reference. On to our regularly scheduled post.

I had a quick little confirmation in my belief in the power of branding the other day. Continue reading “¿Quien es mas macho?”

As I’ve threatened for some time, I’m finally getting around to writing my post on how to write a headline. This isn’t one of my typical humor pieces. This is a real overview of how to do it, intended for the beginning copywriter. By the end of it, you’ll be an expert and I’ll be out of a job. But I’m a giver, so for all of you who got an A in English class and always think, “I could totally do that”, I’m pulling back the curtain. Continue reading “How to Write a Headline (Seriously)”

Gosh, I have so many things to be thankful for, I don’t where to start. Continue reading “Happy Thanksgiving!”

Well, as long as I’ve been talking about Chapman the past couple weeks, I may as well exhaust my arsenal of Chapman stories with this last one.

Let me start by saying my wife thinks I’m sleep-deprived. Maybe I am, but mostly, I think she’s just jealous that I can fall asleep quickly. Continue reading “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead…Or In a Meeting”

Following on the heels of last week’s post, here’s another quick story from my time on the Chapman University account. File this one under If You’re Hearing Things, Keep it To Yourself. Continue reading “Messages From Mars”

When I present concepts and executions to my clients, the goal is to have met their objectives so perfectly that they approve the work with no changes. I’d say that happens maybe 20% of the time, which I think is doing pretty good. Continue reading “Perfect, Except for the Headline, Copy and Visual”

I ordered some parts the other day for that little fiberglass dune buggy I’ve been building forever. There are a million places to get VW parts online, but no one has ever stepped up and claimed my loyalty. Until now. Continue reading “In Defense of the Little Guys”