Why Drinking Vodka with Stevie Ray Vaughan is a Terrible Idea
After working in the genre for decades, Ted Danson knows comedy. He does self-deprecating like a champ, and has a wonderful sense of timing.
Who Can Guess Why Back to School Commercials are a Joke?
You’d think there would be better ads. According to MediaMath, it’s the second biggest shopping season behind Christmas, generating almost $
There’s Always Room for One More on the Rocket Ship
A case in point is the long-running Dos Equis campaign “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” featuring an American actor, Jonathan Goldsm
What Happens When You Don't Take Mother’s Day Seriously
Why Comedy Is the Most Effective Way to Advertise Most Mother’s Day commercials reach for sentimentality. Far fewer reach for the higher...
This is What Happens When You Use Your Worst Ideas
The campaign originated as a completely different assignment for the creative team of Matt McKay and Pat Piper. Back in 2002, while at Kansa
A Perspective That Will Make Bank Robbers Cringe
When you’re first spit-balling ideas, the client wants to talk about their amazing features. Marketers want to talk about the benefits of th
Muffin-Stealing Dogs, Vikings and Other Uncontrollable Desires
An average-size woman next to a 7-foot Viking is funny enough, but this spot is next-level stuff. Kyle Andrew plays the Viking, a popular Ha
How to Abuse Words to Make Them Infinitely Funnier
Storm clouds were forming over the set. Actual storm clouds, this is not a metaphor. Two months before, I’d been tapped to direct a commerci
And Then Daddy Walks In: The Fundamentals of Panic
Since it dropped about a week ago, there’s been plenty of ink spilled over the new direction and reasons for the change, but there are so ma
Why Robots Won’t Ever Write a Great Valentine’s Day Ad
It was quite early. Unobserved, I slipped into the advertising agency where I had been freelancing, and left a single Hershey’s kiss on ever
How to Fix the Biggest Mistakes Digital Marketers Make: Part I
A lot of digital marketing rookies think they’ll instantly convert cold leads. In fact, most of your leads aren’t gonna convert right away –
And Then Advertising Got Weird: What Is Oddvertising?
My director of photography and a production assistant were holding them off with sticks, the art director had been reduced to a puddle of te