I write a lot of ads.
Some of them aren't ads as most people think of such things. They're direct mail pieces, or emails, or web banners, or web pages, or infographics, or articles (aka content), or brochures, or something else that isn't popping to mind.
I treat each one as crucial.
I take care to craft copy that makes sense, fits the "brand voice" and flows in a way that should interrupt, inform and induce action with the audience.
I am careful with the construction of the words, the flow of the thoughts and the point I'm trying to make.
I am not, however, the sort of copywriter who treats his work as inviolate.
If there are suggestions to improve it, make them. They might be better than what I had written.
What you shouldn't do is rewrite my work and pass it off as mine.
If you rewrite it, own it.
Then deal with the consequences of crappy copy.
May 17, 2017
May 15, 2017
Monday Malaise
I forgot.
I forgot how simple it is (when there's nothing catastrophic happening) to choose to be happy.
I allowed something small and annoying become something huge that fed into some weird sense of anger.
It's not that I was angry for a reason. Or angry with someone in particular. I just allowed myself to be angry.
At everyone.
For everything.
Stupid of me.
I'm fed. I'm clothed. I have shelter. No one I love is immediate danger or facing some incurable illness.
In short, I chose to not be happy. For no reason. Just because I could.
What a waste of a beautiful day.
May 12, 2017
Yes, People Read. They Even Read Ads.
As a copywriter who cares about craft and nuance and style, I'm peeved every day.
Or every work day at least.
"There's so many words."
"Let's make it shorter."
"No one reads copy."
Yes. I get it. You're super busy and simply glanced at it. In a meeting room. With zero sense of context.
It wasn't a direct mail piece waiting in your box.
It wasn't a brochure sitting on a counter at the bank.
It wasn't a headline you stumbled across in your facebook feed.
It was a piece of paper.
Handed to you.
To which you are obligated to respond, because that's how you get paid.
So you glanced at it and gave a canned answer.
That doesn't mean "people don't read copy."
It means you can't be bothered to you.
I take care to make sure that what I write is both well crafted, and meets the business objective.
It's what I've done for 20-something years.
So take that moment when you're formulating your canned response to tell me no one reads, to actually read it.
Then we can have a conversation about the actual work. Not some learned fear of long pieces of prose that was developed as a result of reading too many Russian novels.
Or every work day at least.
"There's so many words."
"Let's make it shorter."
"No one reads copy."
Yes. I get it. You're super busy and simply glanced at it. In a meeting room. With zero sense of context.
It wasn't a direct mail piece waiting in your box.
It wasn't a brochure sitting on a counter at the bank.
It wasn't a headline you stumbled across in your facebook feed.
It was a piece of paper.
Handed to you.
To which you are obligated to respond, because that's how you get paid.
So you glanced at it and gave a canned answer.
That doesn't mean "people don't read copy."
It means you can't be bothered to you.
I take care to make sure that what I write is both well crafted, and meets the business objective.
It's what I've done for 20-something years.
So take that moment when you're formulating your canned response to tell me no one reads, to actually read it.
Then we can have a conversation about the actual work. Not some learned fear of long pieces of prose that was developed as a result of reading too many Russian novels.
May 10, 2017
My Boss Is 10 Years Old
Yes. Literally. At least for a little while longer. She is almost 11.
No, she isn't my supervisor, or my supervisor's supervisor.
She can't sign my expense report.
She can't approve my vacation days.
She doesn't participate in a 360 review of my work.
She isn't the one signing my paycheck.
She's still the boss.
Why? The work I do is for her.
The work I do pays for food, shelter, clothes and the other necessities. It funds her extra-curricular activities and spur-of-the-moment froyo cravings. It buys her books, and blocks, and soccer balls.
The work I do gives me a chance to be a chauffeur, wanna-be coach, enthusiastic cook, organic gardener, chess partner, and many other things.
There is, however, an inescapable fact: The people to whom I'm accountable from 9 to 5 aren't the ones that really matter at the end of the day.
My job is to provide advertising ideas to my supervisors in exchange for money.
My real boss couldn't care less what I'm paid to do.
And I'm completely comfortable with that.
No, she isn't my supervisor, or my supervisor's supervisor.
She can't sign my expense report.
She can't approve my vacation days.
She doesn't participate in a 360 review of my work.
She isn't the one signing my paycheck.
She's still the boss.
Why? The work I do is for her.
The work I do pays for food, shelter, clothes and the other necessities. It funds her extra-curricular activities and spur-of-the-moment froyo cravings. It buys her books, and blocks, and soccer balls.
The work I do gives me a chance to be a chauffeur, wanna-be coach, enthusiastic cook, organic gardener, chess partner, and many other things.
There is, however, an inescapable fact: The people to whom I'm accountable from 9 to 5 aren't the ones that really matter at the end of the day.
My job is to provide advertising ideas to my supervisors in exchange for money.
My real boss couldn't care less what I'm paid to do.
And I'm completely comfortable with that.
May 4, 2017
A Sharp Knife And A Sturdy Pan
Kitchen gadgets come in an endless variety. So many of them appear to have a singular purpose.
Empanada maker. Salad spinner. Spiralizer. Avocado slicer. Watermelon slicer. Tomato slicer. Apple corer.
The list goes on and on and on.
Yet when you begin to cook your own food, read recipes or pick up a book about the craft of cooking, there are invariably just two tools you must have (in addition to a stove/oven)—a sharp knife and a sturdy pan.
That's it. Two items can help you prepare the vast majority of food you'll consume.
Your ability to use those items to create something delicious then relies on the ingredients you use, your skill with them which is often based on experience and practice, and your imagination.
You do know you don't have to stick to a recipe word for word, right? Unless you're baking, and that's when the chemistry involved is more precise.
Advertising is the same.
You need art.
You need copy.
You need attention to craft and the ability to generate mountains of ideas.
Banner ads. Billboards. Brochures. Content marketing stories. Long form print. Online video. Radio. Short form print. Social media ads or posts. TV. Websites. White papers.
The specific medium doesn't matter. If you're a copywriter, you can write ads in any format. If you're an art director, you can design in any format.
The fundamentals don't change.
Only the way the "experts" pitch them to clients and make hiring decisions change.
Empanada maker. Salad spinner. Spiralizer. Avocado slicer. Watermelon slicer. Tomato slicer. Apple corer.
The list goes on and on and on.
Yet when you begin to cook your own food, read recipes or pick up a book about the craft of cooking, there are invariably just two tools you must have (in addition to a stove/oven)—a sharp knife and a sturdy pan.
That's it. Two items can help you prepare the vast majority of food you'll consume.
Your ability to use those items to create something delicious then relies on the ingredients you use, your skill with them which is often based on experience and practice, and your imagination.
You do know you don't have to stick to a recipe word for word, right? Unless you're baking, and that's when the chemistry involved is more precise.
Advertising is the same.
You need art.
You need copy.
You need attention to craft and the ability to generate mountains of ideas.
Banner ads. Billboards. Brochures. Content marketing stories. Long form print. Online video. Radio. Short form print. Social media ads or posts. TV. Websites. White papers.
The specific medium doesn't matter. If you're a copywriter, you can write ads in any format. If you're an art director, you can design in any format.
The fundamentals don't change.
Only the way the "experts" pitch them to clients and make hiring decisions change.
May 2, 2017
New Rules Of Work. Same As It Ever Was.
The new rules of work are the same as the old rules.
Show up on time.
Do your best possible work.
Learn something new.
Teach something new.
Be kind, courteous and respectful to everyone with whom you work.
Go home and be with people you love.
Show up on time.
Do your best possible work.
Learn something new.
Teach something new.
Be kind, courteous and respectful to everyone with whom you work.
Go home and be with people you love.
May 1, 2017
Advertising's Golden Age Lies Ahead
Innovate. Disrupt. Pivot.
These are more than the latest business buzzwords.
These are the children of creativity. To bring the results to life, they must be communicated in a compelling way. The golden age of advertising lies ahead of us, not behind us.
To bring forth a Renaissance after the current dark age, we must interrupt, inform and induce action more compellingly than ever.
We must be tenacious and creatively courageous.
We must see opportunity in even the most basic flyer or postcard or email subject line.
We must care about craft.
In essence, we must love what we create.
These are more than the latest business buzzwords.
These are the children of creativity. To bring the results to life, they must be communicated in a compelling way. The golden age of advertising lies ahead of us, not behind us.
To bring forth a Renaissance after the current dark age, we must interrupt, inform and induce action more compellingly than ever.
We must be tenacious and creatively courageous.
We must see opportunity in even the most basic flyer or postcard or email subject line.
We must care about craft.
In essence, we must love what we create.
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