There’s no guaranteed career path in advertising. And at some point, we all need help, mentorship, or just a sympathetic ear. David Burn and Dan Goldgeier chat with Wade Sturdivant, longtime Creative Director and Copywriter and the founder of NowAndThentor, a free service to provide feedback as needed to ad professionals of all kinds. In this 35-minute Ad Chatter, David, Dan, and Wade …
Use Hotels.com to Book “Your Perfect Somewhere”
If these walls could talk... In this new campaign for Hotels.com, these walls can talk. And why not? If mayhem itself can be personified why not a website for hotel bookings? But what would a hotel say? "I might have a rocky exterior but I've got soft pillows and breakfast on the house." -Beachfront hotel (not humble) https://youtu.be/KleO5z72pxI In this new campaign from W+K/Portland and Expedia’s …
Continue Reading about Use Hotels.com to Book “Your Perfect Somewhere” →
Dole Sunshine Company Urges His Holiness to Redeem the Apple
Long copy. I won't say it's a lost art. I dislike that combination of words. Where does lost art go when it gets lost? Long copy is no lost art. Long copy is merely out of fashion in a world full of obsessed scrollers who never make it past the headline. Given the circumstances, I duly appreciate Dole Sunshine Company's letter to His Holiness, Pope Francis. The letter seeks to restore the good name of ‘forbidden …
Continue Reading about Dole Sunshine Company Urges His Holiness to Redeem the Apple →
This Promotional Campaign for Potato Chips In A Can Is Bonkers
A non-player character (NPC) is a video game character that is controlled by the game's artificial intelligence rather than by a gamer. The game Train Sim World has scores of such characters and now Pringles is working with Dovetail Games and Xbox to introduce a new NPC who will serve as a Pringles vending machine re-filler. The idea also features a promotional twist. The vending machine re-filler NPC will be based …
Continue Reading about This Promotional Campaign for Potato Chips In A Can Is Bonkers →
Jane Lynch Enjoys Illinois, Invites You To Do Likewise
"Enjoy Illinois" is the new travel and tourism campaign for the Land of Lincoln. The two words (Enjoy Illinois) rhyme, are easy to recall and suggest good times ahead. https://youtu.be/hTnlUw2yeF8 I also like the positioning line used in the campaign, "Welcome to the middle of everything." For the state of Illinois, it's the perfect tagline. The state is a bit east of center geographically speaking, but when it …
Continue Reading about Jane Lynch Enjoys Illinois, Invites You To Do Likewise →
The Machines Have Moved In. The Machines Have No Feelings.
I am a writer. I write ad copy, journalism, poetry, fiction, and essays—not necessarily in that order. Because I am a writer, I want to laugh at the idea that a machine can do what I, or what any writer does for a living. Sure, a machine can spit out words, I get that part. But is that good enough today? Can machine-generated words move customer automatons to respond favorably? Can an AI copywriting platform (that …
Continue Reading about The Machines Have Moved In. The Machines Have No Feelings. →
IHOP Feels Our Hunger—Is Uniquely Prepared to Feed Us Pancakes
"Right about now, we could all use a pancake." It's a presumptuous statement from IHOP, but it's also a true statement. We, the People, could use a pancake. https://youtu.be/6biyfxFSLvw I do like this bit of positioning: "For parents who've been making their own pancakes, and for night owls who missed staying up 'til dawn..." It's an admission that COVID wiped out our routines—not just how we work today, but …
Continue Reading about IHOP Feels Our Hunger—Is Uniquely Prepared to Feed Us Pancakes →
Stop Wasting Words
Do you ever notice that curious thing that happens when you really think about a word? You may sit there thinking what a strange collection of sounds and noises to mean something so specific, so nuanced. There's so much meaning from seemingly so little. Isn't language fascinating? How do we make complex associations from what are effectively refined grunts? Maybe our brains are magical. Then poof. The meaning …
