Seattle-based copywriter, author, and educator, Dan Goldgeier, and I recorded a pilot episode of Adpulp’s new podcast today. We’ve previously recorded and shared video segments. This is pure audio. We discuss four timely topics on this pilot episode: Hill Holliday’s newly stated commitment to diversity and inclusion The NBA is out on strike 300 Pizza […]
Brighter Futures for the Ad Industry Are Possible, Following Massive Reform
Someone moved the ad industry’s cheese. The various reactions from industry leaders have been slow and haphazard at best, but that’s starting to change. The World Federation of Advertisers has formed the Partnership for Responsible Addressable Media. “In the ancient story of the Tower of Babel, the city collapsed because its inhabitants lost the ability […]
Chemistry Rules the Relationship, Inside and Outside the Agency
Who is the most important player on the agency team? The creative director who is responsible for making the work? Or the account director who consistently sells the work and thereby keeps the agency doors open and people employed? The Best Creative Leaders Are Account Service Pros In a small shop, the partners often come […]
There’s A New School In Ad City, It Is Free To Attend and “Unapologetically Black”
Access—you can’t get there without it. In the advertising agency business, access has been afforded to the few. The industry is elite by design. The people on the inside ask those on the outside to “break-in,” if they can. The entire set up is adversarial from the get-go. Yes, there’s talk of a meritocracy for […]
Business Journalists Have Harder Truths To Tell, And Now Is the Time
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” -George Bernard Shaw I have covered the marketing, media, and advertising industries on this website for 15.5 years now. What began as a place to have digital “watercooler discussions” about ads, quickly grew into something bigger and better. Adpulp.com has […]
Coca-Cola, Ford, Starbucks et al Halt Ad Spending on ‘All’ Social Media Platforms
In 2018, Coca-Cola launched #RefreshtheFeed giving its social media accounts a complete factory reset. Coca-Cola’s new social strategy was “rooted in optimism, uplift, and connection.” Now the beverage icon is going to pause paid and organic posts on all social media platforms globally for at least 30 days, effective July 1. Chairman and CEO, James Quincey, […]
More than 100 Companies Stop Advertising on Facebook (Sort Of)
Hit pause on hate. That’s the call-to-action issued on June 17, by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL. Their new Stop Hate for Profit campaign asks businesses to suspend advertising on Facebook’s services during July. The campaign’s partners, including Color of Change, Common Sense, Free Press, and Sleeping […]
Reflections In the American Mirror: Baseball, Race, and Pancake Mix
Major League Baseball will be back soon. A second spring training will begin next week, with opening day in late July. Is this an encouraging sign or a desperate plea to return to a normal that just isn’t there? Time will tell. Meanwhile, here in Texas, we’re experiencing a surge of COVID-19 cases, and the […]
IBM Thinks Bigger; It’s In The Company’s DNA To Do So
Technology that ushers in sweeping societal changes ought to come with a warning, but that’s fanciful thinking in unregulated America. On these brave shores, we believe in self-reliance and self-regulation, prolonged fantasies both. I often wonder, did Steve Jobs know what he was unleashing with the iPhone because the impact has not been all good. […]
Laura Desmond Meets with Advertising Students at UT, Learns Why They Block Ads
Stan Talks is a library of short videos produced by the Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations in the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin. This new talk, released last month, features Laura Desmond, founder and CEO of Eagle Vista Partners in Chicago. Desmond is intent on building […]
