February 2012
2 posts
Hey everyone, I've moved my blog
Just a reminder, if you follow my blog and would like to continue following, here is the link to the new Tumblr. I wanted to make this my primary blog and apparently Tumblr doesn’t allow you to switch. So I had to recreate it under a new account. Same exact blog, just a new link. Please check it out if you can.
Thanks, TJ
http://creative-direction-blog.tumblr.com/
Hey everyone, I've moved my blog
If you follow my blog and would like to continue following, here is the link to the new Tumblr. I wanted to make this my primary blog and apparently Tumblr doesn’t allow you to switch. So I had to recreate it under a new account. Same exact blog, just a new link. Please check it out if you can.
Thanks, TJ
http://creative-direction-blog.tumblr.com/
January 2012
8 posts
Shelly knows what she's talking about →
Words of wisdom from an advertising legend. She targets some of it towards women, but it’s all equally relevant for men as well. Do things you love. Be with people you love. It makes life so much easier.
Creating a killer online portfolio - mostly great... →
This is a nice piece on how to wow people with your online portfolio. And I agree with pretty much all of it. Except for the part about sharing the backstory. Maybe this is relevant for other industries, but not so much for advertising. Most CDs and recruiters don’t have time and don’t really care how you got to the finished product. They just want to know you can get there. Your...
Advertising. Love it or leave it. →
You have to a have a sense of humor to work in advertising. But guess what? That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the job seriously. Our work generates billions of dollars in economic value. And our clients put their trust in us to make intelligent decisions on their behalf. Decisions that can affect their livelihood. So yeah, we get to wear jeans to work. We probably have more fun...
The myth that work-life balance is a myth
Fast Company ran a piece recently claiming that work/life balance is a myth. I’ve heard this notion before. And it’s total crap.
The author tries to justify his stance by saying no one can achieve absolute, 50/50 balance. Therefore, balance is unachievable.
Brilliant. If only his logic made a lick of sense.
Does anyone really set out to achieve perfectly symmetrical balance...
The New York Times agrees with me. →
Nice to see that my ideas about collaboration and open-space office plans are shared by someone at The New York Times. I hope this viewpoint gets more press so we might start reversing the open-office trend and move towards a more suitable environment for creation.
When your feelings get hurt, don't take it out on...
Rejection is a part of life. And it’s a huge part of life in the ad business. Our work gets rejected every day. Our portfolios get rejected by on a regular basis. And more often than not, prospective employers reject us as well.
And it sucks. Every time.
But, suckiness aside, you don’t want to respond in a way that might hurt you down the road. So you learn to keep your emotions in...
Back to life, back to reality
So the long holiday break is over. Time to get back to the grind and settle into our usual routines.
Or not.
Chances are you did some cool shit over the break. Maybe you hit the beach. Or the slopes. Or perhaps you just spent some quality time at home, getting reacquainted with your couch.
Whatever floats your boat. The point is, you did stuff you don’t normally get to do. You got out...
You don't do your best work at work →
That’s the provocative theory put forth by Jason Fried at a TED conference back in October 2010. And I think he’s on to something. People need space and time to create. Today’s workplaces are over-crowded and our schedules are over-booked. Take a moment (okay more like 15 minutes) to watch his talk and see what you think.
December 2011
16 posts
Chaos and creativity: friend or foe?
If you’ve read my previous posts, you know I’m skeptical about the idea that open office space breeds collaboration. I haven’t really seen it happen and it runs counter to my basic instincts about human behavior. It also contradicts the opinion of leading neuroscientists.
But a recent post from Edward Boches at Mullen has me giving the concept a second look. His story of how...
Is it just a job for you?
For some, work is work. It pays the bills and that’s enough. To expect that a job can provide anything more is foolish, they say.
I say otherwise.
If you choose to toil away for 50 years at a job that makes you miserable, enjoy. I’d prefer to spend that time doing something that challenges me, gets me excited and motivates me.
But hey, different strokes for different folks,...
Is age more than just a number? →
Does age matter when it comes to creating advertising? That’s what these four former DDB execs are counting on. The Boomer Generation is just starting to hit retirement age, spawning a potentially lucrative market for advertisers. In an industry dominated by youth, is there a place for a more ‘mature’ group that might know better how to speak to the AARP set? I think there is....
An unhealthy dose of cynicism
Everyone can be cynical at times. There is plenty of evidence to back up the belief that humans are motivated by selfish desires. Only a fool would blindly take everyone at their word.
But cynicism has its limits. If you refuse to see the good in people, life can get pretty miserable. And the only person to blame is yourself.
For a case study in cynicism run amok, look no further than the...
The Best Ads of 2011 (or, stuff I liked)
It’s that time of year again. Everyone is trotting out their ‘10 Best’ lists. So I figured, why not join the party?
Here are my favs from the past year, in no particular order. Most are TV spots, but I’ve tried to include some online and alt media stuff as well.
To differentiate my list from all of the others, I haven’t done any googling (okay, I googled the...
WatchCan’t wait for this show. Looks awesome.
funnyordie:
Billy On The Street: New Preview!
This amazingly hilarious (and 100 percent real) surprise game show with Billy Eichner premieres Dec. 22 on Fuse TV!
We're all the same (pretty much)
I read a great post yesterday about how to manage and market to millennials. Some good advice for sure. But it got me thinking.
Are there really such stark differences between the generations?
I don’t think so.
Gen Xers (myself included) like to rant about the entitlement mentality of today’s younger workers. And we’re not completely off base. I’ve seen it in...
RODD CHANT: DON'T WORK LIKE A DOG. INSTEAD, THINK... →
roddchant:
Image © Rodd Chant 2011
All too often people will say you should work like a dog to be successful, The Beatles even sung about it in a Hard Day’s Night. And it is all too common a response to questions about how to get what you want or to where you want to be.
But I…
This social networking thing is really starting to... →
This infographic on Mashable shows that more people than ever are using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to find a job. Still think you don’t need to keep your professional information updated? If you only knew how often you’ve been passed over for a job because you didn’t make your info available, you’d change your tune pretty quickly. I can’t even count the number...
Are you the problem or the solution? →
Great article from Business Week about the type of people that can drag an organization down. I think we’ve all seen each of these ‘types’ floating around the halls at our respective agencies. And while we’re all guilty of a little negativity from time to time, it’s important to not let it become what defines you. This is good stuff to know, whether you’re a...
Time to take back advertising?
Are penny-pinching corporations sucking the life out of our business?
I think we all know the answer to that one. But it’s not their fault. They’re just playing by the rules they’ve been given.
So how do we regain the mojo we once had? Can we put our focus back on what matters—the work—while still pleasing the folks in the holding company c-suites?
Yes, we can.
But we need...
You don't have to like it but you better... →
Great post from Dan Goldgeier over at Talent Zoo on the media we consume and how it impacts our work.
Here’s a snippet:
“Don’t forget: advertising relies on knowledge of lowbrow culture just as much as anything that’s considered classic literature or art. Sometimes keeping up requires that you watch or read things you really don’t care for. Not a fan of reality TV or Twilight? Get...
All work and no play makes johnny a dull employee →
I’ve commented on this before, but it bears repeating. A recent study shows that Americans are afraid to use all their vacation days. And we don’t get that many to begin with. Now, maybe this isn’t such surprising news, given how much fear people have for their jobs in general these days. But this has been going on since well before the great recession. We don’t value...
Are ad schools worth it? A discussion.
Great 9-minute video of top agency players talking about ad schools and finding talent. Not sure I agree with all of it, but these are some of the heavy hitters in the business, so it’s worth a look. The key takeaway? Ad schools tend to make everyone look the same. Find a way to stand out.
November 2011
7 posts
Do agencies hate collaboration?
A new year is almost upon us. Which can only mean one thing. More agencies converting their space to ‘open environments’, all in the name of fostering a more collaborative atmosphere.
It makes sense, right? Less walls means more chances to bounce ideas off a neighbor (or the guy on the other side of the room). More noise means more stimulation, which can only lead to more ideas,...
Who says copy is dead? →
Would you rather buy a snow blower or a “machine of snow doom?” Would you rather clear your driveway or “harness some mighty teeth and claws and chew your way to freedom?” I think you know the answer. Weh-Ming Cho from New Brunswick, Canada got over 300,000 hits and most importantly, a sale, thanks to his cleverly worded sales pitch on the popular auction site, Kijiji....
The dark side of Black Friday
Everybody loves Black Friday.
Or so it would seem from all of the ads we’ve created this year. Some people love it silently, like the woman in the Walmart ad, entranced by the latest 1080p flat-screen TV.
Others love it with a gusto normally reserved for life’s more intimate moments, like the orgasmic lady in the latest round of Target spots.
Great, I get it. We want to help our...
A little less whine this Thanksgiving
We advertising types tend to complain a lot. If you’re a creative, you complain about the client and account people. If you’re account, you complain about the client and creatives. And if you’re media, you complain that the drinks weren’t strong enough at the free party you went to last night.
Yes, it’s tough being us, isn’t it? It’s tough coming in to work later than almost any other...
Time to get paid
As a general rule, creatives are underpaid. We are ultimately responsible for our agency’s final product and yet our efforts rarely lead to a big reward.
How come?
Because most of us don’t really know how we do what we do. We spend a bunch of hours letting stuff spin around in our head until ultimately an idea craps itself out. When success usually feels like an accident, how the...
Celebrities don't get social media
Louis CK always makes me crack up. His latest rant on Conan is no exception. I laughed my ass off watching him pick apart some of the flaws inherent to social media. Then I clicked out of the video and returned to Facebook, where I had found it in the first place, and shared it with a bunch of people I barely know.
And it became clear to me that celebrities will never truly be able to...
The spice of agency life
There’s been a lot of talk about diversity in the workplace recently. And with good reason. Agencies have been slow to recognize the talents of women and minorities for quite some time. Hopefully, recent efforts will begin to right those wrongs.
But there is another kind of diversity that gets a lot less attention—diversity of thought.
Are we really making ourselves more diverse if we...
October 2011
4 posts
Manvertising gone wild
Hey dudes, did you hear about the latest soft drink? It has 10 ‘manly’ calories. Fuck yeah! Let’s drink that shit!
Have you heard about that lite beer with the great taste? It’s totally not gay like the other lite beers! Let’s get fucked up on that shit!
Isn’t being a man great? We don’t have to think about whether something we want is all girly and...
3 tags
What the occupy movement means for Madison Ave
You’re conflicted.
You work in advertising, which means you are a cog in the consumerist wheel. So, when a group called “Adbusters” helps start a movement on Wall Street, you shy away.
But like many who work in advertising, you’re pretty liberal, so when that group of people gives voice to many of your deeply held views, you nod approvingly.
So what should you do Mr. Ad...
Death is a teacher
We’re all going to die.
Steve Jobs knew this. But rather than run from this reality, he embraced it. In fact, it’s what drove him to take chances.
“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”
I wonder if, in his last moments, he was able to appreciate all that he had accomplished.
As he drew...
Half-assed recruiting leads to half-assed talent
Can’t find any good people? Chances are, it’s your fault.
If you’re not actively involved in the recruitment process, you’re basically only doing half of your job. And making the other half harder than it has to be.
I get it, creating great advertising sucks up a big chunk of your day. You’re swamped. You don’t have time to look through books, check out...
September 2011
17 posts
Un-truth in advertising →
The FTC is on the attack. They’ve just hit Reebok with a $25 million settlement for misleading claims on their EasyTone and RunTone sneakers. You might think someone in the ad industry would be against this kind of intervention. But not me. I’m on board with it. Good advertising isn’t about lying—it’s about salesmanship. There should be a difference. But I have to say, if...
Job hunting should be creative too
I don’t get it. I called a headhunter. I threw my resume on Monster.
Why isn’t my phone ringing off the hook?
What the hell is wrong with the world? Why can’t everyone see just how awesome I am?
My book is sweet. I swear.
I’m super cool to work with. Honest.
I’m witty. I’m well-read. I’m easy on the eyes. For realz.
If people just got to know me,...
Life will go on
Yes, they changed Facebook.
Again.
Why are you so damned surprised? They do this all the time. And every time, everyone acts like it’s the end of the world.
It’s not.
This may surprise some folks, but it is not Facebook’s goal to piss all of you off. They run a business. They would like that business to remain successful. To that end, they will occasionally make changes to...
4 tags
Madboy's Journey to Adman: Richard Kirshenbaum on... →
Click here for the interview with KBS+P founder Richard Kirshenbaum, via Adweek
Creatives and clients: it's time to sink or Swim →
Looking forward to hearing more about this venture. Such a great idea. We need more of this type of thinking.
“The minds behind Ogilvy’s award-winning Dove “Evolution” campaign, co-chief creative officers Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin, are leaving the network’s Toronto office after 13 years to launch a new venture dubbed “Swim.
…The first classes begin...
Sorry seems to be the hardest word
This is not an apology. An apology is short and sweet and usually expresses sincere regret. This is yet another ill-advised marketing email—no doubt hastily created as you realized how crappy your future numbers looked—that attempts to confuse consumers even more by introducing a new brand name into the mix. So now the DVD-based Netflix service is called Qwikster? Wow, thanks for letting me know...
Great advice from a recruiter →
Act like you own it
Last night I went to see a band at a local club. One of the singers was starting to bug me and it made me want to grab him after the show and give him a few performance pointers. Pay attention because these same pointers apply to any somewhat nervous person looking for a job.
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Don't go to museums for inspiration (unless you...
When you tell someone you work in advertising, people always ask, “how do you come up with ideas?”
Any many creatives often give the stock answer. “Well, you know, you have to find your inspiration outside of advertising. I like to go to Museums. All of that creativity in one place is awesome.”
Maybe.
But what if you don’t really like museums? Should you force...
Chrysler's 'Born of Fire' Wins Emmy for Best... →
Best spot of the year? Not sure. But certainly great. And worthy of the award. Congrats to W+K for the win (their 3rd in a row, by the way).
Stalkers welcome
So you come into my office (I don’t really have an office but let’s pretend) and you ask me what clients we have here at the agency.
And, the interview is over.
Why? Because you couldn’t take two minutes to check out our website and learn that most basic bit of information yourself. Next, you’ll be asking me what the K in KBS+P stands for.
You’ve decided that...
Virgin knows social →
Virgin knows how to create experiences and encourage engagement. Make your product interesting and more people will want to talk with you.
via Mashable