You and Your Meaningless Career in Advertising

by / September 21, 2011 /

If you ask a random sample of advertising people what would make their lives more fulfilling, a good chunk of them will say the following: “I wish I had a more meaningful outlet for applying my creativity.” It’s a predictable answer, but a telling one, and an even more predictable side effect of a career devoted to consumerism.

But despite ad folk’s general commiseration over the shortage of meaning in our day to day lives, only a handful of us are actively devoting a portion [Read More]

Write Better Voiceovers

by kraisasolan / September 14, 2011 /

Videos come in all shapes and sizes. Some happen to be exactly 30 seconds long and formatted for a television screen. Occasionally these 30-second videos have voiceovers. Here are some things to keep in mind when you write them.

Write both sides of the script: TV scripts are written with visual instructions on the lefthand side of the page and the dialogue, voiceover or music direction on the right. Write that way from the start. Both sides. Simultaneously. It'll prev[Read More]

Dear Graphic and Web Designers, Please Understand that There Are Greater Opportunities Available to You

by Egotist / July 12, 2011 /

You have an inherent need to solve problems, visually and conceptually. There is enormous value in this, but you may be misplacing your talents.

The internet, at this time in history, is the greatest client assignment of all time. The Western world is porting itself over to the web in mind and deed and is looking to make itself comfortable and productive. It’s every person in the world, connected to every other person in the world, and no one fully understands how to make best use o[Read More]

If You Work in Advertising, But All You Make is ‘Advertising’, You’re Doing it Wrong.

by Egotist / June 28, 2011 /

The ad industry is quickly evolving into a new industry. It will be one that won’t offer only the limited menu of services that’s attributed to it today. I’m not sure if this new industry should even be called advertising anymore, as the term itself can be an albatross to innovation. But whatever the name is, it’ll be even more exciting and productive than in its current incarnation.

When the 4th Amendment Wear brand was in[Read More]

Three Ways to Get Your First Creative Job in Advertising

by Egotist / June 15, 2011 /

"I want to get into the creative side of the advertising business, but don't have a clue what to do. Help."

I have heard some variation of this question least four dozen times. My answer has become so pat it is more like a speech. Here it is:

"The calculation is simple. Great personality plus great book equals job. But I feel your pain. You can't get a job without a book and you can't star[Read More]

So You Want to Work in An Ad Agency?

by Egotist / June 7, 2011 /

I sometimes get notes and phone calls from random college students and recently graduated job seekers that heard from someone that I work at an agency they admire. I was on a roll and just wrote this latest kid a novella, since I can't sleep tonight anyway. Thought it might make for a blog post if you're having trouble sleeping too.

WARNING: If this doesn't make you go to sleep then you may need to go into adverti[Read More]

Social Media Hasn’t Failed Advertising, We’ve Failed Ourselves

by Egotist / April 7, 2011 /

So the other day I read with interest the AdAge article called “Do Campaign Failures, High-Profile Firings Signal the End of Social Media?” It chronicled the downfall of Pepsi’s Refresh Project and Burger King’s many failed social media attempts, and it was the talk of digital and social media agencies everywhere.

Now let me be clear – I do not subscribe to the conclusio[Read More]