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Truth competently told: January 2008

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A guy who thinks too much about advertising writes too much about it too. Thursday, January 31, 2008. Tempers flaring over at Scamp. With a lot of people taking exception to the latest of his excellent Tuesday Tips. In essence, what he seems to be saying is, "Don't put forward crap work, even when that's what the client wants". I'm in no position to judge if he's correct that it's a good move career-wise. But in terms of job satisfaction, he can't be wrong. Wednesday, January 30, 2008. The rollout strate...

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Truth competently told: June 2007

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A guy who thinks too much about advertising writes too much about it too. Tuesday, June 26, 2007. As a viewer/ reader of advertising, I find that, despite our best (or worst) intentions, very little of it is genuinely emotionally affecting. That's not surprising - you know that advertisers are deliberately setting out to manipulate you for their own ends, and that puts up some fairly high wall. Generally, only the most sincere and thought-provoking ads can surmount them. He started work there in 2002, wh...

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Truth competently told: June 2008

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A guy who thinks too much about advertising writes too much about it too. Thursday, June 12, 2008. Like "insight", "integrated" is a word that seems to be used a little too generously by many agencies. I don't have an OED to hand, but dictionary.com gives us: . 1 combining or coordinating separate elements so as to provide a harmonious, interrelated whole: an integrated plot; an integrated course of study. 2 organized or structured so that constituent units function cooperatively: an integrated economy.

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Truth competently told: April 2008

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A guy who thinks too much about advertising writes too much about it too. Friday, April 11, 2008. Iggy Pop's 'Lust for Life' lifts its hook from The Supremes' 'You Can't Hurry Love'. Does that make it any less of a song? Not in my book. It might, however, affect how much credit you give Messers Pop and Bowie for writing it. Why shouldn't the same criteria apply to ads? 1) How good is the ad? 2) How much credit ought to go to the creative team? It certainly feels a far less egregious rip off than either o...

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Truth competently told: December 2007

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A guy who thinks too much about advertising writes too much about it too. Wednesday, December 12, 2007. The readers’ poll in tonight’s edition of thelondonpaper asks whether Led Zeppelin were the greatest band ever. The question has sent me scurrying back through the depths of my ipod, listening to their songs with an attention I haven’t paid since high school. And what did the brand stand for? Even their quieter moments, you get the feeling, were only there to make the loud bits seem more powerful. ...

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Truth competently told: Cake and eat it

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A guy who thinks too much about advertising writes too much about it too. Tuesday, April 1, 2008. Cake and eat it. Despite our best efforts to be fresh and cutting edge, advertising generally is - and is generally perceived to be - somewhere near the end of the pop cultural food chain. We're not helping ourselves by ripping off YouTube all the time, but, unpalatable as it is, I suspect derivativeness is inevitable. It was perfect: the ad equivalent of a final reel redemption. On one hand you showed y...

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Truth competently told: August 2007

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A guy who thinks too much about advertising writes too much about it too. Thursday, August 30, 2007. Yet another argument in favour of simplicity. I've mentioned my dislike for the tabloids before. To be honest I've always stuggled to understand what anyone sees in them. But recently, over a rainfilled weekend in Glasgow spent in their exclusive company, something clicked:. Tabloids prosper because they make the world simple, and people find that comforting. Longer sentences will fix it. In an advertisin...

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Truth competently told: On originality

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A guy who thinks too much about advertising writes too much about it too. Friday, April 11, 2008. Iggy Pop's 'Lust for Life' lifts its hook from The Supremes' 'You Can't Hurry Love'. Does that make it any less of a song? Not in my book. It might, however, affect how much credit you give Messers Pop and Bowie for writing it. Why shouldn't the same criteria apply to ads? 1) How good is the ad? 2) How much credit ought to go to the creative team? It certainly feels a far less egregious rip off than either o...

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Truth competently told: In praise of the specific

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A guy who thinks too much about advertising writes too much about it too. Tuesday, April 8, 2008. In praise of the specific. I once had to write a piece aimed at mothers of one-year-old children. It was framed as a thankyou, and contained a line that went something like ".after a hundred 4 am wake-up calls. The client came back asking us to change the line, because "babies don't always wake up at 4 am". Because what resonates is truth. And truth isn't general, it's particular. In praise of the specific.

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Truth competently told: May 2007

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A guy who thinks too much about advertising writes too much about it too. Thursday, May 24, 2007. One of my pet hates is mindless positivity. Yes, I realise that we're in the ad business, we sell stuff, and if we want people to buy it we'd probably ought to be positive about it. But that doesn't mean we have to be positive about everything. But all that aside, negative stuff is a heap more fun to write. I would like to cancel my dial-up internet service with you. It seems fairly simple, doesn’t it? It do...