Flipping through channels the other day, I stopped briefly at PBS’s latest ode to Darwin. After a couple minutes, it hit me: That whole hypothesis about adaptive behavior and natural selection is so true! Witness, for example, how adeptly a biologist camouflages his conclusions against that vast body of fact which utterly undermines the theory … Read More
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I Love This Ad For So Many Reasons.
I’m on a horse – – If you haven’t already seen the latest Old Spice body-wash ad, stop reading and click on this link immediately: http://bit.ly/smell-like-me First, I love the creative strategy: Don’t sell this product directly to men. Sell it to women—who make the majority of those purchasing decisions. Next, find a guy who’s … Read More
GISI Case Study
WORK NOTE #1
Small Site Scores Big. We recently launched a nice website on a shoestring budget for a buddy of ours—who manufactures the world’s greatest supplemental game feeder. Unbeknownst to us, Hindsight Management (led by Birmingham ad legend Jim Riley) evaluated the site’s effectiveness using The Riley Persuasion Index. Jim reports that it earned the highest score … Read More
Nonconformity Is Skin Deep
NOTE: Sadly, The Birmingham News has dropped my favorite Editorial Page columnist, David Brooks. Below is a condensed version of a column of his I saved years ago. We now have to work under the assumption that every American has a tattoo. Whether we are at a formal dinner, at a professional luncheon, at a … Read More
Put That Kid In Timeout. Permanently.
(Original post, 2.2.10 — Tuesday before the Super Bowl) If you haven’t seen the latest e-Trade ad, they’ve replaced the sweet-but-worldly-wise baby (who’s loved, at latest count, by everyone who’s ever seen him) with an insufferable, sarcasm-spouting smartass. And while I’m not privy to e-Trade’s research (which would have to indicate that this change of … Read More
Take A Sad Song And Make It Better: Apologize.
(OK, so it doesn’t work for everybody.) In the space of roughly 3 minutes during Jay Leno’s 9:00 debut show on September 14, Kanye West effectively transformed himself from a leading candidate for my personal All-Time Celebrity Buffoon award to a guy I suddenly liked way more than I ever did before his Taylor Swift … Read More
HARE PEOPLE (note 1)
Francis: On New Year’s Day, I found (carefully stored in a long-unused file drawer) a 1981 R.E.M. 45 RPM single—released on Hib Tone Records, and signed by the entire band. Bassist Mike Mills included a personal note to Martha: “Hi Martha — 404-546-0365”. Seeing as how I haven’t felt the need to play it in … Read More
Reductio Ad Absurdum
In January 2009, the Birmingham News reported that the Jefferson County Commission was seriously considering a sewer system Non User Fee—to be paid by residents, you guessed it, NOT on the system. In response, my good friend Tassos Touloupis authored the press release below. When it (shockingly) didn’t generate any coverage, I brought it to … Read More
QUOTATIONS
“Writing is easy. You just sit at your typewriter and concentrate until beads of blood form on your forehead.” —George Axelrod, 1922 – 2003 “If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of Elements of Style. The first … Read More