Tak Tik Boom

What Makes An Ad Person Exceptional?

I went out to dinner the other night and got food poisoning. Consequently, I spent the remainder of the night in a cold sweat crawling between my bed and my bathroom.

Fortunately there were some moments that were free of both gastric distress and prayers for a quick death. During one of these moments I had a flash of insight.

For years I have been trying to figure out what makes a good ad

The Mass Marketing Zombie

“You’re seeing the end of the era of mass marketing." Jim Nail, Principle Analyst for Forrester Research, The New York Times, 2004.A few weeks ago, in a post entitled "Does Targeting Work?" we explored the popular idea that "the era of mass marketing" has ended as a result of our new found ability to target individual consumers. We concluded that not only has our ability to target individuals not

My Dysfunctional Super Bowl Spot

During my creative director days I was a pretty good copywriter. By no means a great one, but usually pretty good.

My one shot at Super Bowl glory came in the mid-90's. I was commissioned to write a Super Bowl spot -- but not just any Super Bowl spot. I believe I may have written the world's first TV spot for erectile dysfunction. You can only imagine how proud how I am.

It was the year before

The Waiters Are Doing The Cooking

Okay, I watched the Super Bowl.

The ads this year were a disgrace. A cacophony of recycled ideas, third-rate celebrities, and pathetic 8th-grade naughtiness.

Donald Trump? Are you kidding me? Betty White? Again? Motley Crue? Really? Dogs? Polar bears? Monkeys? Does anyone have an idea anymore?

It was such an awful display of juvenile sensibility that what passed for the intellectual highlight

Take My Survey, Please

I will be pontificating about Super Bowl advertising on a TV show tomorrow and I'd like to be able to reference the opinions of ad and marketing "professionals" (that's you!)

If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate it if you would answer these 5 questions for me. Thanks.

Take Our Survey!

polldaddy.add( {
type: 'button',
title: 'Take My Survey, Please!',
style: 'inline',

Super Bowl Survey

I will be pontificating about Super Bowl advertising on a TV show on Monday and I'd like to be able to reference the opinions of ad and marketing professionals (that's you!)

If you wouldn't mind, after the game I'd appreciate it if you would come back here and answer these 5 questions for me. Click on the link. Thanks.

&lt;a href="http://adcontrarian.polldaddy.com/s/super-bowl-survey"&

Does Targeting Work?

In 2004, a guy named Jim Nail, Principle Analyst for Forrester Research, had this to say to The New York Times...
“You’re seeing the end of the era of mass marketing."In the intervening eight years, it has become an article of faith among the marketing and advertising lemmingocracy that mass marketing as we know it is moribund.

According to this hypothesis, the holy grail of advertising is