13 years ago I pitched an idea for a “Big Game” ad that still haunts me. This is that spot. — If you work as an advertising copywriter or art director, 99.9% of your ideas never see the light of day. It’s the nature of the gig. You come up with a million ideas, you share the best with your creative director, and they kill many of them. Others get whittled…

Put yourself at the center of your career. Put your prospective employer at the center of your job search. — The recent spate of layoffs has been brutal and doesn’t show signs of slowing down anytime soon, especially if you’re in tech, advertising, media, or adjacent fields. It’s been heartbreaking to read so many posts on LinkedIn from people who were blindsided. While I wish we weren’t in the midst…

So I asked AI to create a bunch more with the same formula — This headline in AdAge caught my eye this week: Rami Malek Meets Catherine Deneuve in Cartier’s Glossy Ad Directed by Guy Ritchie Merit of the spot aside (it struck me as sort of meh), the headline made me laugh. It’s the sort of lazy Mad Libs let’s-throw-a-bunch-of-celebs-together that passes as…

What I learned from my year-long 2022 New Year’s Resolution — Eight years ago, at the beginning of 2015, I made a New Year’s resolution to write a personal note to every one of my LinkedIn contacts. It was a giant pain in the butt AND oddly rewarding. Plus, the article I wrote about that experience got a lot of attention. …

End-of-the-year music picks from a middle-aged dad — Here we go! My annual list (year 13!?) of my favorite albums released over the past 12 months. Last year I realized that I was spending an awful lot of time agonizing over rankings for a list that nobody is really waiting for. So instead of worrying about which album…

Highlights include delightful musicals, a tilting world, great comedy dialogue, and a bevy of can-related campaigns — When you put out a marketing creativity newsletter every Friday, it forces you to keep tabs on all the new ad campaigns that come out each week. Looking back at everything that caught my eye in 2022, here are my top 10 favorites. (Of course, we’re proud of the work…

It’s our 18-month-a-versary. Here’s an agency update, some recent WINS and FAILS, and a look ahead to 2023. — Agency SOS has been open 18 months as of today. Since 20% of small businesses fail within the first year and that number jumps to 30% by the end of year two, we’re going to take a minute to give ourselves a little pat on the back. (pat, pat, pat) …

Creative inspiration for the modern marketer from the past six months — Each Friday, Agency SOS puts out a short email newsletter with three things that caught our eye that week — campaigns, PR stunts, art installations, branded entertainment, and other inspiring bits. Lots of marketers get so mired in the day-to-day on their own brands, they often miss interesting ideas that…

Define your “Why,” find your brand voice, and get your stakeholders on the same page — “Brand strategy” might be one of the most overused phrases in marketing. But we run into problems all the time because everybody comes to the table with a slightly different definition. – CMOs and CEOs with different agendas – Agencies pitching ideas that aren’t quite right – The PR folks are telling…