Here's a scary thought. Coke isn't actually the real thing. It's not even happiness. And how about this: People are loving lots of things, only one of them is MacDonalds. You can travel yourself interesting with Thomson holidays or even Thomas Cook. And you could probably find a supermarket where you're thinking every little helps... Continue Reading →
The nursing home that got creative
In 1991 in the town of New Berlin in upstate New York, Bill Thomas, then a young doctor of just 31, who had previously really only spent time in A&E, took over as medical director of Chase memorial nursing home. When he arrived he was dismayed with the reality of life there, despair oozed from... Continue Reading →
The power of doing nothing
There's a story about an agency boss who was strolling the creative corridors one day and noticed all the creatives were not actually working but staring out the window, flicking through magazines or playing scrunched-up-paper-bin-basketball. He immediately returned to his desk and had his secretary type a memo. It read : "Dear creatives, please don't... Continue Reading →
The North Pond Hermit™
For thirty years the legend of The North Pond Hermit in central Maine continued to grow. He remained unseen but his presence was felt everywhere. During the night things would go missing from local houses, never money, but food, clothing, books and oddly - BBQ gas canisters. The only evidence left behind was occasional wood... Continue Reading →
Commiting Brandicide.
Imagine this scenario: After ten years of marketing an orange soda drink, say one that has become one of the most famous brands in the world, the patent runs out and another, almost exactly the same, orange soda drink is launched by a rival manufacturer at 25p cheaper a can. The company that manufactures it... Continue Reading →
A couple of weeks ago Adweek ran an article that began thus: The mighty Empire has fallen … thanks to some yogurt. Deutsch/LA's 2011 Super Bowl spot "The Force" for Volkswagen, which enjoyed an astonishing 41-month reign as the most shared ad of all time, has finally been dethroned—by Activia and the World Food Programme's... Continue Reading →
Tony Soprano and the golden age of pharma
Transferring to the pharma division of Adland, leaving behind a moderately successful career in the wacky world of consumer creative (not fired too many times, a couple of awards, made it to CD, and some nice shoots and some excellent lunches) was definitely something I felt ready for, when the job offer came. But I... Continue Reading →
Why we need more primadonnas.
The term 'primadonna' is usually intended to be the ultimate crushing insult for a creative. Worse than being a talentless creative is being a petulant, precious one. It implies a fluffyness, a puffy sleeved temperament and an irrational obsession for all the icing on the cake not the sponge and it's intended to cut right... Continue Reading →
The 3 worst ways to judge creative
From outside the Pharma tent, you could be forgiven for thinking it all just looks like stock-shots and poor typography created by people not talented enough to make it in the big wide consumer world. OK, controversial start. But you and I both know that contrary to perception there is talent in them there hills.... Continue Reading →