Ad Caulk

Welcome back. I hope you've had time enough to digest the monstrous number of posts I presented in the first part of this. Though 2012 is already upon us I have the best posts from the second half of 2011 to share. That's not a bad thing. Learning from the best that the past had to offer isn't a terrible affliction. Besides, good ideas tend to get repeated year after year (like this excellent Ira Glass video) enjoy part 2.

First, make rice - Seth Godin
This is included because it is the one post that has been stuck in my mind since I read it. Seriously. It's short but imparts a great lesson about really learning a craft. Building a strong foundation before we are entranced by shiny technology. (Fun fact "sushi" does not mean raw fish, it means "with rice." So the next time somebody says "I don't like sushi, I hate fish," you have full permission to smack them upside the head. Or verbally, whichever you prefer.)

What's your short cut? - Vinny Warren
This is great to read if you feel like you're just spinning your wheels. Instead of digging yourself out of a rut it's important to think about what you really want to do, and how to do that. It worked for Vinny.

Unfortunately... - David Oakley
Losing sucks. Especially losing a pitch you feel you deserved to win. This post is about adding some perspective (a theme of 2011) to the loss. If you don't get hired by an agency, and someone you know who does completely different work does, it's not always you. But this shouldn't be mistaken as a cop-out.

Whatever you're making, make it way better than it has to be. - Luke Sullivan
I liked this piece so much that I blogged about it the day it came out. I think we are nearing the release date for the next edition of Hey Whipple (which includes this piece) so if you've worn out the binding on yours you should wait on a copy to come out. Simply put this is a really good post.

The Twitter - mtlb
AKA talk how people talk. If you're not being authentic in your own stream how can anybody trust you? Cool video of Penn Gillette talking about how to communicate with people.

Speaking Of Shyness - Russell Davies
Honestly this doesn't have much to do with advertising. However, it did have a whole lot to do with understanding myself. If you think you may be every the tiniest bit introverted you should read it.

Infidelity, Inertia and Unsegmented Markets: The Impossibility of 'Alienating' Consumers And Why Marketingland Needs To Man Up - Martin Weigel
Settle in for a very, very, very long read. Every bit of it is important because it champions the idea that good, interesting work is worth alienating a few people. It's about combating the bad. You don't want to be bad, do you?

Fail Upwards and On Losing Your Marbles - Dave Trott
Two of the most memorable posts Dave put out last year. I am almost certain I posted about them here before and I know that I tweeted them. Needless to say, Dave's blogs are worth reading. But if you're stubborn at least read these two. (The first taste is always free)

Thank you all for reading again. Best of luck in 2012 and do keep reading. There's only better stuff to come. Promise. And, as always, leave something in the comments if you have something to say.

I've been watching a lot of HGTV's House Hunters recently. Too much if we're being completely honest. And there's something I've noticed a few times in recent episodes.

There are times the realtor will gush about a feature of the house, talk about how it's perfect. Then, once he's done the big reveal, the clients express their dissatisfaction. This will always result in a cut to the realtor talking to camera about how he felt he "hit this one out of the park" and how it was a "great kitchen/bath/ect."

For some reason the relator can't understand that his taste is not everyone's taste. That not all customers want what the best practices for the market says they want.

This same problem presents itself in marketing. Just because we find something interesting (although a decent barometer) doesn't mean the person watching/reading/using the ad will. It's important to get inside the head of the person we're talking to instead of assume they'll like something because we do.

This is old wisdom but the more I see examples of it not being followed the more it needs to be brought up. The person you're selling to probably isn't you.

I caught the middle of a Stephen Colbert interview on NPR yesterday. It was the re-run of an interview from early June where Colbert talked about his role in the Stephen Sondheim* play "Company." The portion of interview below was really interesting to me.

Colbert: You open up and use muscles that you don't think of as malleable, and you spend a lot of time thinking about your soft palate and opening up your sinuses, and it is almost impossible for someone to explain why that's important, how you can turn your head into a bell. But that's what - at least for me, that's what we kept on working on is trying to get the things like resonance and projection and relaxation and just breathing.

And then you have to forget all of it and sing, or as - my voice coach is Liz Caplan, and Liz would say - we would work and work and work. We worked for months. And then she said: Oh, just sing stupid. It was just a few days before we went. She goes: Just sing stupid.

Just sing like you don't - like we've never discussed any of this and just make every mistake you can think of but just sing the song with all your heart. And that was the first breakthrough I had, about a week before I had to do it. The way I sang it completely changed.

And I'm incredibly grateful to her for encouraging me to sing stupid, which was really just to sing with feeling and don't think about everything you're doing, a little less thinking, a little more feeling, I'm just quoting Momma.

I think writing stupid or creating stupid could also be beneficial. Adding a bit of rawness to a field that is usually so polished and disaffecting. A moment of thrashing and making something that will actually resonate is better than the most deeply researched work. Besides, polish can be added latter, emotion can't. And things come together in the execution.

So when you're thinking—think stupid.

*Funny how SS has cropped up twice in my life recently.

Compiling this list last year was a relative breeze. My RSS obsession had yet to hit its peak and I only had half a year to contend with. Then 2011 hit and I did a bit more reading (to the tune of nearly 40,000 blog posts if my Google Reader is to be believed). Unsurprisingly there were a lot of notable things I consider worth sharing. So many, in fact, that I've had to split them in two. This list contains the first half of 2010 and a subsequent one next week will have the latter half. That was it doesn't take 40 years for you to get through (and it breaks it up a bit for me). Enjoy!

My Favourite Writing Series - Sell! Sell! Blog
An enlightening look into some very successful copywriter's favorite work. I always love series like this because it exposes me to great work and interesting thoughts from people I respect. It's cheating a bit, because the posts span this entire year, but they're all worth reading.

Can I See Your Book? - David Oakley
A classic example of how being the right kind of creative in a scary situation can pay dividends. Even if it goes against conventional wisdom.

Scowling In The Dark: The Other Side of Blogging - Angela Natividad
Few posts I read last year got me as emotional as this one. At the time it came out it spoke to the situation I was in and helped me understand my own situation better. A must read for anyone who hasn't already.

Raising Your Hand - George Tannenbaum
A lot can be said for putting in more effort than anyone else. It's the smart thing to do if you care about moving forward in your career.

An Argument for Intelligent Interactive Advertising From 1972 - AdPulp
The more I learn about advertising the more it seems that popular wisdom today is just old thoughts that get found again. It's a strange version of Nonvelty, where people assume an idea is new simply because it is new to them.

Sweating Ad Copy Like 'Mad Men' - David Droga
The worth of a copywriter is sometimes questioned by people who proclaim the web is a visual medium. David Droga chose to squelch those thoughts by publishing an editorial in The Wall Street Journal for everyone to see, not just those who read the trade mags.

Musings On America's Obsession With Winning. - Luke Sullivan
A great post about adding perspective to your life. A first job may not be the one you're dying for, but it's a chance. Seize it.

Traditional vs Digital. It's all Advertising. Everybody hates it. - Vinny Warren
THIS is how you write an manifesto. Defining who you are while giving hope to others. A truly awesome post.

Nice bit of copy, son - Steve Henry
The idea of creative theft is pretty heated but Steve's opinion is that it's not so bad, done the right way. Blatantly stealing something and co-opting culture are two related but vastly different concepts, he helps you walk the line between them.

"Who the f*ck is Wayne Gretzky?" - Make The Logo Bigger
The post that got me watching Kevin Smith's "Too Fat For 40." It's a documentary about many things but mostly about the evolution of someone's creative process. Read the post then watch the film on Netflix.

Jack of All Trades - Ben Kay
A simple list of the what skills you need to possess to be a creative worth your salt. Proficiency in Microsoft Word not included. Also check out the post 'Standing On The Shoulders of Absolutely Fucking Nobody.' It's a bit discouraging, but a great kick in the ass.

Creativity Has Nothing To Do With It, What We Like Has Nothing To Do With It, and We Couldn't Even Get Arrested - Dave Trott
I've already written about Dave's blogs at length. These are three standout posts from the early part of last year.

AdVerve 74 McGamification - Bill Green and Angela Natividad
The podcast I've listened to over and over and over again. In typical AdVerve style it's snarky and enlightening. Listen you some!

If Advertising Isn't Driving You Crazy, You're Not Paying Attention - The Ad Contrarian
A catutionary tale of what you could face should you make it into this crazy business. Great read. Funny. Tragic. Everything you'd expect from TAC.

Stay tuned for part 2 next week! Thanks for being loyal readers this year.

Dan Wieden's addition to The Copy Book was a mere 3 sentences long. Among those is perhaps my favorite piece of advice in any edition:

If you can't write something startling don't write anything at all.

This has to be one of the greatest advertising talks I've seen. It is the embodiment of George Lois. His personality, his work, his edge. Not only is this great design advice, it's advice for anyone in advertising.

One of the things I love about Lois is how sure he is, and how sure he wants all of us to be. He attests multiple times that things he has done are the best in the world. Campaigns that were the best received in all history, campaigns that launched brands or people over night, campaigns that sold out all the product in a matter of hours. If he did it it is nothing but the best. He even wants us to know that his school was the best school in all of the country.

But when Lois says it it doesn't feel like bragging. He backs up the talk with solid work and solid stories. Of course not everything he says is 100% true but he sells you on the dream that he is the best art director who ever walked this earth, dammit! It's endearing, and a quality seldom seen among today's ad people.

And, of course, he's right about a lot of things. He's right about being different, pulling out something different, having a big idea is the thing that will set any ad apart. What he represents is a time when advertising was a little less complicated and, perhaps, a little better.

The whole thing is great, but I loved his three rules for design especially:

In a profession that should have no rules, I have three commandments. Three, for all to heed.

One, reject Group Grope. Learn how to use your own head. And don't listen to the bullshitters all around you, and the naysayers.

Two, reject Analysis Paralysis.

Three, to truly produce masterful work, reject Con. Create Icon.

If you can really understand what I just said you can be a great graphic designer. And if you don't understand what I just said, you'll always be a designer.

Thanks to Stan Lee and Sell! Sell! for passing this along.

While it hasn't started snowing yet in Iowa we're looking at a large accumulation of links to take you through the weekend.

• Very excited, and humbled, to be included on Jim Mitchem's list of best Tweets from 2011. And while you're over there you should probably read his piece on creativity and lying.

Ian Tate (W+K) and Faris Yakob (MDC) before they were Faris and Ian. Pretty excellent little interview.

• Dave Trott wrote something about an incredible thing American disabilities offices are doing. He also wrote a great post on perspective and why you shouldn't dwell on the bad bits.

Wonderful tribute to Bil Watterson. I used to read Calvin and Hobbes obsessively and this really brought me back.

• Sell! Sell!'s amazing new print work. Straightforward for Fentimans. Extraordinarily surreal for Drambuie.
  

Seeing a band reproduce a song live, and have it sound great, makes a good song even better. (via)

• "You gave me a valuable gift: you took me seriously." How a letter from Dr. Suess helped inspire an aspiring author/cartoonist.

And drifting. Because it's cool and that's what the internet is about sometimes.

Apparently Creavity doesn't like people sharing their content and this video won't work here. I'll leave up the video to show how silly it looks with that little loading bar. The link to watch it on their site is in the next paragraph.

This is a nice frank discussion on where the best ad talent today is coming from. I watched it a couple of weeks back and have since let it marinate. It's interesting to see how much these CDs and shop owners deemphasized the actual work. They talked a great deal more about having passion and drive. In essence you have to want it more than your competition.

I'm not sure I agree with everything they're saying, but then again who am I? I agree that passion will make someone work harder for you, there's no doubt about that. If someone is motivated because they like you they're going to stay up all night. That's a job that isn't just a paycheck and a stepping stone to bigger, better things.

BUT if you hire really passionate people who have bad work that can also suck. You spend a lot of time teaching people and there are some people out there who simply aren't good* at being agency creatives. I'm talking about writers who can't really write, art directors who can't really art direct (or, more frightening, draw), or planners who can't really plan. Sometimes there are things that people really love that they simply cannot do.

That passion is the most rewarded trait here is still heartwarming to me. There are people who are super passionate, very good but simply have not been given a chance. And it still stands that being passionate about your work will yield the best results. You can feel soulless work just as easily as you can know whether or not your sandwich was half-assed. I applaud these creative leaders stepping up and saying that passion really matters. but I still think they glossed over some points I would have liked to hear about.

Oh well. Guess it's time to draft an email to a few of them. (Only half kidding)

*A fact I hope is not true of myself every time I sit down to a new project.

UPDATE: For the next 5 days "101 Contrarian Ideas" has been deeply discounted to $0.99! There is absolutely no reason you shouldn't buy it THIS INSTANT.

There are a few blogs I really love. I tend to post about them, or repost their thoughts, rather frequently. One of these blogs is Bob Hoffman's The Ad Contrarian.

The Ad Contrarian is a refreshing blog thanks to its honesty. It's aggressive because Bob wants people to wake up to the cold realities that exist in advertising, then overcome them. For years TAC has been available for people across the world. 100% for free. There was even a great free ebook produced for it a couple of years back.

That's not changing. The blog is staying free. That first ebook is staying free. However, TAC has recently released a new ebook called "101 Contrarian Ideas About Advertising" which costs money.

Not much mind you. It's priced at $2.99 so there's a good chance it costs less than the coffee you had this morning. And you get it instantly, which means you don't have to wait to pore over its pixely pages. And, unlike your coffee, you own it for life and can use it over and over. You can't even wear out the spine because it doesn't have one!

The book is a collection of some of his best blog posts from the past 5 years. Brilliant posts, thought provoking posts, post that, again, make you remember why you got into advertising. You might think, "if it's only blog posts why don't I just read them on his blog?"

You could, but for less than three dollars that's not really worth the effort.

Not to mention you get to give back to someone who has provided so much for so many others—for free. Be a mensch and buy his book. You'll be happy you did. I know I am.

...then what are you doing?

Each of his posts take about 5 minutes to read. That's one youtube video less a day. And you'll get a whole lot more out of reading these than watching a youtube video.

Each is thought provoking and, for me at least, a daily reminded of what we're trying to do in advertising. Even if we aren't actually doing it. The last week of posts from him have been especially inspiring.

So you really, really should read his blogs. Some days he posts on his agency blog. Other days he posts on Campaign. Some days he posts on both. Every day he posts it's something worth reading.

And you might consider buying his book* as well. It contains some of his best posts, and I happen to carry it in my backpack wherever I go. It's also available on kindle, if that's more your speed.

*Or if you know any ambitious people in advertising for whom you have not already gotten a present this holiday season.