And then you fall in love all over again.

Minutes ago, literally minutes ago, Luke Sullivan released an excerpt from the next edition of Hey Whipple (due out Feb 2012).

I read it. Re-read it. Then re-read it again. And I couldn't help but wish there was more.

The passage helped me remember how excited I was the first time I picked up Whipple. Lapping up page after page then doing it all over again.

If you don't have it already stop reading this and go buy it. It's probably THE book that takes someone from "interested in advertising" to "obsessed with advertising".

What makes the new excerpt special is that it is better than the book. He has added more about how much work it is going to be to make something truly special.

I forget where I read this metaphor, but what you get for your trouble is like the difference between a regular drinking glass, a good one, and Waterford crystal. A flick of your finger on the first yields a “tung.” A wine glass might give you a “tang.” But only Waterford will give you that unmistakable “ting.”

Tung. Tang. Ting. Don’t stop until you get to ting.

So pass this post on to any friends who might be interested in advertising. Print off a copy and put it up on your wall. Keep it as a constant reminder of what you are trying to achieve.

Because if you want to do something special or memorable or remarkable you're going to have to shoot for Ting. Every single time. And reading books like Luke's will help out tremendously.

Note: I don't like being derivative and repost stuff from other blogs all the time but this was too good to pass up.

Weekly Linkly

Yes, yes do come inside. You'll catch a cold out there. Don't be silly, you're not a bother. There's plenty of links to go around!

And the videos! Oh lord don't let me forget the videos.

Fascinating new movie from Errol Morris

It's like minority report meets some sort of hand dancing. <-- very descriptive, I know.

Journey to the Claussen Pickles

YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL

Welcome to the Ad Caulk campfire. Tonight, Jeff is going to tell you one of his favorite stories. So everyone gather round and let's learn something together.

This story comes from a professor of mine. She told first to me when I stopped by her office, then to the entire class as a general anecdote. I thought it was brilliant and something everyone should hear.

This is the most important piece of advice my mother ever told me.
It's incredibly important for everyone to hear because it changes you life.
It certainly changed the way I looked at my life.
I was 14 years old and she said to me,
'Honey, you're a great girl. But you're not special.'
She said that I would have do things that make me special.
But there was nothing about me at the base level that made me different from anyone else.
That's why I worked hard.
Got my PHD.
And do everything I do today
Because I'm not special.
But i have done some great and special things.

And you know what...none of you are special either

Now the lesson here isn't that no one can ever be special. People are noticed for doing extraordinary things every day.

But your expectation shouldn't be that everyone sees you as a special individual. Chances are, unless I have the people who read this pegged totally wrong, you're not a creative rock star. You're someone who has decent ideas but no one is tearing your book from the shelves of Amazon. (You're not there, yet, but keep working hard.) Someone a bit like myself.

The real benefit of this viewpoint comes from inside yourself. You stop expecting people to notice, and notice when they do.

NOTE: I told this story to a friend and she absolutely hated it. That's why I knew it was perfect for a post here. You might get offended too. If you do leave it in the comments or shoot me an email.

Also, are there campfires on the beach in Cannes? Because If so I totally want in. (sorry for bringing Cannes into this...)

Weekly Linkly

You just keep coming back. Don't you?

It's pinball. No it's a skatepark. No it's pinball. No it's a skatepark. Let's agree it's a little bit of both.

The AdVerve episode that WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Well maybe not, but it is one of their best episodes so far. Take a spare hour and listen to Episode 74: McGamification.

Kurt Vonnegut on Being Funny

Recently, I finished reading Kurt Vonnegut's short book 'Man Without A Country'.

In it he outlines many things. How his faith in America is wavering. The shapes of popular stories. Oil being the worst addiction the world has ever known. Being a worse writer than Abraham Lincoln. And those parts are very good. I encourage you to read the entire book. (It's only 150 pages or so)

But that's not what interested me the most. What interested me the most was the section late in the book where he talked about humor.

Now, most people like to believe the are funny. Even more like to think they they can do or say funny things.

But humor, real humor, isn't that easy. This is the reason why the entire field of stand up comedy exists. If it was easy everyone would do it. But being funny over and over again takes time and energy.

The lesson I took from this is that being funny is going to take longer than doing something serious. Not a bad thing but it is something to consider when writing or coming up with anything you happen to be making. So read his thoughts, let them marinade in your minds, if you disagree or take away something different let me know.

It's damn hard to make jokes work. In Cat's Cradle, for instance, there are these very short chapters. Each one of them represents one day's work, and each one is a joke. If I were writing about a tragic situation, it wouldn't be necessary to time it to make sure the thing works. You can't really misfire with a tragic scene. It's bound to be moving if all the right elements are present. But a joke is like building a mousetrap from scratch. You have to work pretty hard to make the thing snap when it is supposed to snap.

Weekly Linkly

Let me be your shepard to all the good the internet has to offer.

Stories have shapes? You betcha.

Nike's 'The Pool'

Just for fun. 'We Rise At Daybreak' from BBC's The Trip

Want To Improve Your Work? Start Thinking It's Terrible.

You see that? Did you see that? Because I watched it and fell in love with this movie. And that's before I've even seen the full thing!

The passion drips off of the film. The excitement of the beats, the excitement in the interviews, the delight on 9th wonder's face. It is infectious.

There was one line that stuck out to me more than any others.

I made my first beat in 98'. I thought it was terrible.

That awareness of his skills when he was just starting out is incredible. That feeling that he wasn't quite good enough but the drive to make beat after beat until he got good. Ira Glass is another person who has gotten successful using this method.

Sometimes like 9th Wonder and Glass and countless other you don't have the proper training. You aren't given the right tools to execute your vision perfectly. But you still have a vision. And some people will stop at nothing to see that vision through.

Your work may suck for a while. A while longer than you hope for. But with enough time and enough effort it will get better.

Note: I am a professed beat fanatic. There are times that I don't even notice lyrics because the beats are so good. That might be another reason I enjoyed this trailer so much.

Richard Feynman

I've written about Richard Feynman before, but i never understood how incredibly special he was. Here's a video of him explaining Psychics.

via. TED

Now I'm lousy at science. Therefore I have always 'hated' it. Really I didn't pay it much attention because I was told I was lousy at it.

He managed to get me extremely interested in it. More importantly, he had me nodding along in understanding. He explained it in a way that makes it so easy to grasp on an elementary level.

Never for a second did I feel like I was being talked down to. Instead, I felt like I was being talked to.

He's not lecturing, he's not pandering he is talking about science in the way that makes the most sense. Which is pretty incredible. When's the last time you had someone explain science to you in terms like "shake" and "jiggling"?

As a matter of fact when's the last time you remember anyone describing anything like this? There was a time when ads, not all ads but the good ones, were written like this. Some still are, to an extent.

But if we should be a little less worried about being academics about the products and start being salespeople. A salesperson understands exactly why someone needs a product and how to communicate that to them.

Which is really what Feynman does in this video. He sells science. And he is nothing short of ecstatic to be doing it.

When Interviewing George Lois It's Best Not To Bring Up "Mad Men"

One of the things I've always admired about George Lois' writing and manner of speach is his matter of fact-ness. He thinks he is right and there is not a damn thing anyone can do about it.

There are days I wish I could be as confident about my work as he is. Though, George has earned it. He helped save MTV and launched Tommy Hifiger. Not to mention he's left quite a few stamps on culture.

I also think his commentary on the state of advertising in the Vice article is spot on.

It's pretty remarkable to see his thoughts on Advertising today because he was part of DDB when it was changing the way we do ads forever. Some people find his style abrasive but I really enjoy it.

It's a short article and I think you'll be pretty interested in it. It also might give you ideas for ways to do things differently. After reading the article I checked out Lois' site and that's a man who LOVED using celebrities in his commercials. But the best part is reading his explanations of his campaigns along the sides of each of the ads.

Enjoy!

George Lois in Vice

George Lois' Site