Hasta La Creative!

Category: Beyond Madison Avenue
Summary: As a freelance copywriter, how do you get business? I get this question a lot, both from clients and creatives alike. For a number of people, the ultimate goal is to work for themselves: their preferred hours, deadlines, and clients. Yes, experienced creatives have options. If the job description boasts “Are you passionate? Do you dream of being published?” it’s not for me and it shouldn’t be for you, either. After 12 years in AdLand…

Category: Beyond Madison Avenue
Summary: Most people don’t realize that we, the people who create advertising, do so for the people who don’t create advertising. Most people who don’t create advertising are probably nice, so we in the business have taken our jobs with a sworn duty to inform…

Category: Beyond Madison Avenue
Summary: One of the many great things about being a copywriter is that you never truly get dealt the same hand twice. I started out writing voice-over copy for realty television programs. I did a lot of it. I became very good at it, but I expanded quickly beyond it, drafting text for window-treatment companies, product-packaging businesses, energy providers, and more.

Category: Beyond Madison Avenue
Summary: While we were totally immersed in the professional advertising industry, we made it a point to keep a connection with the schools and universities within our community. We judged DECA events on the state level, and spoke at colleges about our path from college to career and our hits and misses as a young professional.

We see several professional marketers doing the same, but it takes the initiative of the individual to really build that bridge between AdLand and the academic world.

In reality, there should be no such gap.

The AAA, or American Academy of Advertising, is hosting a conference at the end of the month in Chicago, not only highlighting the fact, but a host more questions and issues we have been asking and reproposing for years.

Category: Beyond Madison Avenue
Summary: There are too many people to please when working in advertising. Lately, I’ve been working with bigger teams, even when I’m not on site. This environment is making me realize that creatives’ jobs are tougher in a way that many others’ aren’t. On any given project, an advertising team includes a variety of people from diverse disciplines. From account people to CDs, ACDs, designers, yourself, of course — and let’s not forget the client side.

Category: Beyond Madison Avenue
Summary: We have all heard about the massive product recall Honda and Mazda have announced, declaring that its Takata air bag inflators can actually cause damaging results.

Yes, when your airbag can send dangerous shards of metal along with the bag, perhaps it is time to start to warn more consumers about it.

Honda is taking the right course. Reuters is reporting that starting March 16 Honda will begin a massive advocacy campaign urging its consumers to get their cars checked to see if their airbag needs some serious fixing. We hope that this kind of advertising also boosts the positive…

Category: Beyond Madison Avenue
Summary: Where brands come from can sometimes provide a very interesting and telling story. In fact, many brands like to either emphasize it if the origin is a great story, or downplay it if the origin story is not so great.

Let’s go through a couple.

First, Dell has the origin story of Michael Dell working in PC help. He decided to start building computers because he thought he could build better ones than the ones out there. Apple started because there seemed to be a need for better computers and nobody in Jobs’ day really saw the vision…

Category: Beyond Madison Avenue
Summary: Many people are blaming advertising for the obesity epidemic across the well-developed nations. The United States has a “big” problem with obesity, and our sister nation, Great Britain, has the highest childhood obesity rate in Western Europe.

With well-developed nations comes well-oiled, corporate machines. Is advertising to blame for the rise in obesity?

Simply put: no. But you’re reading this article, so you know that. Though we believe that those advocates of “be who you are” can be a little much, we do think that a balance can be found. As a gym regular who’s studying to be a personal trainer, we see the benefits of being…

WPP, the world’s biggest advertising company, has submitted a bid for a majority stake in Tesco’s Dunnhumby customer data unit, as it expands its data and analytics businesses, a person familiar with the matter said.

The person asked not to be named as the process isn’t public. Spokesmen for WPP and Tesco declined to comment.

A deal would give WPP access to Dunnhumby’s information on almost 1 billion consumers worldwide, and to analysis tools that help companies set prices, choose products and target promotions. Dunnhumby’s clients include Procter & Gamble, General Mills and Coca-Cola. WPP last month also bought a stake in researcher ComScore.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

San Francisco-based shop Mekanism continues its ongoing “It’s On Us” campaign for The White House, created to address the very serious issue of sexual assault on college campuses. After kicking off the campaign last fall with two spots including a celeb-driven one featuring the likes of Jon Hamm, Common and President Obama himself, the parties involved have launched the next phase in the form of print/outdoor.

Here’s the first, which plays on New York’s “if you see something, say something” ads:

Most of this chapter of the campaign, however, will be targeted at Spring Breakers in the Texas and South Florida areas. The first spot below targets alcohol abuse while the second addresses the matter of finding safety in numbers at related events:

Meanwhile, last year’s PSAs will continue to air through the month of March at select nationwide theaters, various sporting events including NASCAR races, and arenas including the Verizon Center, Target Center, United Center, and several more.