Advertising

We all have some rotten clients to deal with. Some of us more than others. Before you boil your head in oil from the frustration, take a look at the first of this two-part series aimed at your clients. It's a top ten list that should help them become easier to deal with. And, with any luck, you'll get better work out of it. Perhaps send them this link anonymously. I won't tell...

What do you do if the CD in your agency is consistently pushing only his or her own ideas? What outlet do you have if your creative leader is having trouble seeing great ideas that didn't come from their own sketch pad? It's not an easy dilemma, but we discuss the exit strategies here.

...ideally, the person who came up with this horrendous TV show.

Have you seen it yet? The two-part season opener was a searing indictment of modern corporate politics, and you can read in the full review right here.

What I will say is this. It's like watching a train wreck. You know you shouldn't be watching it. You know you are not going to see anything that will leave you feeling good. And yet, you can't look away.

Banksy recently stated that advertisers have taken advantage of people for too long. It seems we are very much the bad guys, and the general public is weak, innocent and should start standing up for themselves. Here's the thing. As someone who spends much of his time spray painting his own messages across wals around the world, is he not the pot calling the kettle black? You can read his full statement, and my rebuttal, right here. And when you've read it, come back and answer this poll.

We all have certain words or phrases that, when used in our presence, make us want to throw something out of the window. Often, it's the person saying them. Of course, we never do, but that doesn't stop us hating these phrases with a passion. A special two-part series examines the TOP 10 phrases that make your eyes twitch and keep your therpaists in a career. Read them here.

The Top 10 Irritating Phrases from Agency Life - PART ONE: Are Any Of These Annoyances Giving You Bile?

The Top 10 Irritating Phrases from Agency Life - PART TWO: The Revenge of the Pointless Jargon

Other than a love of great food? Well, they are the focus of two articles based on entertainment, and its relationship to advertising. From great advice based on the disheveled detective, to a case study in horrendousness from Kitchen Nightmares, there's a lot to learn. Also featured, teaser trailers, comedians, and great documentaries. It's an entertainment special, and you can read it all here.

What, exactly?

A bad attitude? A bizarre owner? A horrible reputation?

Well, it has all those fine qualities and more, but it also has something killer. It has buzz.

The web is all about Amy's Baking Company right now. If they were a big name brand like Toyota or Apple, that would be bad. Really bad. But they're not. They're unknown. Or at least, they were. Now, they're a household name. And that is something they can build on. They have the makings of a success. Read more about this phenomenon right here.

Mike Jeffries, CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, made some comments in 2006 that certainly made his fashion brand sound nothing short of uber-elitist. Now, those comments are coming back to haunt him and his brand. And it looks like they will do some permanent damage.

It's one thing to be honest. But anyone from the UK will know what happened to Ratner's jewelers when their CEO, Gerald Ratner himself, made the following comment:

"We also do cut-glass sherry decanters complete with six glasses on a silver-plated tray that your butler can serve you drinks on, all for £4.95. People say, "How can you sell this for such a low price?", I say, "because it's total crap."

Ratner's lost over $500 million in value, which spelled the end for the chain. It changed its name to the Signet Group, but the damage was done.

Now, although Abercrombie is not a purveyor of cheap clothing, the CEO has committed the cardinal sin of advertising. He ignored his brand. There is nothing wrong with being honest, but really, his opinions of "fat people" and "ugly people" are not opinions you want tied to your multi-million dollar empire.

People are donating Abercrombie clothes to Goodwill left and right. Sales are dropping. Soon, A&F will stand for Assholes and Fascists. You can read more about this right here. But in a word...disaster.

Juggling. We all do it on a daily basis.  But if the creative director is not up to scratch, you will see some people juggling 15 balls, while others are throwing one against the wall in a scene from Cool Hand Luke. How does this happen? Check it out, right here.

We've recently looked at the 1940s and 1950s, very briefly, to see what advertising was doing at that time, and how it reflected culture and news events. Now, it's the turn of the 1960s. And thankfully, the advent of DDB made the sixties a much better decade for truly memorable advertising. Read more here.