What's In the Head Full of Ideas?

A little-known fact about the history of advertising.

2009-12-09T09:34:00.001-08:00

Remember that Bernbach ad? 'Lemon'?

It's a turning point in advertising history.

It's the first to use a 'concept' as opposed to just 'design.'

It's the first to take a risk on an unflattering message and its inherent interest value.

But it's also a turning point in the history of agency practice.

When agencies starting making ads, like 1,000,000 years ago (or the late 1800s, whichever came first), the copywriter did it all.

He (and it was a he) strategized.

He wrote.

He designed.

He presented.

As ads got more ornate, agencies hired design specialists to lay out copy.

The writer wrote. That writer sent their copy downstairs. The designer downstairs laid it out. And sent it back upstairs. Never the two met.

Bill Bernbach thought, "Why don't these two fine employees actually work together? Maybe the visual can work with the copy instead of merely facilitating it?"

And he did it. He locked them in a room. Together. The first creative team was invented. And what did we get? The best advertising in history.

Don't separate your copy from your design. It's a wasted opportunity. And it's advertising from 1,000,000 years ago.

Holden Caufield: Phony. Advertising: Not.

2009-06-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

Holden Caufield is a phony.

Can you believe it? Kids now think that he should just 'take his Prozac and get over it.'

What's the problem? The original story of an alienated teenager is now being alienated itself.

The article reports that experts believe that the creation of teen culture has made it less likely for teens themselves to be alienated. It used to be that 15 year-olds were constantly choosing between youth and adulthood. Between 'the carousel and the Wicker Bar' or cotton candy and alcohol. Kids who shirked youth culture for adulthood felt alienated.

No more. They no longer need to search for an identity. Young adult culture gives them one.

They identify with The Gossip Girls. With Sony Playstations. Sadly, with Grand Theft Auto. And advertising has helped create this.

Is it wrong to segment audiences for target? Is it wrong to create new cultural definitions? I don't have an answer. But I do think that every time advertising tries to create something new, we essentially kill off something old to replace it.

This Might Get Awesome

2009-06-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

Tyson is a knockout.

2009-06-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing the movie Tyson, James Toback's intensely personal documentary on one of the scariest men in entertainment.

It's perhaps one of the best documentaries I've seen in the last five years.

Forget the fact that I've never seem some of its storytelling techniques used before. The split-screen editing, narration layering (it has WONDERFUL sound editing), complete lack of diegetic sound, and shot selection are category-leading. Mike Tyson is at once both narrator and subject. Sometimes he speaks to an interviewer. Sometimes directly to the audience. Sometimes he's shot long and looks well off-camera.

But the movie is great because of its honesty in depicting Mike Tyson as he truly is. This is, like all of us, a man of contradictions. He tries to be gentle, but in his words, the world keeps dragging him back into rage. He speaks with love about one person--his trainer, Constantine D'Amato, and the rest of the world can go straight to hell. His articulations of fighting in the ring are at one time very much in the nature of sports psychology, but also incredibly vicious. This documentary gives us all a taste of the inner workings of a man whom the media and public have already had kangaroo court. I used to be scared of him. Now I fear and pity him simultaneously.

Go see it. See it to steal storytelling techniques from it. See it because it's good.

Middle America Is Not Twitter America

2009-05-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

I'm bookending today's blog post with quotes from David Ogilvy:

"If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think."

I just spent the weekend driving through Colorado. It's not Middle America, but it's close. Our rural towns are similar to Iowa's rural towns (It's not the state you're in that matters, it's the state of mind you're in).

These are the towns that make up most of America.

They're the towns that elect our Presidents.

They're the towns that keep Wal-Mart on top.

And they're the towns that listen to our advertising.

If you or your brand are going to be big in this world--really big--you need to get these people to listen to you.

I tell you this: They don't Twitter. They don't Flickr. They don't Blackberry.

They watch TV. They still read a newspaper. They go on online to look for recipes and how to overhaul a starter motor.

So when you're writing good advertising, remember. Social media is only good advertising if you know your customers use social media. So know your customers. And treat them accordingly. It's like Ogilvy said: "The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife."

Social Media FAIL

2009-05-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

The studies are in.

Social media is ubiquitous on the Internet. And it's a marketing FUBAR. Nobody knows how to use it.

The Ad Contrarian called it. He believes that TV ain't dead. And I, for one, land squarely in his camp.

Did you see the gold-Clio-award winning TV campaign for Crest toothpaste? It's, as an old portfolio school professor would say, 'gold'. Sheer genius. Simple. I could watch it again and again and again. And when it comes on TV as I'm watching all those shows that I DO watch but never ADMIT to watching, I'll stop what I'm doing and listen in. Kinda reminds me of the Tide campaign last year entitled 'Silence the Stain.'

Want good creative? Think of a simple proposition. Then produce it in an entertaining way. People will seek it out. Even if it's not on Facebook.

The Next Short, Imagined Monologue

2009-05-20T07:41:00.001-07:00

Round 2 of Short, Imagined Monologues of a Jewish Copywriter:

My Head in the Egotist

2009-05-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

Check out this article (hopefully first in a series) now published in Denver's advertising blog, The Denver Egotist:

The Short, Imagined Monologue of a Jewish Copywriter.

The Business Marketing Association Seconds My Head

2009-05-13T14:57:00.000-07:00

My Head Full of Ideas has officially taken a second place at the Business Marketing Association 'Gold Key' awards honoring the best in business-to-business marketing.

I owe lots to Jeff Mason and Shaw Nielsen of Hero Design Studio as well as Dan Weaver of Creativegale.

Look for more ideas from the head coming soon.

Creative that actually works.

2009-03-19T11:24:00.001-07:00

So this was interesting piece of essaying that came across my Facebook the other day. it's called "The Psychology of Passive Barriers: Why Your Friends Don’t Save Money, Eat Healthier, or Clean Their Garages". Allow me to sum up:

> The difference between what people KNOW they should do and what they DO is large.

> The reasons they keep from doing things are called barriers, either active or passive.

> Active barriers are physical things, like freezing your credit card in a block of ice to keep you from using it.

> Passive barriers are more insidious: they're perceived extra efforts that affect your behavior. For example, the author cites that researchers discovered that a great way to promote protected-sex behaviors is to get women to carry condoms in their purses. Many women refuse to do this, because of the passive barrier that they don't want to be perceived at slutty.

Here's where we can use creative advertising.

Perhaps people don't use your product because they're faced with a passive barrier. Maybe they don't want to switch to your bank because of the effort involved in changing their checks and account numbers. But as advertisers, we can come up with new ways to remove those barriers. Let's make it as easy as possible to solve the consumer's passive barrier problems before they meet them. Ostensibly, we can remove any excuse they have for not using the product.

We're not here to scream messages to people. We're here to solve their problems.

The Best Ads. The Best Ads?

2009-03-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

According to this, MRI Starch has named the top 10 print ads based on its 'engagement score.' The score is a percentage of readers who notice an ad and the percentage who read at least half of it.

If you look at the ads, you'll notice a couple of old standard rules of print advertising:

1) Food shots always work.

2) Product shots are winners.

3) Headlines are better when they're eight words or less.

4) Benefit advertising is compelling. (These are ads that answer the question: "What's in it for the consumer?")

I don't disagree with these rules. What I disagree with is the characterization of 'engagement' as the best benchmark of print ad success. Shouldn't print ads be measured more by functions of what action they illicit? It's not if a viewer reads the whole thing--it's if they feel compelled to act afterward. And even then, they need to feel compelled to act in the proper way.

Further, as you'll see if you read the article, these are not the most creative ads. They're not new. Shouldn't advertising stand out? These are like any ad in any magazine anywhere. Who knows the circumstances of 'engagement' that they succeeded under.

Ahh-the quintessential problem of advertising. It's like the quote of famous client John Wannamaker: "I always know half my ad budget is wasted. I just don't know which half."

Ad Spending is Down. Good News!

2009-03-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

Yep. This just in .

Nielsen has reported today that U.S. advertising for the full year 2008 was down 2.6% compared to the full year 2007. You are so not shocked. "Given the state of the U.S. economy, a decline in ad spending was expected, but it's not as bad as it could have been," Annie Touliatos, vice president of sales development for Nielsen's ad tracking service, said in a statement.

So that's the bad news. Here's the good news.

Less ad spending means more opportunity for creative.

You see, creative makes your media buy work harder. Creative needs less media time because it gets more media attention. The reason Tom Shane ads work is not because they're good, but because there's a ton of them. If they were good, there wouldn't need to be a ton of them. And media spending would be less.

I hate to say it, media buyers, but less dollars for you means more dollars for good creative.

Creative Toolkit

2009-03-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

Everyone thinks creativity is like magic, but really it's not. There are a ton of tips and tricks (and ideas) that you can use to come up with creative ideas. Every week I'll be profiling one for you to try on your own when you need an idea fast.

OPPOSITES

There is something intrinsically interesting about saying the opposite of a conventional belief and then making an argument for it. It can be the basis of a good headline. Isn't your attention piqued by statements like these?

VEGETARIANS MAKE THE BEST HAM SANDWICHES.

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T BUY ONE OF OUR REFRIGERATORS.

MAKING ROCKET SCIENCE LOOK EASY.

LOSING MONEY MAY BE THE MOST FUN YOU EVER HAVE.

The key, of course, is to then make a compelling argument for the opposite and in turn make the point you wanted to but. But it's an easy way to be interesting.

Stay tuned for another great idea next week.

Everybody needs a little green and some paper these days.

2009-03-06T09:40:00.000-08:00

Green and paper. Combine them and you've got a winner. That's why you should pay attention to the goings-on of the Denver communications industry.

1) St. Patrick's Day is coming down the pike. History tells us that the Irish ALWAYS celebrate with nothing more than a family-friendly parade. So it's time for all of us to get involved and put our Irish on. And here's how:

The New Denver Ad Club is entering a float in the annual Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade. How cool is that? It’s a tribute to the most famous Irish advertising, Lucky Charms. And we need your help with the decorating.

Pure Brand Communications is putting on a nice little float-building affair this weekend. It's both days and happening AT the agency on 2360 Lawrence. Once the float is built, we're inviting your kids to accompany it down the parade route on the big day. We've even got costumes for them.

For more information, email Gregg Bergan (VP of the Ad Club) at gbergan@pure-brand.com.

2) The Art Director's Club of Denver is putting on their annual Paper Fashion Show on March. Wondering what that is? Don't. Just look at the photos of past events here.

It's on March 19th at Mile High Station is promises to be simply fabulous. Want more info? Click here.

My Head Has Hit the Street

2009-02-26T16:27:00.000-08:00

My Head Full of Ideas is now officially everywhere. As this post goes to press, 30 ad agencies, design studios and interactive shops have now officially heard about My Head.

The campaign was simple. A belly-band and bookmark were designed by the good folks at Hero and were then put in and around used books. Those books were hand-delivered to creative directors, bigwigs and mucketymucks at all the major communications shops around town. Here's what they got:

Were you included? Did you want to be? It's easy. Just email my head at jordan@myheadfullofideas.com. I'll hand-deliver one to you, too. You can even put in a book request.

The Beginning of the Beginning

2009-02-18T10:30:00.001-08:00

Welcome, everyone, to the official launch of My Head Full of Ideas. Glad you could make it.

I'm going to start this blog with a little discussion about the ace designers at Hero Design Studio . Not only are they responsible for the design of this new site, but they're quickly becoming one of the design studios to watch in Denver.

Few shops in town can both win awards at the Denver 50 AND have the sophistication to successfully market a super-complex client like ARCADIS--one of the largest international engineering firms in the country. Started by local designer and former bike racer Jeff Mason and flannel-wearing, Fallon-educated, hockey-personified Dan Lorch, Hero is definitely getting it right. Check 'em out.

And let the Head Full of Ideas begin.

Let's get to the work.

2008-08-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

Jackson Hole Poster Campaign
Click on each slide to enlarge.

DTN Agrimarketing Business-to-Business. This ad was trying to sell media space on DTN, a computerized farmer's almanac.

VIRAL

What would happen if the Amish went to work at an ad agency? Watch and learn in this self-promotion piece.

RADIO

Good Times Burgers and Frozen Custard
"Big Daddy"

Bellco Credit Union
"Cookies"

Fortune Valley Hotel and Casino
"Arrrrrrr"

Who thought Fortune Valley Hotel and Casino would appeal to a homosexual crowd? We did, with these ads placed in Out Front, Denver's alternative weekly for alternative lifestyles. Sexy? Sexy!

Direct mail campaign for the Special Olympics Tax Check-off program. By checking a blank on your tax form, you can donate a portion of your refund to the Special Olympics. This was a merit finalist in the Denver 50.

Metro Brokers campaign. This appeared in high school sports programs. Our challenge was to connect high school sports to home sales.

TV, INTEGRATED

Premier Members Federal Credit Union
The client asked for a testimonial campaign. We wanted to make it more than a typical talking-head testimonial...

...so we integrated those TV spots with a website allowing users to post what they love about Premier to enter a contest to become the next face on TV. You may also visit youbelongatpremier.com

INTERACTIVE

Penterra Plaza
An upscale new residential development in the Denver Tech Center.
penterraplaza.com

The Peloton
A new residential development in Boulder.
thepeloton.com