Jr. Strategy

"There’s a smile in the mind that goes on, through that one spotlight shining."

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:33:23 -0400

““There’s a smile in the mind that goes on, through that one spotlight shining.””

- A CD waxes poetic during :30 film briefing. Quite lovely.

Nonprofit advertising: Host a Homeless Banner

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 19:30:02 -0500

Nonprofit advertising: Host a Homeless Banner:

One of my favorite banner campaigns from the last year, I love how this work for Stockholms Stadsmission asks people to give what they can without badgering or begging. The results show that good creative can generate unthinkable impact, with almost no budget, for a worthy cause.

"…Chew on one thinker - writer, artist, activist, role model - you really love….Then find..."

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:31:12 -0500

““…Chew on one thinker - writer, artist, activist, role model - you really love….Then find three people that thinker loved….Climb up the tree as far as you can go. Once you build your tree, it’s time to start your own branch.”

- Austin Kleon, Steal Like An Artist

What I learned from the superbowl this year: Confetti magnifies...

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:35:49 -0500

What I learned from the superbowl this year: Confetti magnifies whatever emotion you’re having X100.

I…am not sure how I feel about this ad for cervical cancer...

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:58:38 -0500

I…am not sure how I feel about this ad for cervical cancer research fundraising. You?

"Louis C.K. on eating pressure and providing an alternative to The Man"

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 17:03:12 -0400

"Louis C.K. on eating pressure and providing an alternative to The Man" :

I started reading this article because I thought it would provide some interesting cultural insights for our competitive fast food blog. And that wasn’t, exactly, right. But I’m really glad I read it.

Louy CK has some great stuff to say about his goodwill model for ticket sales, the down economy, and how he basically does his part through karma. He also talks about starting out the way you want to, and sticking with your creative vision. Great read.

"I tended to do anything as long as it felt like an adventure, and to stop when it felt like work...."

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:21:55 -0400

“I tended to do anything as long as it felt like an adventure, and to stop when it felt like work. Which meant that life, did not feel like work.”

- Niel Gaiman’s Address to the University of the Arts 2012

I’m writing an entry for the Chiats. It’s...

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:21:22 -0400

I’m writing an entry for the Chiats.

It’s difficult. It’s fucking, really hard. But at some point, you break through the glass pane keeping you from the brilliance of what you want to say. And then someone turns on the brights and your brilliance is like, a horrible mutant with fingernails sticking out all over its body. And you need to fix it up. There’s no right way to post-rationalize your mutant brilliance. But it must be done. And to everyone’s satisfaction. Put a bow on it. Take it through the car wash. Dress it up like Don Draper—anything.

After getting feedback on my first draft, my planning director told me how writing awards entries now affects how he writes his briefs. “What’s the Effie line, here?” Uh huh. I thought. Right, even for fast food. ‘It’s a chicken Tenders Sandwich’. Super strategically satisfying. “You know, like ‘Guys hate choosing between sausage and bacon. That could win an Effie.” “What.” “Yeah, totally. That’s a deep cultural insight.”

I work on a fast food brand. It’s simple. The demographic is simple. The objective is simple. I don’t find the day to day strategy particularly…stimulating. But now I realize that, well, I’m just not taking liberties with it. I’m not thinking Effies. And you know what, you can. Every day when you sit down to write you’re either being crushed by so-called reality, or opening the portal to planner fantasy land. Which one do you think will produce better work?

Happy and inventive or sad and poetic? Two kinds of creativity.

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:11:00 -0400

In a creative field, it’s crucial to let yourself experience a range of emotions, neither grinding away every day…or imbibing the whole beer fridge.

This just in [well, as of two months and a lot of research ago]: Happy, relaxed people are more likely to innovate, while those who are a little sad have more persistent creative grit.

Great insights on creativity and the human brain revealed in this episode of Fresh Air, and Imagine author, Jonah Lehrer.

Smart. from adteachings: This super-clever bus shelter poster...

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:49:00 -0400

Smart. from

adteachings:

This super-clever bus shelter poster for an all-night McDonald’s only makes sense at night.

"What’s wrong with us? I think we’re just junkies for things that are fun or interesting...."

Wed, 16 May 2012 05:08:44 -0400

“What’s wrong with us? I think we’re just junkies for things that are fun or interesting. And sometimes it works, but most of the time it makes us really sad.”

"How come all the strategists are hung over?"

Thu, 10 May 2012 13:47:32 -0400

“How come all the strategists are hung over?”

- Brand Manager

Only half of your brief, or insight, or deck is on paper. The other half is delivered in your voice...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:48:19 -0400

Only half of your brief, or insight, or deck is on paper. The other half is delivered in your voice over; the accompanying story.

"Strategy + Attitude. Strattitude. Boom."

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:29:20 -0400

“Strategy + Attitude.
Strattitude. Boom.”

- Flaunt it if you got it, ladies and gents.

"Oh, you’re a Republican at 3,000 feet."

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:41:11 -0400

“Oh, you’re a Republican at 3,000 feet.”

- My boss, on flying with clients’ private corporate jet

A bun keeps all good stuff together. Bonus catcher.

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:13:33 -0500

A bun keeps all good stuff together. Bonus catcher.

"How to Ruin Your Life"

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 22:57:40 -0500

I’m not big on re-blogging, or rather, that’s not what I strive to make this blog about. But, after a crazy night in a tricked out minivan with all kinds of treats and temptations under the sun available, meeting people and making new friends in Orange, CA… this advice rings clear as a bell. I think it’s worth sharing. I even think it’s worth living by.

From

milajaroniec (How to ruin your life):

Get stuck. Stay in one place your whole life. Always order vanilla even though the menu is four pages long. Become the type of person who sends back lattes. Save up your money for a plasma TV instead of a plane ticket. Talk a lot about things you know nothing about. Have an affair with someone you don’t even find attractive.

Refuse to forget your ex. Make it impossible for yourself to do anything without remembering that you used to do it with them. Hug your knees under the sheets and think about how safe you felt when they held you at night. Remind yourself daily of how empty you feel. Find new ways to make yourself sad.

Get drunk all the time. Consider no Saturday night, national holiday or extended happy hour complete without a vodka-induced breakdown. Graduate college but keep drinking like you’re still in it. Notice that cheap beer tastes watery and stale when you drink it alone but drink it anyway. Look at old Facebook photos wasted and wonder where everyone went.

Never drink. Never do anything that could potentially be “bad” for you. Treat your body like the temple it is and say no to carbs, yes to wheatgrass, go to bed at ten sharp and turn down cake on your birthday. Take fifteen different dietary supplements. Monitor carefully. Succumb to nothing. Miss out on everything.

Compare yourself constantly, to everyone. Allow the standards of image-obsessed, age-obsessed culture to make you feel decrepit at 25. Scroll through skinny girls on Tumblr feeling wistful and inadequate. Pull at the skin on your hipbones, stomach, and underarms in the mirror. Sigh a lot. Sigh all the time.

Don’t fall in love with anyone or anything. Put an impenetrable wall between yourself and other people. Add a fire-breathing dragon and eight yards of barbed wire. Be suspicious of everyone’s motives. Hold grudges long after you’ve forgotten what for.

Fall in love with everyone and everything. Run after the next best thing like it’s a bus you’re perpetually late for. Throw your heart into every other stranger’s hands and be genuinely surprised to be hurt. Refuse to learn. Refuse to ever learn.

Watching footage of bad qual interviews evokes the same feeling as looking for a parking spot and...

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:13:00 -0500

Watching footage of bad qual interviews evokes the same feeling as looking for a parking spot and only finding those annoying 4/5 spots between cars that are barely too close together.

#strategist sigh

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:24:00 -0500

Strategist: Hey, will you watch this :30 rough and tell me what you think is happening
[I watch it.]
[I tell him.]
Me: Wow, this is really cool! You did it!
Strategist: Did what?
Me: You made an awesome video game spot, like with real emotions! How'd you get [them] to write this!?
Strategist: Uhhh...
Me: ???
Strategist: Well... it's really off-brief.
Me: Oh.
-sigh-

#strategistsigh this is my new thing. get over it.

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:23:00 -0500

#strategistsigh

this is my new thing. get over it.