You shouldn't. Back in the "old days", there was a sacred triangle — the copywriter, art director and the creative director — locked in a room determined to find a concept that best solved the client's campaign, while serving gold to the agency's honor. Except it wasn't really that way... the CD and the copywriter would work out the idea, and then slip their scribbled copy ideas under the door of the AD who would make "pretty pictures" that brought it all to life. I learned pretty early on that as an art director, I wanted more skin the game. So I saw myself as a problem solver — usually, visually — but that didn't mean I couldn't come up with the words... and better yet, the actual concept that was the key. Which also means that as a copywriter, you can come up with the visuals as clearly as you could the copy. Don't limit yourself... and with a bit of AI, you can do it all yourself, right? I knew I shouldn't trust you guys. _ _ _ a little nod to the Ad Professor for being timely about this spec gem that got just a few LIKES.

Just a quickie, this morning... next time you have the ingenious idea to "halve a face" on the side of your brand packaging so that it makes for a bold store shelf presence — be sure it doesn't become an LOL Meme.

Many of you don't recognize the agency Fallon McElligott & Rice. That's because they're just "FALLON" today. But they're the agency that most dramatically changed the ad world from Madison Avenue based, to anywhere in the world based. One of the most pivotable campaigns they worked on was for ROLLING STONE magazine in 1985. They created the "Perception vs. Reality" print campaign that changed how ad buyers thought of a long established "anti-establishment" magazine. Far before the Internet, ad sales were faltering, because agency ad buyers presumed that the "dope smoking hippies" who comprised the majority of Rolling Stone readers weren't the proper audience for higher-ticket brands for cars, jewelry, electronics and fashion. In fact, the fear was that Rolling Stone readers weren't "good capitalists" at all. Unless you were Ben & Jerry's, why would you buy space? Fallon did the research and found that this perception was ill founded. The magazine was attracting all sorts of young urban professionals in major cities across America (yes, Yuppies). The simplicity of Tom McElligott's creative "PERCEPTION vs. REALITY" with singular image graphics by Nancy Rice, effectively capturing the difference, was all it took to get ad sales to shoot up by over 50% in the first year of the campaign. Who says you have to accept the narrative. Can you reform the narrative to your own? What's the fastest way to get recognition of your idea? What will they do with it? Does your idea have enough legs that other media will do your work (for free) on your behalf? Don't start with "no". Ask, "what would it take?" "How clever, provocative or funny does it need to be to go 'viral' — when 'viral' isn't even a thing yet?" This is some of what you can learn from past ad campaigns. Learn your Ad History. 😎

I JUST RAN ACROSS THIS on LINKED IN... He's not wrong... but the key line in his missive is his last, "Learn how they thought, not just how they wrote." We (The Ad Agency) use Madmen as a tool to help attract those that see the glamour and passion behind the world of advertising. It helps to have millions of watchers behind you... but the truth about advertising is the best (in any era) think differently than the rest. They get inside the head of their brands, their prospects, their customers and the rest of the world around them. You shouldn't be a "huckster". The world has always been full of distractions — getting your message out is the trick. THE AD AGENCY is here to help you cultivate your thinking process to better obtain the thoughtful results you hope to achieve.

The more I pay attention to commercials, the more I notice how many car commercials there are—and how they all are generally the same. EXT: Outdoors on a winding [perfectly conditioned] road in the mountains OR Midnight cruise through the city. VO: Two or three sentences about how the relationship between man and machine is only separated by a pure-leather grade steering wheel. DRONE: Car taking a curve TXT: 2026 Car, now only $300,000 and something about 0% APR. ### Maybe it’s because I’m young and dumb, and there’s a formula that always works, but is it possible to make something completely different? Now I’ve seen a few from Buick and Honda that show a more realistic picture of an SUV (look at how many soccer players we can fit in the back!) but I think it’d be fun to push an industry that helped invent modern advertising. Just my thoughts, probably wrong!