July 07, 2011

AC #69 Now Available.

The Thrity Rooms To Hide In Addition.

John and Tug talk with Master Jedi Luke Sullivan about his new book Thirty Rooms To Hide In, creativity and getting out of advertising. It's a great Sunday afternoon chat with almost no cursing and only minorly bothersome mouth sounds.

Give it a listen won't you?

And stay tuned. 'Coming in August 2011: The American Copywriter Reboot.

Posted by John on July 07, 2011 at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: AC News , Advertising , Books , Brave New Marketing , Copywriting , Entertainment , News of the Ad World , Opinion , Podcasting , Pop Culture , The Creative Life , Web/Tech

September 30, 2010

This is one home-erotic blog post

First of all, I need to start working better, harder, faster and stronger to start creating work of this caliber. I mean, cheap sex jokes are one thing, but actually working them into the copy in a meaningful way? Well done, sir. I will say, though, that I'm quite disappointed Mr. Wanket isn't wearing an overcoat in his headshot. That's OK, though. I'm sure he's not wearing any pants.

Also, did anybody else notice that Mr. Wanket's copywriter (aka his right-hand man) felt the need to capitalize "Real Estate Masturbation?" Is that a real term? What does is mean? Can houses arouse themselves to the point of blowing something out of their chimney and shaking uncontrollably?

If there is, I can't find any videos of it on the internet. Too bad, really. That shit sounds HOT.

Posted by Nick Kinney on September 30, 2010 at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Branding , Copywriting

September 20, 2010

A real revolution in social media.

You've probably seen this. I hadn't. This is right up my comedic alley. Best touch? "France likes this." 

Posted by John on September 20, 2010 at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Classics , Consumer Content , Copywriting , Current Affairs , Entertainment , Pop Culture , Social Media , The Creative Life , The real world , Web/Tech

April 09, 2009

Question:

How come nobody ever asks you to hit the ground walking. Seriously, that would be a LOT easier.

I'm just saying.

Posted by Tug McTighe on April 09, 2009 at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Copywriting

August 04, 2008

God. And her agency.

Shoots take you outside from time to time. As golden hour approaches someone will inevitably say, "God is now our gaffer." In other instances, usually upon sight of any given natural wonder, you might hear, "God is one helluva creative director." But in Steffan Postaer's new book, "The Happy Soul Industry" God is a client. A client who needs a wayward ad man to fix her brand. God's brief? "Promote goodness in all its forms." The creative team at fictional Chloe, Night & Wiener pitch the idea of bringing people back to goodness through a campaign that asks one simple question: How Are You?

From the book :

Indeed, it was perhaps the most common question in the world, so mundane it had essentially lost all meaning. Yet, presented in the context of a bus stop ad, something marvelous and unexpected happened: The once rhetorical question became an emotional clarion.

Barry rubbed his whiskers, brightened.  “Everyone says ‘How are you?’ but what if we really meant it?”

Playing on this campaign idea, Postaer has also launched the "How Are You?" blog. A real online confessional for the advertising soul. Postaer is also promoting the book in Chicago and Los Angeles with a little help from the OAAA (who clearly still have some real love this little campaign).

Hmmm. Promoting a book in L.A., eh? Well, there are worse things than selling your soul to Hollywood.

Posted by John on August 04, 2008 at 04:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Books , Brands , Copywriting , Entertainment , Pop Culture , The Creative Life

February 26, 2008

Failed Christmas Tree Air Freshener Scents

Old Man Crotch
Bongwater
Toe Jam
K9 Whiz
Ass Breath
Fumunda Cheese
Urinal Cake
Mardi Gras
Failed Dreams
Hipster (Not to be confused with Sandalwood)
Natty Dread
Jock Strap
Dutch Oven
Owl
Boy Scout Tent
Burnt Hair
Vomit
E Coli
Expired Milk
Dingleberry

Posted by Tug McTighe on February 26, 2008 at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Copywriting

January 30, 2008

Talked to Luke last night.

Tug and I had a great time talking with the one-and-only Luke Sullivan last night. He's more proof that the most talented people in this business are also the most down-to-earth. We talked for about an hour. That's enough for two podcasts. I'll get to work on cutting those right away. Of course, we all know what happens this Sunday. AC was founded on breaking down the Super Bowl spots and we plan to do that again. So, expect to hear the Luke podcasts later on next week. In the meantime, Luke said we could leak a few snippets of the new content from the third edition of "Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This." Enjoy:

Try something naughty. I do not mean do a pee-pee joke. (Oh lordy, please, please . . . no pee-pee jokes. No fart jokes. No scatology. Please, just stop it.)
What I am suggesting here is that you do something naughty. Maybe naughty isn’t the right word. How about controversial? My thesaurus also suggests: devilish, sneaky, disobedient, mischievous, willful, wayward, bad, or recalcitrant. Do something you’re not supposed to do. Break a rule of some kind. Come up with an idea that makes you say, “We can’t do that, can we?” That’s a sign it’s a strong idea. The other question to ask is: “Will somebody talk about this idea if we do it?” Sticking messages into dog poop at the park qualifies, I think, on both counts. It’s a controversial sort of idea somebody might talk about.
Beaming an anti government message onto the side of city hall is naughty.
Airing a free video on a hotel’s adult channel is naughty. Running a small-space ad with a headline “Fur Coat Storage Services” is naughty. Well, it is when you know the rich ladies who called the number got a recorded message from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals about the cruelty of the fur business and how they should “donate” their fur for proper burial. In Warren Berger’s book Hoopla, CP+B’s Alex Bogusky observes, “If you’re about to spend advertising dollars on a campaign and you can’t imagine that anybody is going to write about it or talk about it, you might want to rethink it. It means you probably missed injecting a truth or social tension into it.” A truth. A social tension. Now we’re getting to the nut of it. Think of truth, or social tension, or naughtiness as the bad guy in a movie. Ever notice how the bad guy is usually a movie’s most interesting character? Kids wanna be Darth Vader, not Luke. On Halloween, I’ve never seen anybody wearing a Jamie Lee Curtis mask; it’s always Michael Myers. Bad is good. The bad guy disrupts. He changes things, makes them interesting. Bad means gettin’ some “Bom Chicka Wah Wah” from the Axe Effect or doing things in Vegas that have to stay there. Bad is why the Subservient Chicken is wearing a garter belt. Do something devilish, disobedient, sneaky, mischievous, willful, wayward, bad, or recalcitrant. At every turn of the way, question authority.

Posted by John on January 30, 2008 at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (1)
Categories: AC News , Advertising , Copywriting

January 21, 2008

Jedi American Copywiter: Luke Sullivan

The third edition of "Hey Whipple, Squeeze This" will be hitting the shelves soon. We at American Copywriter are giddy to announce that Master Sullivan himself will be joining Tug and I on an upcoming podcast to talk about what's new in the book, and the strange and wonderful life of an American copywriter. If you read this blog and have not read this book, pre-order it right fucking now.

I can't count how many times I've utilized Luke's wisdom to help sell some work. Anytime I've lost my advertising way or questioned my convictions I've come back to this book. Tug and I are really looking forward to our conversation wth Luke and hope you will, too. Questions? Pose them in the comments here or email us at our new gmail address. You can probably guess what the prefix of that address is. Don't use a dot.

In the meantime, Luke's given us permission to publish a few new snippets from the new edition in this space. Stay tuned.

Posted by John on January 21, 2008 at 08:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: AC News , Copywriting

July 22, 2007

Work that reminds us why we love advertising #1.

Had not seen this Gold Lion winner until last week. Genius. One can only hope to do as well with a full two minutes to communicate an idea. Great concept. Great script. Casting is dynamite. And the direction? So good it can't be fully appreciated until the end. Flat out wonderful. Credit where it's due: Agency: NORDPOL+ HAMBURG Creative Director: Lars Ruehmann Art Director: Bjoern Ruehmann/Joakim Reveman/Matthew Branning Production Company, City: PARANOID PROJECTS, Paris Country: FRANCE 2nd Production Company, City: PARANOID US, Los Angeles Country: USA Director: The Vikings

Thanks to Andrew The Planner

Posted by John on July 22, 2007 at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (3)
Categories: Advertising , Copywriting , Film , Television , The Creative Life

November 17, 2006

All hail the anonymous copywriter #2

We at AC have been remiss recently in recognizing great copy when we find it, and we just found some very tasty stuff from GSD&M in a new ad for BMW's cross-over offering the X3. It's a masterful example of how the "negative" really can sell. If anyone can reveal the copywriter of these words, we're happy to give credit where it is due. In the meantime, we extend a hearty and hail greeting to the author: Great job, you magnificent bastard (that last line is truly inspired). Click on the image to see the full ad. Or just enjoy this bit of the craft:

This is not an SUV.

SUVs are ofttimes lumbering behemoths.
They are neither fleet of foot nor ridged of brain.
They have the grace of a steamroller.

They are a heavyweight in the 12th round.
They are a promise unfulfilled.
Many perspire easily,
and they stumble like a punch-drunk has-been.

Insects bounce off their windshields, unharmed.
Many have the grip of an infant
and lack opposable thumbs.
They are soft and pudgy and easily winded.

SUVs eat the food off your plate when you're not looking.

This is not an SUV.

Update: As noted in the comments by our fine AC readers credits go to Michael Buss, writer/ACD, Mark Peters, AD and Mark Ray, CD.  Cheers.

Posted by John on November 17, 2006 at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Copywriting , Opinion , The Creative Life