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At Last, Truth in Advertising

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  • Puma's AI-generated ad puts the advertising industry on notice
    April 15, 2025 The Cranky Creative

    Ad Review: Puma’s world’s first fully AI-generated ad

    Sporting goods brand Puma released the first-ever AI-generated commercial on March 18, 2025 — and

    Continue reading
  • A new-breed marketer doing the work of 10 specialists using AI apps for unprecedented productivity
    March 26, 2025 The Cranky Creative

    Vibe marketing: the future is here, your job is not

    If you’re a marketer still plotting campaigns (and your career) like it’s the “old world”

    Continue reading
  • Liberty Mutual's branded idiocy: the future of advertising?
    February 6, 2025 The Cranky Creative

    Liberty Mutual’s branded idiocy: is this the future of advertising?

    I admit, I didn’t used to “get” Liberty Mutual TV commercials. From the intelligence-insulting “Truth-Teller”

    Continue reading
  • robot from the movie terminator 2 attacking humans (and taking their jobs?)
    June 7, 2023 The Cranky Creative

    Is AI coming to take your job? Yeah, it probably is.

    The explosive growth of generative AI (artificial intelligence) programs such as ChatGPT and Midjourney is

    Continue reading
  • In 1957, researchers experimented to see if subliminal messages could be used to increase sales of popcorn and Coca-Cola
    May 8, 2023 The Cranky Creative

    Subliminal messages in advertising … and Disney cartoons?

    A phallic shadow. The word “SEX” etched in ice. The American public has been bombarded

    Continue reading
  • Today's blog post talks about the top 10 reasons why people hate TV commercials
    February 28, 2023 The Cranky Creative

    The real reasons people hate TV commercials

    Oh, advertisers. It didn’t have to be this way. Once upon a time, consumers might

    Continue reading

CRANK·Y

[kran-kee] adjective
ill-tempered; irritable; grouchy
These stupid TV commercials are making me cranky.

Puma's AI-generated ad puts the advertising industry on notice
April 15, 2025 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Puma’s world’s first fully AI-generated ad

Sporting goods brand Puma released the first-ever AI-generated commercial on March 18, 2025 — and the ad world will never be the same. Partnering with digital agency Monks, Puma produced

Continue reading
A new-breed marketer doing the work of 10 specialists using AI apps for unprecedented productivity
March 26, 2025 The Cranky Creative

Vibe marketing: the future is here, your job is not

If you’re a marketer still plotting campaigns (and your career) like it’s the “old world” — say, six months back — then buckle up, because you’re about to get blindsided.

Continue reading
Liberty Mutual's branded idiocy: the future of advertising?
February 6, 2025 The Cranky Creative

Liberty Mutual’s branded idiocy: is this the future of advertising?

I admit, I didn’t used to “get” Liberty Mutual TV commercials. From the intelligence-insulting “Truth-Teller” ads, to LiMu Emu & Doug, to Zoltar and “Liberty Bibberty” and the utterly braindead

Continue reading
robot from the movie terminator 2 attacking humans (and taking their jobs?)
June 7, 2023 The Cranky Creative

Is AI coming to take your job? Yeah, it probably is.

The explosive growth of generative AI (artificial intelligence) programs such as ChatGPT and Midjourney is about to change the world — and put a metric shit-ton of people, including marketing

Continue reading
In 1957, researchers experimented to see if subliminal messages could be used to increase sales of popcorn and Coca-Cola
May 8, 2023 The Cranky Creative

Subliminal messages in advertising … and Disney cartoons?

A phallic shadow. The word “SEX” etched in ice. The American public has been bombarded with subliminal messages for decades, and the practice continues to this day. In 1957, researchers

Continue reading
Today's blog post talks about the top 10 reasons why people hate TV commercials
February 28, 2023 The Cranky Creative

The real reasons people hate TV commercials

Oh, advertisers. It didn’t have to be this way. Once upon a time, consumers might have liked to hear from you. They might have eagerly awaited your TV commercials to

Continue reading
As AI gets smarter, humans are getting dumber
March 4, 2025 The Cranky Creative

As AI gets smarter, its use is making us dumber

With the release of xAI’s Grok 3 AI model and Microsoft’s announcement of a new quantum computing processor based on a novel state of matter, the world is about to

Continue reading
Joe Rogan interviews Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience
January 23, 2025 The Cranky Creative

Facebook firing its ‘fact checkers’ is a win for truth

I’ve seen a lot of emotional posts from people upset that Meta has put an end to its “fact checking” on Facebook. What they don’t realize is that Facebook’s “fact

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January 20, 2025 The Cranky Creative

When AI rewrites your future: my career pivot so far UPDATED

When my boss asked me back in 2018 whether I, a marketing copywriter, was concerned about AI, I scoffed. Little did I know that a few years later, AI would

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This vintage print ad from Bell Telephone connects with heartfelt human emotion
January 12, 2025 The Cranky Creative

Remember when ads had heart? A Bell Telephone masterpiece

There’s something missing from advertising today. Amidst all the snarky voiceovers, fast cuts, dumb jokes, and conspicuously diverse actors, there’s an emptiness. Today’s ads, with their glossy visuals and overproduced

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The Cranky Creative blog: Why better advertising is worth fighting for
January 5, 2025 The Cranky Creative

We can’t let them win: why better ads are worth fighting for

I’ve been feeling a little defeated lately, to the point where I considered quitting the blog. Ever since Google changed its search algorithm to shortchange small blogs like mine in

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Photo of a dumpster fire
December 15, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Creativity without accountability is killing the ad industry

The advertising industry as we know it is dying, and for good reason. Just … not the reason many ad people would have you believe. Over the past year, I

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Rollback! Walmart abandons DEI and other woke policies
November 26, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Rollback: Walmart abandons DEI and other ‘woke’ policies

BREAKING: In a seismic shift that will send shockwaves throughout corporate America, retail giant Walmart said on Monday that it will roll back a number of diversity, equity, and inclusion

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Car company Jaguar ‘Bud Lights’ itself with new woke ad
November 25, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Jaguar ‘Bud Lights’ itself with ridiculous new ad

With its controversial new ad campaign, “Copy Nothing,” British luxury car company Jaguar becomes the latest brand to sacrifice its reputation and sales at the altar of “modern audiences.” I

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Today’s Top Posts

  • My short-lived career as a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier
  • Liberty Mutual's branded idiocy: is this the future of advertising?
  • Subliminal messages in advertising ... and Disney cartoons?
  • The real reasons people hate TV commercials
  • What happened to white people in TV commercials?
  • Yes, the Gillette Venus Pubic Hair and Skin razor ad goes (down) there

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