The Cranky Creative, Author at The Cranky Creative Blog

satirical sad advertising executive shedding a tear

June 13, 2020 The Cranky Creative

‘Adapt or die’: the advertising industry faces painful change

Posh parties. Black-tie award shows. First-class flights and three-martini lunches. As ad budgets shrink, brands move capabilities in-house, and more people realize that the emperor has no clothes, advertising agencies

Progressive insurance company's new motorcycle mascot, Motaur

June 4, 2020 The Cranky Creative

Progressive’s ‘Motaur’ ads are too clever by half

Racial tensions are rising as American cities burn. Meanwhile, fear of an over-hyped virus ravages the globe. This breaking news is brought to you by Progressive Insurance and Motaur, the

May 21, 2020 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Tonal TV commercial shows and tells

In a sea of terrible TV commercials, this ad for Tonal digital fitness equipment caught my eye—not for shouting at me or blithering like an idiot to get my attention,

diet dr. pepper's character lil sweet rewards people with the sweet taste of diet dr. pepper

April 29, 2020 The Cranky Creative

Dr. Pepper’s ‘Sweet One’ ads hit a sour note

Every time I see one of those Diet Dr. Pepper TV commercials with the twerpy little glam rocker and his annoying high-pitched voice, I wonder: Who is this guy? Am

screen shot from the all people are tax people superbowl tv commercial

April 16, 2020 The Cranky Creative

TurboTax ad review: When creative trumps strategy

Working in advertising is fun, especially as a creative. We copywriters and graphic designers get paid to think up clever ways to communicate a brand’s messages. The problem comes when

Work-at-home office with desktop computer and phone

March 27, 2020 The Cranky Creative

No-B.S. tips for working from home

Now that work from home (WFH) has become mandatory for anyone with a smart boss or half a brain, The Cranky Creative offers some no-B.S. tips to help you stay

empty grocery store shelves from panic buying during coronavirus pandemic

March 12, 2020 The Cranky Creative

Coronavirus pandemic: don’t panic, but be prepared

June 14, 2021: Be sure to see this post, “Brands have no business pushing COVID-19 vaccines,” to find out why these injections may not be safe or effective — despite

obnoxious boy yelling into a microphone to get attention

February 28, 2020 The Cranky Creative

Ear-ritating: How TV commercials misuse sound to get our attention

Sound is a powerful tool in advertising. Its ability to draw attention and evoke emotion is proven to affect sales. So why, then, do so many advertising soundtracks seem designed

football referee making no good hand signal

February 4, 2020 The Cranky Creative

No good: Super Bowl LIV commercials miss the mark

On Sunday night, Super Bowl advertisers spent $5.6 million for 30 seconds to make people go “ha!” or “aww”—only to have their costly TV commercials forgotten a moment later. The

marketers, stop letting compliance people rewrite your marketing copy

January 28, 2020 The Cranky Creative

Marketers, stop letting compliance departments write your sales copy

Compliance departments have an important job to do—but rewriting the company’s marketing copy is not it. Marketing departments dogged by overzealous compliance feedback need to stand their ground—not only for

messy aftermath of a New Year's Eve party

January 15, 2020 The Cranky Creative

New Year’s resolutions for TV advertisers

2019 was a banner year for bad TV commercials. Between Liberty Mutual’s bird-brained LiMu Emu commercials, Allstate’s “Mayhem” antics and Chevy’s not-so-real “Real People” ads, viewers had a lot of