The creative brief. It’s the cornerstone of any successful marketing campaign. And yet, many marketers don’t use it effectively — or at all. Well, now there’s no excuse. Download this
Continue readingAuthor: The Cranky Creative
Good, fast, cheap. Pick two.
Creative professionals are talented people. But all too often, we copywriters, graphic designers, animators, videographers, and composers are asked (*cough cough* required) to do the impossible. Worse, we are expected
Continue readingLIVE-BLOG: Super Bowl LVI commercials
Heads up, Cranky readers! Tune in at 6 p.m. Eastern Time as I live-blog all of the commercials from Super Bowl LVI. Watch the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los
Continue readingWhy I love graphic designers (and why your brand needs a good one)
Plus, do’s and don’ts of working with your graphic designer. Light some candles, put on some music, and slip into something comfortable, Cranky readers. This Valentine’s Day, I’m sharing with
Continue readingSling TV’s ‘falling waitress’ commercial is not funny
Oh, Sling. I like your live TV streaming service, I really do. But your brand’s TV commercials . . . Holy shit, your commercials. What on earth made you think
Continue readingShould you think twice before becoming a copywriter?
A few weeks ago, while researching career stats for a client project, I stumbled across an article at The Balance titled “Think Twice Before Becoming a Copywriter.” The article subhead: “For
Continue readingLet’s talk about forced diversity in TV commercials
If you only watched TV, you might think that white people (including fumbling, bumbling white males) are a minority in the United States. Depending on the commercial break, you might
Continue readingA personal update and a heartfelt thank-you to end 2021
What to write for my last Cranky post of 2021? Rather than end the year lambasting another dopey TV commercial, how about we spend some time getting personal? Come, Dear
Continue readingWhy the hell is everything so broken?
Is anyone else experiencing a complete and total breakdown of everything that used to “just work”? I’m talking about placing an online order, or getting a car repair, or speaking
Continue readingReview: Marcus by Goldman Sachs ads can moron
“You can money,” says the slogan for this commercial for Goldman Sachs. A good first clue that the rest of the campaign is a disaster, too. There she was —
Continue readingHow copywriters are like doctors, lawyers, psychics(!) and more
As I started out as a young copywriter in the 1990s, one of my biggest influences was Ivan Levison, a freelance copywriter in California. He published a lead-generation e-newsletter called
Continue readingA series of unfortunate logo designs
A logo is a symbol or other design created to visually represent a company or organization. It is a key part of any brand as it’s meant to communicate the
Continue readingMy top 3 TV commercials of all time
A Cranky reader named Brian wrote in to ask, “What are your top three favorite TV commercials?” Honestly, the question caught me off guard — I don’t like many commercials,
Continue readingThe Cranky Creative blog turns three
In 2011, a manager asked me if I had a blog, or if I’d ever considered writing one. “No,” I snorted dismissively. “I don’t have anything to say.” My, how
Continue readingThanks, Captain Obvious! Hotels.com ads are awful
Adweek has just reported that agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky, creators of the “Captain Obvious” character and campaigns for Hotels.com, has lost the account. Why? Take a look at the
Continue readingBrands have no business pushing COVID vaccines
Whether you are looking to inform a loved one about the dangers of COVID-19 “vaccines” or you have just started to ask questions yourself, welcome. This page will be an
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