Back when I was a young copywriter in 1992 or ’93, I was asked to write the company holiday card. This was no small honor—the place employed six or seven
Continue readingAuthor: The Cranky Creative
Critiquing the creative of a ransom email scam
“Hello! I’m a hacker who cracked your email.” Last week, I received an email from my own email address. It was sent by a purported hacker who claimed to know
Continue readingIncompetent people don’t know they’re incompetent
It’s true. Science has proven what many of us always suspected: Incompetent people don’t know they’re incompetent. Welcome to one of my favorite news stories ever, clipped from my local
Continue readingA Cranky Creative Thanksgiving
This week, I share my thoughts on a recent freelance copywriting assignment and the things I’m thankful for this year . . . Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow creatives! It’s November
Continue readingExploring the effects of positive and negative motivation on worker happiness and productivity
AKA, how to crush the life (and love) out of your employees. I saw a TED Talk recently that got straight to the heart of one of the greatest frustrations
Continue readingCranky Case File: The new VP from Hell
In the spirit of Halloween, this Cranky Case File tells the tale of my first-ever meeting with a new VP of communications—an encounter that might have scared me shitless had I
Continue readingWhen “nice” is not kind: The dark side of workplace niceness culture
On my last day at the direct marketing agency where I had worked for two years, I scrolled through my LinkedIn newsfeed and spotted an article that seemed written just
Continue reading“Should I quit my job?” 16 signs it’s time to move on
If you are so unhappy at work that you find yourself Googling “Should I quit my job?”, then Houston, you have a problem. Here are 16 signs it may be
Continue readingNo, the client is not always right
Can we finally put to rest the tired and pernicious notion that “the client is always right”? It’s not true, and marketing people who work from this mindset are doing
Continue readingThe trouble with (some) freelance copywriters
Why do so many freelance copywriters forget that their job is not to write poetry or win advertising awards, but to sell their clients’ products? Having spent most of my
Continue readingMarketers, put a leash on your legal beagles
Legal departments have an important job to do—but hounding the marketing department is not it. Marketers dogged by overzealous legal input need to stand their ground. 1/28/20: This article has
Continue reading9 ways to keep your creative professionals happy and productive
Creative professionals are some of the most friendly, fun, and hard-working people you will meet. Why, then, are so many creatives so unhappy in their jobs? It’s not the money.
Continue readingAd Review: Let’s talk about those terrible KFC ads
The Cranky Creative cries fowl over some of the most annoying ads on TV. You know the ones. Those loud, obnoxious TV ads featuring Norm MacDonald, Darrell Hammond, and more
Continue readingWhy I started The Cranky Creative blog
My name is Rob and once upon a time, I was a cranky copywriter. Why was I cranky? Because copywriting, as fun and satisfying as the work can be, often
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