It’s become a bad joke: One moment, I’m reading a LinkedIn “news” story touting a booming jobs market — and the next, I’m doom-scrolling through endless posts from out-of-work creatives.
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Forced quotas or fair chance? The debate around ‘racial parity’ in hiring
In the current push for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), some businesses are focusing on “racial parity” in their workforce demographics — that is, prioritizing the hiring of people of
Continue readingSad news as The Cranky Creative blog turns four
I’m sorry, Cranky reader. I’m not in the best mood today. My step-father-in-law passed away last week. He’d been diagnosed with lung cancer. Except he didn’t die of lung cancer.
Continue readingConfessions of a cranky creative
In this post, I share a collection of confessions, opinions, and unvarnished random thoughts that may or may not get me in trouble. Enjoy. 1. I was born to do
Continue readingGood, 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 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 readingWhat’s on your work music playlist?
Listening to music at work helps me to focus and find my groove. In this post, I’ll share some of my favorite music genres, artists, songs, and sounds to listen
Continue readingThe Cranky Creative blog turns two
As The Cranky Creative toddles headlong into the Terrible Twos, let’s celebrate by taking a look back at some of this blog’s best and most popular posts of the past
Continue readingSurvival tips for full-time freelancers
I made my first foray into the freelance world in 2010 while working full-time at a job I hated. Copywriting jobs were few and far between where I lived, and
Continue readingAdvertising quotes from the real-life Mad Men
I just finished watching all seven seasons of the hit TV show, “Mad Men,” which takes place in the 1960s at the start of the Golden Age of Advertising. It
Continue readingBusiness buzzwords and corporate jargon I hate
The corporate world runs on business jargon—bullshitty buzzwords that mask the meaning of the things we want to say. Why do so many businesspeople muddle their messages with mush-mouthed words
Continue readingThe Cranky Creative blog turns one
The Cranky Creative blog first lit the pixels of computer screens a year ago on July 4, 2018. Frustrated with the red tape, politics, and backstabbing stupidity that pervades the
Continue readingMeet Flint McGlaughlin, mad marketing genius
In a world where every Tom, Dick, and Jane on the Internet is a self-proclaimed marketing expert, it’s refreshing to see someone share no-BS marketing insights derived from rigorous testing
Continue readingHow video games made me a marketing copywriter
Unofficially, my career as a marketing copywriter started in 1980 when I was 10. Then, as now, I loved video games. I loved the technology—cool-looking plastic boxes that pumped colorful
Continue readingThe company holiday card that never was
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 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
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