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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

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  • 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”

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  • 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”

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  • 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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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CRANK·Y

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

freelance writer writing on a laptop at a coffee shop
October 17, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Survival 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

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cranky ad review dennis quaid for esurance
September 24, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Esurance commercials with Dennis Quaid

Remember Erin, the pink-haired secret agent who starred in the first Esurance TV commercials? Alas, some people liked the character a little too much and the company was forced to

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my favorite advertising quotes from david ogilvy and other advertising men
September 9, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Advertising 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

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rob placing wedding ring on bride's finger
August 19, 2019 The Cranky Creative

The Cranky Creative ties the knot

I wrote the most important copy of my life in July 2004. I was responding to an online personals ad posted by the woman who is now my wife. We

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the cranky creative reviews liberty mutual's new truth tellers ads including zoltar
July 29, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Liberty Mutual Ad Review: Zoltar, bad actors, and other dumb ideas

Liberty Mutual’s “Truth Tellers” ads are back, and they’re as bizarre and unfunny as ever. Let’s look at the four new car insurance commercials we’ll all be muting with extreme

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three young women trimming bushes in schick hydro silk trimstyle razor tv commercial
July 25, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Schick Hydro Silk TrimStyle “trimming bushes”

Schick’s “trimming the bushes” TV commercial for its Hydro Silk TrimStyle women’s razor debuted in 2015, raising eyebrows and sparking controversy across the ad world. Schick received a fair few

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business buzzwords and corporate jargon i hate
July 18, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Business 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

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the cranky creative blog turns 1 year old on july 5
July 1, 2019 The Cranky Creative

The 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

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ad review allstate mayhem what tv commercial
June 19, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Allstate. Mayhem. WHAT?

“Mayhem” is the character that creates mischief and, er, mayhem in all those Allstate insurance TV commercials. Mayhem is also what nearly happens in my bedroom at 2 a.m. when

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chevy blazer tv commercial showing real people
June 11, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Chevy’s hilariously bad Real People ads

Chevy’s “Real People” commercials have been around for years, but I’ve been fortunate enough to dodge them—at least until last Tuesday when I found myself a captive audience in a

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liberty-mutual-limu-emu-tv-commercials-are-lame-o
May 30, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Liberty Mutual’s LiMu Emu is Lame-O

I’m no fan of Liberty Mutual TV commercials, having savaged the company’s awful “Truth Tellers” ads in January. But soon after, the company rolled out a new campaign. “LiMu Emu

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Today’s Top Posts

  • Liberty Mutual's branded idiocy: is this the future of advertising?
  • What happened to white people in TV commercials?
  • Subliminal messages in advertising ... and Disney cartoons?
  • My short-lived career as a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier
  • The real reasons people hate TV commercials
  • Ad Review: Puma's world's first fully AI-generated ad

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