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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.

bad-advertising-and-commercials-are-everywhere
May 16, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Hey, advertisers! People hate you, and you deserve it

Tired of junk mail? Of too-loud commercials blasting your ears? How about those full-screen pop-up ads you can’t close until you play an asshole game of “Click the Tiny X

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flint-mcglaughlin-marketing-optimization-quick-win-clinics
April 24, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Meet 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

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unhappy copywriter drinking surrounded by crumpled papers
March 26, 2019 The Cranky Creative

54 percent of copywriters feel lack of respect: UK survey

The United Kingdom’s Direct Marketing Association surveyed 433 British copywriters and found . . . a lot of cranky creatives. See why they’re so unhappy. The 2014 survey—the first and

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flaming bag of porch poop
March 12, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Please, do not “hit me up” on a Friday afternoon

I hate receiving job requests on Fridays. I work hard all week, and by the time Friday rolls around, I just want to see all of my current jobs through

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swarm of honey bees
February 26, 2019 The Cranky Creative

“The Beekeeper’s Secret”

A Very Short Story. Some years ago, I worked for a creative director who regularly organized activities meant to inspire her copywriters and designers and reset our creative brains. One

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odyssey2 video computer game system
January 29, 2019 The Cranky Creative

How 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

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ad review terrible liberty mutual car insurance commercials
January 15, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Liberty Mutual ad review: no safe harbor from bad humor

I hate most TV commercials with the white-hot fire of a thousand suns—so it takes something special to get me riled. Enter Liberty Mutual, the company whose car insurance commercials

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creative people suffer more from anxiety mood disorders
January 7, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Anxiety and creativity: How they’re linked, tips to cope

The Cranky Creative explores the link between creative people and anxiety. Plus, tips for keeping the demons at bay. I jolted awake, gasping for breath. My heart was racing. My

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start 2019 right with wisdom from the pocket pema chodron
December 26, 2018 The Cranky Creative

Start the New Year right with wisdom from Pema Chodron

The Cranky Creative shares life-changing words from someone a lot smarter than he is. Happy New Year, Cranky readers! I’d like to tell you about a book I’ve been reading

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cranky holiday card that never was
December 17, 2018 The Cranky Creative

The 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

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cyber hackers send scam emails to blackmail victims
December 11, 2018 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

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Posts pagination

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Today’s Top Posts

  • Liberty Mutual's branded idiocy: is this the future of advertising?
  • Ad Review: Puma's world's first fully AI-generated ad
  • My short-lived career as a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier
  • Yes, the Gillette Venus Pubic Hair and Skin razor ad goes (down) there
  • What happened to white people in TV commercials?
  • Subliminal messages in advertising ... and Disney cartoons?

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