Skip to content
The Cranky Creative blog

The Cranky Creative Blog

Truth in Advertising — and Beyond

See and share us on:

  • Facebook
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Home
  • TV Ad Reviews
  • About
  • Contact
  • Hire Me for Copywriting
  • Subscribe for Free
  • A rusted, bent shopping cart overflowing with pixelated digital icons like shattered red hearts, a broken blue verified checkmark, and smiling emojis, set against a background of a crumbling, post-apocalyptic city street.
    March 5, 2026 The Cranky Creative

    Age of decay: the enshittification of everything

    Am I the only one noticing that everything is turning to crap? Crap ads. Crap

    Continue reading
  • Pringles Super Bowl LX ad "Pringleleo" featuring Sabrina Carpenter; a prime example of modern advertising’s decline into absurdism and celebrity worship.
    February 10, 2026 The Cranky Creative

    Bad ads for bad brains: the mutual dumbing down of ads and audiences

    Is the advertising industry dying because creatives are lazy, or because audiences are too dumb

    Continue reading
  • Nuclear explosion symbolizing the explosive fallout from calling out hypocrisy in the 'bold' ad industry
    January 21, 2026 The Cranky Creative

    The creative farce: why the world’s “boldest” thinkers are actually the biggest cowards

    If your “boldness” requires a permission slip from the HR department, you are not a

    Continue reading
  • Image reminiscent of the final scene from the movie Planet of the Apes in which Charles Heston's astronaut character finds the ruined Statue of Liberty on the beach and realizes that mankind has destroyed itself
    October 26, 2025 The Cranky Creative

    How advertising created a nation of entitled assholes

    It’s over. I’m done. For years, I’ve used The Cranky Creative to vent about the

    Continue reading
  • A collage of virtue-signaling ad campaigns that flopped: Bud Light, Pepsi, Jaguar and more
    August 20, 2025 The Cranky Creative

    Virtue, Inc.: How progressive politics hijacked business and marketing

    Marketing used to be about connection — understanding what people wanted and selling it with

    Continue reading
  • 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

    Continue reading
  • 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

    Continue reading
  • The Cranky Creative explores where all the white people are in commercials
    January 5, 2022 The Cranky Creative

    What happened to white people in TV commercials?

    If you only watched TV, you might think that white people (including fumbling, bumbling white

    Continue reading

Cutting through the BS, one blog post at a time

Cranky Creative blog, the trouble with freelance copywriters
August 27, 2018 The Cranky Creative

The 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 reading
marketers leash your legal departments
July 31, 2018 The Cranky Creative

Marketers, 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 reading
Cranky Creative blog post, how to keep professionals happy and productive
July 17, 2018 The Cranky Creative

9 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 reading
Cranky Creative Ad Review: KFC commercials
July 4, 2018 The Cranky Creative

Ad 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 reading
Welcome to the Cranky Creative
July 4, 2018 The Cranky Creative

Why 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

Continue reading

Posts pagination

«Previous Posts 1 … 13 14 15

Today’s Top Posts

  • Age of decay: the enshittification of everything
  • Liberty Mutual's branded idiocy: is this the future of advertising?
  • Subliminal messages in advertising ... and Disney cartoons?
  • 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?

Blog Pages

  • Home
  • TV Ad Reviews
  • About
  • Contact
  • Hire Me for Copywriting
  • Subscribe for Free

Site Policies
Content & Comment Policy
Privacy Policy

© The Cranky Creative. All rights reserved.

Browse Posts by Category

  • Ad Reviews (47)
  • Advertising (59)
  • Books (4)
  • Brand Ethics (7)
  • Branding (3)
  • Copywriting (17)
  • Corporate Deception (8)
  • Cranky Case Files (7)
  • Cranky Critiques (1)
  • Culture War (32)
  • Free Resources (4)
  • General (26)
  • Government Deception (6)
  • Graphic Design (8)
  • Holidays (8)
  • Humor (12)
  • Movies (2)
  • Music (1)
  • News (28)
  • Personal Life (27)
  • Rants (39)
  • Super Bowls (7)
  • Systemic Lies (6)
  • Tips (5)
  • Truth-Seeking (15)
  • Vaccines (5)
WordPress Theme: Wellington by ThemeZee.