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Truth in Advertising — and Beyond

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  • A wide landscape image of a bustling city downtown with pedestrians and cars, where the right side of the frame dissolves into blocky, various-sized pixels in a retro palette of red, blue, green, and orange.
    April 23, 2026 The Cranky Creative

    The 8-bit human: Why 2026 feels lower-resolution than 1979

    What a road-crossing turtle, a breast-pumping nurse, and a house on wheels taught me about

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  • A weathered laptop and a tropical drink on a tiki bar at sunset, representing the "Cranky Creative" office and the advertising apocalypse archive.
    March 19, 2026 The Cranky Creative

    The very best of The Cranky Creative: a guide to the ad world’s decline

    When I launched The Cranky Creative in 2018, I thought I was starting a support

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  • 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

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  • 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

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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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  • 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

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Out of Office, Permanently

The office is officially closed, as the "Great Enstupiding" of the advertising industry is no longer my problem. You can find the best of my work in the archive below. If you are looking for me... I've gone to the beach.

cranky creative ad review of Pepsi chase cars advertising campaign
September 13, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Short Pepsi film shows how obnoxious brands have become

Just when you thought ads and advertising couldn’t get any more obnoxious, here comes Pepsi with a ‘short film’ showing everything that’s wrong with the industry and the culture today.

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Marketing disguised as content - whether a webinar, an ebook, a whitepaper, or a blog post - is one sleazy tactic
July 7, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Marketing disguised as content is sleazy AF

Gah, marketing. The land of “free” consultations that turn into high-pressure sales pitches, “thought-leader” articles written by glorified SEO jockeys, and infographics so cluttered with logos they look like a

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why google is not your friend - the cranky creative blog
June 9, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Why Google is not your friend

(AKA, The Internet is neither free nor fair under Google) Remember when Google felt like a helpful search engine, a gateway to all the world’s knowledge? Now, it’s more of

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Out-of-work job seeker frustrated by a difficult job market
April 9, 2024 The Cranky Creative

The Great Creative Layoff: why finding your next job feels impossible

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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The Cranky Creative reviews Jessica Harper's new book, Jessica Harper and the Culture War Murders
March 13, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Book Review: Jessica Harper and the Culture War Murders

Calling all mystery novel fans! Jessica Harper and the Culture War Murders (The Misadventures of Jessica Harper Book 2) is a fun and funny read for anyone who loves a

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Humblebrag definition from Merriam-Webster dictionary
March 4, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Mastering the LinkedIn humblebrag: my journey to social media stardom

The following is an actual humblebrag I tongue-in-cheek posted on LinkedIn — dedicated to the LinkedIn “thought leaders,” “rockstars” and “gurus” whose humblebrag posts inspire me to, well, keep scrolling

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A young black girl in a business suit prepares for a job interview
February 19, 2024 The Cranky Creative

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

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NFL football fans playing a drinking game with Super Bowl LVIII ads
January 30, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Million-dollar mind control: why ‘your favorite Super Bowl ad’ does not exist

Pass the chips, hold the Kool-Aid. This Super Bowl, The Cranky Creative is serving up some red-pill hors d’oeuvres. Plus: The ultimate Super Bowl ad drinking game! Super Bowl LVIII

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The Cranky Creative sits down with The Daily Telegraph to talk about why today's ads are so bad
January 9, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Why TV ads are so bad: Cranky sits down with The Daily Telegraph

Last week, I was contacted by Stephen Armstrong, a journalist for The Daily Telegraph who wanted to speak with me about the quality of today’s TV commercials as Netflix, Amazon,

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Chevy's new Christmas ad, A Holiday to Remember, Shamelessly Exploits Alzheimer's Syndrome
December 23, 2023 The Cranky Creative

Merry Christmas? Chevy plays the Alzheimer’s card in viral holiday ad

Earlier this month, Chevy set the world alight with a “must-see” five-minute ad titled “A Holiday to Remember.” Billed as “heartwarming” and “a tear-jerker,” the ad garnered rave reviews from

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Godzilla Minus One, the Cranky movie review
December 10, 2023 The Cranky Creative

Godzilla: Minus One stomps Hollywood, gives film lovers reason to cheer

No mere monster movie, “Godzilla: Minus One” treats audiences to more heart and humanity than just about any film this year. Go see it as soon as you can. Spoiler-free

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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?
  • My short-lived career as a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier
  • What happened to white people in TV commercials?
  • Yes, the Gillette Venus Pubic Hair and Skin razor ad goes (down) there
  • Subliminal messages in advertising ... and Disney cartoons?
  • So dumb, it hurts: the 'Trust Your Home to Andersen' Ad Review

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