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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.

publix-back-to-school-with-publix-tv-commercial
August 23, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: ‘Back to School with Publix’ is a heart-tugging failure

I’m going to take some heat for this one. “Back to School with Publix” is a good-looking, heartwarming ad. But it’s not a good ad, despite all of the positive

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Still frame from Chewy's Chatty Pets: Joy TV commercial
August 17, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Chewy’s ‘Chatty Pets: Joy’ truly is

I promise, Cranky readers, I’ll get the cats out of my system soon. But not before I review “Chewy Chatty Pets: Joy,” a 30-second TV commercial from pet-product online retailer

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Ladybug the cute gray tabby relaxes in some grass
August 11, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Florida update #2: A kitty named Ladybug [UPDATE: She’s ours!]

We heard a soft jingle and turned toward the sound. Out of nowhere, a little gray tabby came sauntering over to us in all her striped glory. “That’s Ladybug,” said

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Blackness
July 6, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Sad 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.

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The Cranky Creative has some confessions to share. Oh, yes he does.
June 26, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Confessions 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

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The Cranky Creative blog's new home in Florida
June 16, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Florida update #1: So far, so friendly

We’d just rolled into town — my wife and I, our two cats, and little else — when we stopped into Wal-Mart to buy a few items for our new

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a bright yellow softball inside a softball glove
May 25, 2022 The Cranky Creative

What a high school softball game taught me about life, people, and winning on my own

Let me tell you about the time I “broke the Matrix” in high school gym class, and what that taught me about life and living well. I remember it was

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The blue sky and white sands of Indian Rocks Beach in Florida overlooking the Gulf of Mexico
May 19, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Son of a beach! The Cranky Creative moves to Florida

I fell in love with Florida somewhere between Tampa International Airport’s main terminal and the Alamo Rent A Car. At that time — about eight years ago — the walk

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The Cranky Creative reviews the HomeGoods TV commercial, A Love Story with slogan, Go Finding.
April 26, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: HomeGoods ‘Love Story’ commercial knows its audience

Personally, I don’t much like “A Love Story,” the 30-second TV commercial for HomeGoods. Watching it, I can’t help but think of the scene from that movie, As Good As

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The Cranky Creative reviews Progressive's Bundles TV commercial
April 17, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Progressive’s ‘Bundles’ commercial does creative right

Progressive‘s iconic “Flo” character debuted in 2008. And while the cast of characters in the company’s commercials has expanded since then to include names like Jamie and Dr. Rick, it’s

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Cranky Creative Ad Review: Jeremy's Razors: The Greatest Commercial Ever
March 29, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Jeremy’s Razors commercial takes on ‘woke’ Harry’s and Gillette

Are Americans growing tired of woke companies and brands? The Daily Wire thinks so. Witness this amazing commercial for Jeremy’s Razors — a non-woke alternative to shaving products from Harry’s

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Posts pagination

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Today’s Top Posts

  • My short-lived career as a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier
  • Liberty Mutual's branded idiocy: is this the future of advertising?
  • Subliminal messages in advertising ... and Disney cartoons?
  • What happened to white people in TV commercials?
  • Yes, the Gillette Venus Pubic Hair and Skin razor ad goes (down) there
  • The Great Creative Layoff: why finding your next job feels impossible

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