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 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

    Continue reading
  • 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

    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

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.

Cover art and author photo for the book, Jessica Harper Is Not Woke
July 16, 2023 The Cranky Creative

Book Review: Jessica Harper Is Not Woke pushes back against knee-taking, statue-toppling, man-hating madness

It was bound to happen: the Left are spilling their blue hair dye over Jessica Harper Is Not Woke, “the first anti-woke novel” by new author Jessica Harper. But don’t

Continue reading
Nick Cage running from an exploding building
June 29, 2023 The Cranky Creative

Why I’m calling it quits after 30 years of marketing copywriting

Well, I’m doing it. After nearly 32 years in marketing and copywriting, I am moving on. It’s a strange feeling, leaving a job I’ve done for so long. Interestingly, I

Continue reading
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 about to change the world — and put a metric shit-ton of people, including marketing

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 with subliminal messages for decades, and the practice continues to this day. In 1957, researchers

Continue reading
The Gay Pride flag flying against a blue sky
April 11, 2023 The Cranky Creative

This is why companies are pushing LGBTQ+

Everywhere you look, brands are pushing LGBTQ+ messaging. Think they’re just virtue signaling? No — they are being financially incentivized by the country’s top three investment companies — BlackRock, Vanguard,

Continue reading
Bud Light partners with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney to promote March Madness contest and celebrate 365 days of being a girl
April 7, 2023 The Cranky Creative

Did Bud Light just commit brand suicide?

No, it’s not a joke. On April 1, trans TikTok “star” Dylan Mulvaney posted an Instagram video announcing a partnership with Anheuser-Busch to promote the company’s March Madness contest. In

Continue reading
Cranky incompetent management, managers
March 30, 2023 The Cranky Creative

Cranky Case File: When management trips balls

The first Cranky Case File recounts a true-life story of management groupthink and how it backfired with hilarious results. Once upon a time, as an in-house copywriter for a public

Continue reading
Hershey's Canada hires trans-rights activist to celebrate International Women's Day
March 5, 2023 The Cranky Creative

Candy culture wars: Hershey’s hires trans-rights activist for International Women’s Day

Another day, another candy company melts down in the culture war. This time it’s Hershey’s Canada, who has hired a trans-rights activist to celebrate International Women’s Day. The new “HER

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 have liked to hear from you. They might have eagerly awaited your TV commercials to

Continue reading
How I got scammed out of $75 and a free 30-day trial from Vidgo
February 22, 2023 The Cranky Creative

For live TV streaming, don’t go Vidgo

Consumer alert: Are you a cable TV cord-cutter looking for a reliable and affordable live TV streaming service? After getting scammed out of $75 and a free 30-day trial, I

Continue reading
LIVE-BLOG: Super Bowl LVII TV Commercials
February 8, 2023 The Cranky Creative

LIVE-BLOG: Super Bowl LVII commercials

Tune in TONIGHT at 6 p.m. ET as The Cranky Creative live-blogs all of the commercials from Super Bowl LVII! There’ll be thrills, chills, and no doubt some spills as

Continue reading

Posts pagination

«Previous Posts 1 … 4 5 6 7 8 … 15 Next Posts»

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

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 (48)
  • Advertising (60)
  • 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 (28)
  • Government Deception (6)
  • Graphic Design (8)
  • Holidays (8)
  • Humor (12)
  • Movies (2)
  • Music (1)
  • News (28)
  • Personal Life (28)
  • Rants (39)
  • Super Bowls (7)
  • Systemic Lies (6)
  • Tips (5)
  • Truth-Seeking (15)
  • Vaccines (5)
WordPress Theme: Wellington by ThemeZee.