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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.

free creative brief template
March 20, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Free marketing creative brief template [Updated for 2022]

The creative brief. It’s the cornerstone of any successful marketing campaign. And yet, many marketers don’t use it effectively — or at all. Well, now there’s no excuse. Download this

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Good, fast, cheap - pick two
March 2, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Good, fast, cheap. Pick two.

Creative professionals are talented people. But all too often, we copywriters, graphic designers, animators, videographers, and composers are asked (*cough cough* required) to do the impossible. Worse, we are expected

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the cranky creative blog live-blogs the commercials from super bowl LVI
February 12, 2022 The Cranky Creative

LIVE-BLOG: Super Bowl LVI commercials

Heads up, Cranky readers! Tune in at 6 p.m. Eastern Time as I live-blog all of the commercials from Super Bowl LVI. Watch the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los

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The Cranky Creative blog expresses its love for graphic designers on Valentine's Day
January 30, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Why I love graphic designers (and why your brand needs a good one)

Plus, do’s and don’ts of working with your graphic designer. Light some candles, put on some music, and slip into something comfortable, Cranky readers. This Valentine’s Day, I’m sharing with

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The Cranky Creative reviews Sling TV's 'falling waitress' commercial
January 19, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Sling TV’s ‘falling waitress’ commercial is not funny

Oh, Sling. I like your live TV streaming service, I really do. But your brand’s TV commercials . . . Holy shit, your commercials. What on earth made you think

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The Cranky Creative. Photo of male copywriter hands typing on a laptop keyboard
January 16, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Should you think twice before becoming a copywriter?

A few weeks ago, while researching career stats for a client project, I stumbled across an article at The Balance titled “Think Twice Before Becoming a Copywriter.” The article subhead: “For

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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 males) are a minority in the United States. Depending on the commercial break, you might

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a cranky update and a heartfelt thank-you to end 2021
December 19, 2021 The Cranky Creative

A personal update and a heartfelt thank-you to end 2021

What to write for my last Cranky post of 2021? Rather than end the year lambasting another dopey TV commercial, how about we spend some time getting personal? Come, Dear

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movie poster for idiocracy showing a destroyed and dumb downtown Detroit
December 5, 2021 The Cranky Creative

Why the hell is everything so broken?

Is anyone else experiencing a complete and total breakdown of everything that used to “just work”? I’m talking about placing an online order, or getting a car repair, or speaking

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The Cranky Creative reviews TV commercials for Marcus by Goldman Sachs
November 18, 2021 The Cranky Creative

Review: Marcus by Goldman Sachs ads can moron

“You can money,” says the slogan for this commercial for Goldman Sachs. A good first clue that the rest of the campaign is a disaster, too. There she was —

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how copywriters are like doctors, lawyers, bricklayers and more
November 9, 2021 The Cranky Creative

How copywriters are like doctors, lawyers, psychics(!) and more

As I started out as a young copywriter in the 1990s, one of my biggest influences was Ivan Levison, a freelance copywriter in California. He published a lead-generation e-newsletter called

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Posts pagination

«Previous Posts 1 … 5 6 7 8 9 … 13 Next Posts»

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
  • Subliminal messages in advertising ... and Disney cartoons?
  • Yes, the Gillette Venus Pubic Hair and Skin razor ad goes (down) there
  • Ad Review: Puma's world's first fully AI-generated ad
  • Ad Review: Chewy's 'Chatty Pets: Joy' truly is

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