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.

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

Continue reading
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

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

Continue reading
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

Continue reading
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

Continue reading
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 —

Continue reading
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

Continue reading
woody and buzz lightyear see bad logos everywhere
October 12, 2021 The Cranky Creative

A series of unfortunate logo designs

A logo is a symbol or other design created to visually represent a company or organization. It is a key part of any brand as it’s meant to communicate the

Continue reading
The Cranky Creative's top 3 favorite TV commercials ever
August 25, 2021 The Cranky Creative

My top 3 TV commercials of all time

A Cranky reader named Brian wrote in to ask, “What are your top three favorite TV commercials?” Honestly, the question caught me off guard — I don’t like many commercials,

Continue reading
the cranky creative blog turns three years old
August 9, 2021 The Cranky Creative

The Cranky Creative blog turns three

In 2011, a manager asked me if I had a blog, or if I’d ever considered writing one. “No,” I snorted dismissively. “I don’t have anything to say.” My, how

Continue reading
scene from hotels.com tv commercial, the breakup
July 1, 2021 The Cranky Creative

Thanks, Captain Obvious! Hotels.com ads are awful

Adweek has just reported that agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky, creators of the “Captain Obvious” character and campaigns for Hotels.com, has lost the account. Why? Take a look at the

Continue reading

Posts pagination

«Previous Posts 1 … 7 8 9 10 11 … 15 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
  • 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

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.