Oh dear! What can you do about it? I’ve been writing about my time at PKL which taught me a lot – and changed my life. At that time it was seen as the world’s most creative agency. But also one of …
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A tale of two letters
One I never exploited – the other changed my life. The other day I wrote about my time at Papert, Koenig & Lois. Some of my colleagues were eccentric – as was their approach to business and the way they …
Read MoreDoes it pay to be a lunatic?
Do they have the best ideas? In 1966 I was a group head at probably the world’s hottest advertising agency at the time – Papert, Koenig & Lois. You’ve probably never heard of them but my God, they were the …
Read MoreThe crazy copywriter Ogilvy admired…
>> and the mystery his success recipe explains. The copywriter wasn’t me – it was Gary Halbert. We never met, but exchanged messages. David sent me a couple of his newsletters asking me what I thought of them. We were both amazed. Gary’s secret recipe …
Read More“Digital Revolution” – this year’s favourite catchphrase
… and why you should ignore it. I bet you that when I comes to current buzz-phrases jargon “Digital Revolution” beats all else. People have decided for no good reason that because this one particular medium has indeed changed all …
Read MoreJust revealed: Late entry for his month’s most stupid letter contest
->-> Courtesy of “transformational leader” Tracy Garrad. Do you have private health insurance? I do – and I update it every couple of years. That’s because that industry is run by a load of sly monkeys. They get you in at a good …
Read MoreDO THIS and get 20% better
Why 20%? Because the economy in countries I’m familiar has slumped about 20%. But whatever it is, this very simple recipe for success applies. The thing is if you want to succeed you can’t worry about what other people are …
Read MoreThe curse of back-to-front copy
… and how it can screw up a good thing. There is an established, tested sequence that gets people to read/listen to/watch your emails, ads – whatever. Any fool can learn it but it many fools don’t. This is because they …
Read MoreShould you hire a weirdo or two?
You bet! And here’s why. David Ogilvy once spoke to our heads of agency about where to find good people. A fashion had come in to hire people with MBA’s. I don’t think an MBA is worth a light – …
Read MoreHow do you make your copy personal?
(Me and my silly leopard hat) Not long ago Akshat Gupta wrote pointing out a typo in my $1 sales page for AskDrayton, which was kind of him. But he also wrote “Your copy is so personal it looks like …
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