Having coffee with friends. A day at the beach. Cheering on your team. Having dinner out with your friends. Out on an intimate date. Having a conversation with your BFF. A visit to the museum. Enjoying the sights.
Read MoreAuthor: Drayton
The great Social Media Marketing boondoggle: crock of you know what – or goldmine?
Social media experts spring up like toadstools. But who is REALLY making money? As I have said countless times, too many marketers are gullible fools who think a magic formula will relieve them of the pain of thought, exploration, experiment, measurement and conclusion. This morning I got an email …
Read MoreThe curse of opinion polls: followers, not leaders
How would George Gallup feel if he could see how today politicians are guided by the views of idiots? I have been writing a memoir of my experiences working with David Ogilvy. Others knew him far better and longer than I so I have …
Read More“How sweet it is to be loved by you” – or maybe not. The Mumpers are at it for Thanksgiving
A touching display: people I never met and don’t want to rush to tell me how much they care. I have just finished reading a book set in 1380 which uses the wonderful word Mumper – “a begging impostor”. Did it …
Read More“Nothing is ever as bad as it seems. Or as good”. What financial news matters?
Drowning in information? Good advice from The Motley Fool Because I write a fair amount about investment, about which I am startlingly ignorant, I follow a few writers in the hope of catching up. One is Morgan Housel of The Motley Fool. He gives …
Read MoreIgnore David Ogilvy. He deserves more than two pages
This is Ogilvy’s famous advice on writing. Sorry, I couldn’t follow it when describing him This is a memo Ogilvy wrote to staff 30 years ago The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who …
Read MoreDoes anyone in charge have a clue? They’re less useful than cutlery
Elections no-one asked for, people doubly rewarded for being utterly hopeless – you really do have to wonder I wrote a lot about public affairs in this blog when Tony the Bliar and Hoots McBroon were mismanaging the country, but …
Read MoreSomeone jerking off in the creative department? Or are they brilliant? Or mad? Or what?
A splendid example of the Giddy Goat approach to advertising. Does it work? You decide My mother used to call the childish antics of my brother and I as “behaving like a pair of giddy goats.” This ad recalls that …
Read MoreSomething to make you think – if you have time to ask important questions – from Mr. Harrison
“How Advertising Can Find Its Purpose” is the title. Well worth a read if you ever wonder whether what you do is worth it. David Ogilvy’s mentor Raymond Rubicam stated flatly that “the only purpose of advertising is to sell. …
Read MoreJargon lunacy in Wales – paid for by us taxpayers, of course
If these people just promised benefits in plain English, they might do a little better. But they think fancy marketing drivel impresses. I was brought up in what they now call the “hospitality business” only in those days it was …
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