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 …
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Something 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 …
Read More“Physician, heal thyself”: Confessions of a smart-arse
I am often shocked when I abuse others for sins I commit myself. I should be shot. This time there was a happy ending Recently I got an email from Peter Smith of Marketing Doctors. It had a pretty good …
Read MoreBooty from my disastrous trip to Oz … how to build a brand with laughs
Never try to do Australia in a week that includes two seminars. You lose lots of things including your mind – but this is brilliant I should have known better. I’ve been going there since 1971. It is a long …
Read MoreIntriguing title. Disastrous report. Why? Bad writing
An object lesson in how NOT to write stuff people will read Do you send out reports – White Papers and so on? It’s a great way to convince people you’re an expert. I sent off for one just now …
Read MoreThe best answer I ever saw to the most common copy question: why long copy? Full of wisdom
Why Long Fundraising Letters Outpull Shorter Ones My colleague Mary Hammond just sent me this. I was going to write something else, but I couldn’t wait to show it to you. It’s from The Fundraiser’s Guide to Irresistible Communications: Real-World, Field-Tested Strategies …
Read MoreThe discount online bubble is going pop. So will your business if you’re not careful
Groupon and the others are suffering – and here’s why. With some observations on marketers’ foolish priorities About 30 years ago, Ogilvy and Mather collaborated with Prof. Andrew Ehrenberg and his colleagues to research the impact of discounting. They discovered …
Read MoreWhat on earth are these? Anyone know? No obscene suggestions. That’s my privilege
One of the pleasures (and sometimes penalties) of writing this guff is that people send me stuff. Take these mysterious thingies. Just as I was whizzing off to Sydney to escape my creditors Frederic Robesyn wrote saying “I’ve just stumbled …
Read MoreLike to make new friends?
… You need a common interest. This is what clever girls in Slovenia are reading, apparently. The picture was sent me by my friend Ales Lisac a few minutes ago. I’m in the Park Hyatt, Melbourne. I don’t know where …
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