Being, as they say in the North where I was brought up, “as cheap as chips”, I am ever alert for a bargain, so I read this from a man called Phil with some interest. Dear Drayton We would like …
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Sod the football – let’s beat the shit out of someone
This has little to do with marketing and not much to do with football, and is prompted by something I saw last night and something else I read this morning. Anyhow, what with my partner being Italian and me being …
Read MoreBribery works in mysterious ways – a £200 million total waste
Many years ago I went to Chicago to try and persuade Sears they were wasting God knows how many million on untargeted newspaper inserts – offers I thought would do a lot better if carefully aimed via direct mail. I …
Read More“All marketers are liars” – but there are limits, don’t you think?
The “liars” quote is the title of a book by Seth Godin, I think. Oddly enough I commissioned some research for a client years ago that showed that customers are not fooled. They know we are a bunch of bullshit …
Read More“You cannot be serious” – with apologies to J McEnroe
Just to keep you up to date on what’s happening in the world of great literature … If you’re all telling the truth (and subtle motivational research reveals you who read this are almost uncannily honest) there’s what they used …
Read MoreWho else wants to write better – or knows people who do? Friday’s response thrilled me to bits (with a couple of surprises)
If you follow all these disjointed ramblings you know I vented a little spleen last week about an e-mail I got, and said I would run a series of webinars on better writing. Three things happened. First, a surprising number …
Read MoreIs this gibberish REALLY how to communicate? Hard to believe – and I have a suggestion
Do you feel successful? I don’t. Yes, I have moments of euphoria, usually after I’ve written something pretty good – but it’s not long before I decide I’m useless. So I read about a seminar in “power talking” and “communication …
Read MoreThe steep and slippery slope to commercial damnation – or, are Dell slowly destroying their brand?
This is Lester Wunderman – who coined the phrase “direct marketing” – and to whom I almost sold my agency. A few years ago he and I sat on an American Express committee which met in exotic places to discuss …
Read MoreSexist? Moi?
I plead not guilty but amused, Your Honour. A friend sent me this, which he claims is a BMW used car ad from Germany. I think I’ve seen it before, but somehow doubt it’s the real thing. Would they run …
Read MoreGary Halbert, David Ogilvy – and your humble servant: a tale of lost friendship
25 years ago, just after I sold my business to O & M, I got a note from David Ogilvy asking me what I thought of a newsletter he had just read. It was by a man I had never …
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