One of the most common mistakes in adapting consumer web products for brands is to jam the product down people’s throats.  Often I’ll ask people who have built a consumer web application how they’ll monetize, and they respond by saying they’ll let brands feature their products in posts.  For example, a blogging company might say, “We’ll let people take pictures [...]

I gave a talk at Ogilvy last week, and I used this reel of classic commercials that I learned about in Mary Well’s book and Art and Copy. Here are my notes: American Motors Rebel (Mary Wells): This commercial is inspired by an intriguing fact: American Motors Rebels were the most popular cars used in driving school.  It then included [...]

I don’t believe that influencer targeting is an efficient and scalable advertising strategy. Influencer theory holds that for each campaign or product, the brand should seek to convert thought leaders to use and evangelize its product. The challenge is that for every product or message, you need a different pool of influencers. If you’re selling a toaster, you need to [...]

There is a coming creative revolution in digital advertising. Despite the DSPs and RTBs, most RFPs from major brand advertisers proclaim things like “what can you do custom, unique, and high impact!” This clear and crystal messaging on many RFPs is often accompanied with the comment “standard display units as value add only!” I believe we are returning to the [...]