There were many times when we presented commercials to clients who we felt wanted to make changes to make sure their input was included in the commercial. The one who pays the piper wants to call the tune and be recognized. So here is how we would describe a typical commercial: two women are discussing… Read More »
Most catastrophes come about through the concurrence of a number of errors, not just a single one. Our brains like to believe in single causes; our brains have challenges dealing with complexities. When we hear that an Earthquake on the Iran/Iraq border killed thousands, we resolve to stay away from earthquakes or Iran. But earthquakes… Read More »
Perhaps no other game has more intricate rules than golf. The lawyers love this game; they can quibble about its many nuanced rules for hours. No where else can you see championships changed by TV viewers calling in with rule challenges. Too many rules makes for a duller game. So, we have some additional rules that take… Read More »
Our company was the first agency in Canada to start building websites on the internet back in 1994. We saw the internet as a new form of communications. We had opportunities and plunged forward. It took some figuring out, some investment and some staffing to organize into an area that was new to everyone. We… Read More »
On October 17, 2018, the Canadian government legalized cannabis. The federal government left it up to the provinces to figure out distribution but it seems like no one really did the marketing calculations right. In Ontario, for example, orders are going unfilled despite a move to throttle demand by limiting distribution until next April. The… Read More »
We travelled to the farthest western edge of Canada. Past where the continent ends, there is an archipelago of islands out in the Pacific that used to be called the Queen Charlotte Islands. Now it is called Haida Gwaii. It is no easy task to get there. We drove from Vancouver up the Fraser River… Read More »
My very first assignment at Young & Rubicam New York in 1972 was to work on the Rums of Puerto Rico account. The advertising goal was to promote the many rums that were produced on the island, which included Bacardi, Don Q, and many more that were less well known such as Ronrico, Ron Superior,… Read More »
Everyone thinks that the way things are now is the way they have always been. You hear it in dismay about the horrors of global climate change to the changes in language, technology, business, or society. While we can intellectually understand that the world is a place in transition, we have a lot of emotional… Read More »
Watching retailers do their own commercials on TV often makes me cringe. Particularly car retailers. They start their commercials by yelling and keep it up. Their theory may be that all their energy makes the viewer think that something exciting is going on. But is just yelling enough? The result is a constant yelling throughout… Read More »
Are origin myths true? No matter, they set the trajectory.