Good intentions suck.
Here’s why:
Good intentions are typically well meaning, sound incredibly reasonable, and are therefore very persuasive.
However, because they are usually informed by ignorance, the thinking that they generate is often very flawed.
And, worse than that, the result of following through without pausing to consider the downsides leads to failure.
WOW! THERE ARE SO MANY AMAZING THINGS ABOUT THIS PRODUCT THAT WE MUST SHARE THEM ALL = COMPLICATED, FAILED COMMUNICATION
WE MUST REMOVE ANYTHING POLARIZING SO THAT NO ONE WILL BE OFFENDED = NO ONE WILL EVEN NOTICE MUCH LESS BE OFFENDED
WE …

Some phone calls that really happened with some friends of mine when I worked in Europe.
ARREST WHAT?
A supplier called the agency.
-          Euro RSCG, good morning.
-          Hello, who’s speaking, please?
-          That’s Euro RSCG.
-          Euro “Arrest” what?
-          RSCG.
-          I am sorry, I have to send an invoice to your company, but I can’t understand its name.
-          That’s Euro…
-          Ok…
-          R…S…C…G.
-          “Areas as Cee”…?
-          It’s R, from Rita. S, from Salt, C, from Car and G, from Giraffe.
-          Oh, now I got it! Thank you very much.
A few days after, the invoice arrived …

You walk into my office (okay, cubiclette). You direct me to your website. Your work is great. It makes me laugh, cry, cringe, etc.
You walk out, head home and wait for the call.
And you wait.
And wait.
I don’t call.
You’re confused.
But you wait some more.
I still don’t call.
Now you’re a little angry.
So you decide to call.
“I don’t understand. I thought you loved my work. I went to the best portfolio school. I interned at the coolest agency.”
“But do you care?”
“Huh?”
“Do you actually care about the work? Do you care about the clients? …

Agency creates a fund of its client stocks. (click on the logo to go to the article)

- Shannon McGlothin

Subjectivity.
How can something so helpful to the creative process, also be so harmful to the creative process?
As we all know, creative ideas require stretching beyond the literal and obvious. That requires a degree of freedom from the tyranny of objective facts and purely rationale appeals. So, as creative people we often embrace a more nuanced approach to the specifics and let our imaginations run free. Then, when we have an idea that works, we share it with the world.
And that’s where opinions start to wrestle.
Sadly, in my experience, our opinions …

We all know about the drunk people. Here’s a closer look at some of the others we may overlook. OK, we’ll look at a few drunk people.
1. The Hot Date. Someone will bring a hot date. Someone so hot and way out of his or her league that people will wonder if an escort was hired.
2. The IT guy who comes out of his shell. The quiet IT guy will drink some alcohol and start doing all those dances he learned on Dance Dance Revolution.
3. The Dickhead who is nice for …

You may have heard about a few recent cases in which men were arrested for plotting to blow up buildings or subways on behalf of al Queda. Well, an attorney I know was recently appointed to be the public defender of one of these men. While I’m a believer in our public justice system, it made me wonder, “does this suspect really deserve a vigorous defense as prescribed by law?” And somehow that thought lead me to think of our industry.
We’re a bit like defense attorneys. Our clients pursuits are …

Been reading a lot lately about who is better fit to lead brands in the current economy. Should we trust traditional agencies or digital agencies? The argument for traditional is usually something like ‘we know brands better’ or ‘ we can create big ideas.’ The argument for digital usually sounds like ‘we’re more nimble’ or ‘consumers are in charge and we get it’.
First off, let me say I’m not arguing for one versus the other. In an ideal world, any agency should be fit to lead an account. Thing is—and …

- Craig Crawford

Seems like everyone in our industry is trying to figure out the perfect model for success. A model that will embrace all of the change around us and somehow allow everyone to make some money in the process.
Thing is, the answer is really quite simple. Just two letters. N-O.
It’s really quite ironic that the word most uttered around agencies these days, in the name of saving client relationships, is the one that is killing them. That word is “Yes.”
So I ask all of us, to spend 10 minutes in front …