Everybody wants to win awards.
They are the holy grail of our industry. The ticket to the big time. The career accelerator.
They are also a sham.
Ever notice how it is the same people, the same agencies, the same style of work that wins year in and year out?
There’s a perfectly good reason for this.
It’s the same people, doing the same damn work, from the same damn agencies that judge the elite competitions year after year after year.
It’s a bit a of a circle jerk, no?
I’m not saying a lot of the …

Everyone wants recognition. It’s a natural human instinct. But only when that recognition comes honestly does it actually have any actual meaning.
I judged the Baltimore Addys this weekend, alongside some fantastic people from The Martin Agency, Grey, Y&R and BBDO. Fun town, lots of delicious local craft beer, and a really well-run show.
After a few beverages on Friday night with the local committee, we had the inevitable debate about just how tough judges should be on work in a local show. After all, it’s not Cannes. But I also feel …

Is good advertising always good?
By good advertising I mean the stuff that either wins awards or gets recognized around the office.
Is it really good though?
Is it working for the client? Is it selling anything? Is it making people think differently about a product?
So many creatives get hung up on doing something cool that they forget the main goal of our jobs—to sell shit.
We can make as many excuses as we want, like ‘I’m protecting the integrity of the brand.’ or ‘It’s going to get create a ton of word-of-mouth.’
Maybe.
But I’ve …

Stuck for a snappy headline to advertise whatever must-have necessity it is that you are flogging?
Just fill in the blanks on one of the handy headlines below.
They must be good; they’ve already been used a million times!
We’ve got more _________ than _________.
The art of __________.
Think of it as _____________.
Think __________.
- Craig Cooper

A great read:
http://www.media.asia/searcharticle/2009_09/SPIKES-The-secrets-to-Uniqlos-success/37112
- Shannon McGlothin

All true stories.
BRONZE
A friend of mine was in Cannes. Somebody passed and told him he won a Bronze Lion. Excited, he called his family.
-          Dad?
-          Son, how is everything in France?
-          I won a Bronze!!!
-          …
-          Dad?
-          Oh, kid, never mind, third place is fine too. Don’t be sad.
SILVER
Another friend, in another year, won a Silver Lion. He also called his family, who lives in a very small town.
-          Mom, I won an award here in Cannes! A Silver Lion!
-          Wow, I am so proud! But don’t spend all the …

Lately (and far too late, in my tiny opinion), The One Show et al have been making all kinds of rules and pronouncements about scam ads, those nice but naughty little creative efforts produced solely for the purpose of winning awards.
And while it’s good to see the shows finally doing something about those ads that meet entry requirements only in the strictest sense (e.g. ran once in the classifieds section of a Pittsburgh Chinese-language newspaper), I doubt they will find these new rules easy to enforce.
Some perfectly legitimate ads are …

New Site worth checking out: (click banner to go to site)
-  Shannon McGlothin

Ah, yes, the digital growing pains of our “integrated” industry.
I find it remarkable that in our new-is-better industry culture, the digital revolution was really more of an evolution. And for that, I blame the geeks.
Several years ago I joined an agency that had an “Interactive Department.” Which, in reality, meant we had a handful of people that found building shitty websites and designing shittier banners inspiring. They sat on a different floor. Worked on different projects. Answered to different clients. And spoke a different language. As a result, I regularly …

Wheeeee! My first post on andshakers!
And if I am to start pontificating on advertising in general and creative in particular, it seems incumbent upon me to find a definition for this stuff before I start spouting off.
Especially if I’m going to spout off using fancy-ass words such as pontificate and incumbent.
So in the case of advertising, what is good creative?
Everybody talks about it. Argues about it. Claims they are for it or jealously deride it.
But what is it?
Award shows define it, don’t they?
Nope.
What award shows ultimately recognize is an ad’s …