Stop whining that you don't have anything good to show in your portfolio. If you don't like what you have because the clients or counterparts that you've worked with have: • no budget • no sense of humor • no vision Then create your own, for literally anyone. (See the cluster of ads below - all spec - why should I care?) As a CD, it's nice to know that you've done outstanding work, for real clients with real budgets on the line.... but if you had 5 really good spec ads that shows me: • how you think • how creative your are • how quick a reaction you can cause Then most likely, you'll get the promotion, the job, the gig... or at the very least, my attention. I've been known to pass on a talent, only to refer that person to someone I know.

EVERY creative who's ever won an award has also been in the meeting where their ideas got shot down by the client, or their own agency, with the words, "I have a concern..." There are only five things (three, sir) you can do: 1) Succumb to the nay-sayers and make the safe-version (also known as "dreck") they want. 2) Stick to your guns and risk getting booted — from the pitch or your job. 3) Re-frame the problem with your solution to be the obvious answer. Perhaps the best VIRAL AD agency in the world is THE HARMON BROTHERS. You know, the guys who made the rainbow-ice-cream-pooping-unicorn ads on social media a few years back? We are in the ATTENTION AGE... I guess we always have been, but if you can't get the right eyeballs on your brand, you're kinda screwed. YOU HAVE TO RISK BY STANDING OUT. Being the same is being invisible. But standing out in a way that converts eyeballs to action... AND BRAND MEMORABILITY. Tell me, if you wanted to get a new client, or a new job and you had this 25 second YouTube Short for TRUE CLASSIC in your portfolio, that you wouldn't get the job? But I have "concerns"... • I don't think his name should be "Brendan" • the guy slaps his face • can we show a man's 6-pack? • they're drinking beer • they're all dude-bros • you're putting a baby carriage into the street • while they're laughing • who makes a 25 second spot? Your come back... "Tell me, do you think guys with dad-bods AND perfect bods, will be more likely to buy our shirts after viewing this spot?" 5M+ views suggests that it does. ...little baby hand, out of the stroller, drops the mic. 🎤🖐️👶

I just finished up a Brandbook (24 pages) for a new client of mine. Had the agency owner ask me about adding certain graphics or marks to the book. You want to show the logo in "most" all of it's forms, but leave some space for something to be labeled as "MARKETING USE ONLY". New opportunities will come up that will present an idea to take your mark and move it a bit (sometimes quite a lot), but from the outset, you want to be more hardline to keep all of the lieutenants "in line" so that your launch is consistently used. Only later, you can begin to showcase how logo elements can be adapted as new situations arise. Take a peek at this little logo and how it continues to be adapted today. _ _ _ NOTE: The iconic script logo for Coca-Cola was created in 1887 by Frank M. Robinson, a bookkeeper for company founder Dr. John Stith Pemberton.

This come from a British campaign for KFC (btw, it's amazing how popular KFC is abroad)... KFC’s $1 fries chips were a great deal. But the promo ran for years and had gone stale.​ Ogilvy was hired to make the campaign fresh—without changing the product or price. So they tested 90 different ways to say "$1 chips. ”​The winner?​​ A deal so good you can only buy 4. When you give customers a reference point, it becomes the baseline they compare everything else to. ​Without it, someone might grab 1… or none. But add "limit 4,” and suddenly 4 becomes the natural benchmark.​That’s why sales of chips jumped 56% compared to the previous year. And sales for exactly 4 orders of chips shot up 84%.​ — Stolen from Why We Buy

With low participation this past month, it didn't seem worthy of a reward for a leaderboard win by perennial winner @Brian Dutkowski at 4 LIKES. A "strong" finish by @Joe Hausch can't really be held in high esteem for 2 LIKES. What does this mean for THE AD AGENCY? Are we on the brink of collapse? Hardly.... at $9/mo to keep the community alive, I think I can last a bit longer. But if this really isn't a community that people are getting value from, then we need to find a better take on just what it should (or could) be...