Award season is coming up, so I thought I’d make a leave-behind for people to forget in their padfolios! As a writer without a logo, I didn’t know what to put on the front. So I decided to draw inspiration from my passion outside of advertising. ⚾️

Reporting live from the middle of the night, I have "finished" another set of spec ads for The Ad Agency. It all started when my real job asked me to come up with some headline ideas for an on-the-go professional training app that is (according the the brief) "like Spotify, but for professional growth." This could be interpreted in many ways, but a path I kept going down was that this developmental app was for those who are serious about climbing the ladder and aren't going to wait for someone to tell them what they need to do to get the next promotion*. Sounds a little familiar to the Ad Agency classroom feature, right? So after sending them a more refined list of ideas, I started mocking up some ideas of a campaign for TAA that follows a similar idea. At first I was going a little narcissistic in-your-face, with the headline "Are You Serious Right Now?" but I changed course to a more motivational, we believe in you tone. This is an AI-less project, and I am no graphic designer, so judge me not on the fine details of photoshop and indesign. Let me know what you think, what stands out, and what I could change to make these ads more effective and interesting! *Full idea dump list in comments.

Like all good copywriters, this post is stolen from someone else. Doesn't mean you can't do the same: LESSON ONE: Write with conviction... (boxed copy) • Don't say “a” say “the” • Don't say “help” say “how” • Don't say “alternative” say “replaces” LESSON TWO: Clarity in three steps... (Lego) • What it is. • What it does. • How it makes you feel. LESSON THREE: Converting online customers... (Crypto) • Objection handle. • Social proof. • Actionable outcome.

Unless you still get your daily dose of advertising via print, you’ve likely heard the commercial for the weight loss drug, Ozempic, that re-writes the lyrics to the 1974 song (It’s) Magic) by Pilot. Although the only change was using ‘Ozempic’ in place of ‘It’s magic,’ I’d argue that if people heard the tune without lyrics, a large number of people would label it as “the Ozempic Song.” My question to the seasoned advertisers of the group, what is your opinion on using existing popular music in ads and other media, versus using time and resources to create your own? I bring this up because although the jingle era of advertising is still slightly present on the FM dial, you don’t often hear the once iconic tunes of the Green Giant, or Folgers telling us about best part of waking up. Even recent ones like State Farm have been reduced to just five notes played at the open. But could the success of the Ozempic re-write old pop songs be replicated in a time where attention spans have never been shorter? Well, multiple sclerosis med, Briumvi is going to find out after launching their latest commercial that inserts their name into roller-rink favorite, Take On Me by A-ha! In my opinion, advertising is all about doing your own thing, replicating strategies others have found success in, and creating pieces that consumers won’t hate themselves for looking at. Distinguishing yourself doesn’t meant coming up with something never done before; it’s doing something that looks, sounds, and feels like no one could ever do it better! I’ve linked some more examples.

If you're like most, it's a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Funny, think that the orange and black wrapper have anything to do with it? Or that they market so heavily at Halloween? Or that they make limited-time only Halloween shapes that actually taste a little different because the chocolate to peanut butter ratio is different from the cup? Or does it just taste the best... or better still, won't piss off the little trick-or-treaters when they come back to your house to egg it?