The Copywriter Underground

Copywriters boil away all that isn’t essential, leaving behind the essence of a product. Which is why felt strangely at home when I stumbled across a creative writing site dedicated to telling a story in a single sentence. (Consider One Sentence the forerunner of twitter, but with meaning.)

One Sentence is about telling your story, briefly. […]

Face it. Advertising pros and copywriters need an image makeover.
Public “trustworthiness” surveys suggest we rank somewhere below toxic waste, and guess what — the killer in the last Bruce Willis movie was an advertising executive.
Even in Hollywood which is not exactly awash in Ghandi-class human beings, writers are considered only the first drafts of people.
We’re […]

Thanks to the Copywriter’s Crucible for alerting us to this one — a short video created by Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions (of all people).
It satirizes the master/slave relationship many advertisers still wish existed — and is a pointed (if symbolic) reminder of the changing role of the copywriter.
Plus it’s fun. Time to engage, baby. Coupons […]

If I’ve learned one thing over the years, it’s that your best new-business technique isn’t advertising, or networking, or picking up the phone.
It’s scheduling a badly needed vacation.

In 1.5 weeks, I’ll be somewhere in the vicinity of this boulder.
Need work? Plan a trip.
Once you’ve actually purchased the non-refundable plane ticket, clients new and old […]

This tidbit from the Black Star Rising blog (the very cool blog of the Black Star photo agency) suggests ad agencies are lagging more than a little bit in the online department:
Consider this little story told by Jan Leth, executive creative director of OgilvyInteractive North America. The agency was assigned by Six Flags to do a promotion […]

The UK’s Matthew Stibbe writes one of my favorite copywriter blogs (and I don’t think it’s just the accent).
He recently posted the “Devil’s Marketing Dictionary Part 2 ” — a fairly hilarious look at marketing jargon, and what it really means.
Some samples:
Focus group. Feedback disguised as strategy.  For example, a Volvo is an Aston Martin […]

The debate rages (in fact, it’s raged for years). But the “messy desk” folks (yes, that sometimes includes me) can now hold aloft a book that validates their somewhat disordered experience.
From Extreme Tech:
Sponsored by publisher Little, Brown and Co., the competition promoted “A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder,” by Eric Abrahamson and David […]

 Photo by Daniel Deak Bardos.
Things have been a little sleepy around the Underground lately. I’m swamped with work, and I’ve been making some long-overdue improvements to the other facets of my marketing process.
Still, I haven’t forgotten my readers.
I’ve written a mini-case study featuring pair of fun ads, and have another post ready for final editing. […]

David Airey’s design blog delves in the SONY Playstation 3 mess, and showcases a devastating anti-PS3 YouTube video that’s been viewed better than a half-million times.
First, Sony released an ultra-expensive gaming product (PS3) that actually inhibited online play (social networking).
Ouch.
Then they got caught running the Sony Flog (a fake fan blog), which not only deceived readers, […]

Copywriting’s a stressful occupation. You’ve gotta be creative and effective, and do it all on a deadline.
Still, some writers seem to thrive on stress, and for those we have the following: the USB-powered Typing Speed Indicator:
 

The faster you type, the faster he pedals.
We’d thank the Spulch blog for this one, except I […]