We went to see Jurassic World on Saturday, and something amazing happened. I became the old guy whom young guys detest. As there were four of us going, and it was lunchtime and we hadn’t eaten, we got a big bucket of popcorn and split a big Sprite (don’t judge, that’s the only time we drink soda) before we found our seats. Because we got there early, and there were two hours of previews, we needed a refill of both…
Between the Confederate flag controversy, and marriage equality for gay people, I feel like I have to start every post lately with “I am from the Deep South.” The reason is because my views on these issues don’t exactly align with the folks who I grew up with, and around. But that’s ok. Their perspective is what drives me on these topics. For example, most people I know who oppose gay marriage (or gay anything) cite that being gay is a…
Racism, like any extremist view, is an idea. And you don’t “fight” an idea. You manipulate it until they see things the way you want. Trust me, I’m in advertising. Each year roughly 600 billion dollars is spent globally on advertising. It’s an incomprehensible amount of money. But the reason is simple–people are influenced by tactical messages. You can convince anyone of anything if you have a great plan and solid execution. Not all advertising is effective, however. In fact, most of what I…
I parked across from an old white guy in a pickup truck at Home Depot today. His front license plate was a Confederate flag. I judged. Hard. As I put my car into park, I sat there scowling at him for a few seconds. The old man stared back. I suppose he knew why I was looking at him, and probably wondered why I might be upset. I was white, after all. What’s the problem? Unless … I’m one of…
I’m a copywriter who gets paid to come up with ways to make people think about things differently. In order to do my job, I have to think “creatively.” I’ve won awards, shifted perception, and moved product. Anyway, with the advent of social media, I’ve met a lot of other people who do my job. And while everyone seems to take different paths to creative problem solving, the one thing the people I admire most have in common is that they embrace…
Never has it been more evident to me that I’m a writer as right now. I’m talking about a real writer. A person who writes for food. During the 5.5 years I was at Boxman, I created and executed marketing strategies, but mostly I wrote. Hundreds of posts, thousands of tweets, sales materials, strategies, proposals, and general correspondence. Since leaving there in January, I’ve continued to write my ass off. I had to write a strategy for my new…
