So that's where ideas come from.

I always assumed ideas came from a mummy idea and a daddy idea, which helped me reason why mass procreating areas like China and India are bursting with ideas.

So kudos to Seth Godin for setting me straight with a thought-provoking list of 20 areas where ideas actually come and don't come from.

Not sure I agree with his dismissal of "watching television" as a idea generator, I mean someone must have been watching to come up with TIVO. But a good list none the less.

Of course he has missed a few:

1. Ideas come from reading other people's blogs
2. Ideas don't come from self-proclaimed gurus
3. Ideas come from discarded doodles on napkins at Starbucks
4. Ideas come from a fox so cunning he was named professor of cunning at Oxford University (okay, I just stole that from the brilliant BBC series, "Blackadder")
5. Bad ideas come from listening to Rush Limbaugh
6. Good ideas don't come from alcohol
7. Great ideas come from certain drugs
8. Ideas don't come from behind the sofa or under the bed
9. Ideas come from eavesdropping (or wiretapping)
10. Lucrative ideas come from Russian immigrants named Serge

(Sharing credit to psfk)

Brain-teaser Monday.

I recently created this promo for the BBC series, "I'd Do Anything". But I am not really proud to admit to it. Why?

1. Bad concept.
2. Poorly written.
3. Uninspired editing.
4. Flat voice-over.
5. It stars Andrew Lloyd Webber.
6. 1 + 4.
7. 2 + 4 + 5.
8. 3 + 4 + 5.
9. 2 + 3 + 4 + 5.
10. 4 + 5.
11. All of the above.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: "For one more year I did not have to go pharma"

Cheers Leslie Nielsen.

In tribute to a very funny guy. This campaign for Red Rock Cider starring Leslie Nielsen was created way back in the 1990's and featured, perhaps, the greatest tagline in adverting history, "It's not red, and there's no rocks in it."

Kudos to Gold Greenless Trott, director John Lloyd and especially the great Leslie Nielsen.

Another reason to be thankful....

That Sarah Palin isn't our Commander-in-Chief. Not yet anyway. But I suppose in her defense, better get it wrong now rather than later when you're firing off the nukes.

So where can we expect her to misstep next. Supporting Iran instead of Iraq? Standing up for the sovereign rights of West Timor? Honoring Georgia for seceding from the Union and becoming a republic?


(Sharing credit to The Daily Dish)

It's my blog so I'll self-promote if I want to.

It only seems appropriate that on the eve of Thanksgiving it should be left to me to perform the thankless task of selling my own shit.

Here's another promo for Law & Order: UK. And unlike the facts and figures of President Obama's recent trip to India these stats are all true.

London, anyone?

How prescient of Fed Ex.

This spot has been running for a while, but only now do I really get it. Kudos to Fed Ex and BBDO/NY for warning us about the tendency of the TSA to poke and prod in other people's business.

Made up tagline of the now.

Kudos to 'The Simpsons". Wonder if they're hiring.

Brain-teaser Monday.

Today's brain-teaser gets into the Thanksgiving spirit. Which of these advertising stories do I have most to be thankful for?

• Thanks to Nike's unofficial World Cup tour de force I was left feeling creatively inadequate for most of the summer. Then bitter envy took hold during the fall.
• Thanks to Old Spice's social media marketing blitz I was left wondering why a major influencer like myself failed to get a personal response from Old Spice guy.
• Thanks to Staples' "Wow that's a low price" guy I was able to reinforce my long held belief that advertising, like guns can be deadly in the wrong hands.
• Thanks to another season of Mad Men there are now even more episodes I can boast about not having seen.
• I didn't get hired by the now defunct Cosette New York.
• I got hired by the still functioning BBC America.
• This year I got ignored by fewer creative directors/recruiters than last year.
• Thanks to a paucity of newly produced work I didn't have to spend a lot of pain-staking time reworking my website.
• For one more year I did not have to go pharma.
• The Met Life review has been resolved. 

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: 3. Home

It's my blog so I'll self-promote if I want to.

For thousands of years, saving mankind has been the sport of heroes. This November BBC America honors these ass-kickers of evil with a movie event called, "Heroic Heroes Hall of Fame".

It will be a month long tribute with movies featuring great British heroes like King Arthur, Robin Hood and Sky Captain. Yes, Sky Captain - hey I didn't come up with the promotion, I just sell it like a whore on steroids.

To extend the event online we came up with a number of content initiatives, including a Hall of Fame ballot for picking new heroes to induct and these special edition "Ass-Kickers of Evil Series" trading cards.

Can your cat do this?

btw The Siamese cat bears a striking resemblance to one Manson.

It's my blog so I'll self-promote my sister if I want to.

"Stories, articles, recommendations and beautiful books from extraordinary writers. What will you read next?"

That's the premise behind "Untitled Books" a website for bookworms, bibliophiles and possibly logophiles. Kudos to F. for managing and editing the site.

Someone had to do it...

So why not Maxime Luere, a CG artist. True it is very derivative of Google's campaign, but I find the story of Alex Droner far more substantial and wittier that its Google counterpart.

That said it still feels a little conformist for my tastes. Alex's life seems to follow a typical Facebook life, i.e. getting drunk, traveling, eating at restaurants, getting drunk, showing off baby.

Much like with a movie, I would have preferred viewing a life less ordinary. Where was the sex change? Or the night spent in a hotel room with Charlie Sheen and a porn star? Or the two months spent in Pakistan at an "Islamic School" with an emphasis on chemistry.

Mind you, Maxime does confirm the old adage, "nothing stimulates a budding relationship like a good poke". So kudos for that.

Another brain-teaser Monday, sort of.

On Apple's website today. What could Steve Jobs possibly have in mind for tomorrow?

Perhaps an announcement that they're never going to make another announcement again.

Still one of the best ever....

Alka Setzer: Lifeboat

Re | Myspace Video

There's been a lot of buzz and fainting lately over "127 Minutes", Danny Boyle's new survival movie. It brings back fond memories of this brilliant survival spot for Alka Seltzer, without doubt the greatest Alka Seltzer commercial ever made.

Kudos to Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO.

Brain-teaser Monday.

Here is a banner comp for a type of online service that is becoming more and more popular. So what should you rent to get more out of your vacation?

1. Giant Fridge
2. Hooker
3. Home

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: c) A blog for BBC America

Friday afternoon giggle.

In a November 18th, 2009 posting titled, "Wish there was an app for that"   I mused about the kinds of "exotic" mobile apps we could hope for in the near future.

One example I imagined was an app that could identify transsexuals so there wouldn't be any "Crying Game" incidents at the singles bar.

Well the folks at CollegeHumor.com have one-upped me with a funny collection of their own must have imaginary mobile apps.

Kudos to Kevin Corrigan, one of the college humorists.


(Sharing credit to psfk)

Read of the now.

Here's an interesting read by James Hibberd in The Hollywood Reporter. He breaks down new media research that reveals the types of television shows Democrats and Republicans are watching.

He even has the answer to the nagging question, "Who prefers "Mad Men", liberals or conservatives?"

The money quote, “Looking at the Democrats side, I don’t mean to make light of it, but they seem to like shows about damaged people. Those are the kind of shows Republicans just stay away from.”



(Sharing credit to The Daily Beast)

It's my blog so I'll self-promote if I want to.

Jerry and Sam may be gone, but the franchise lives on. Three years ago Law & Order moved across the pond to the land of the hooligan.

Now for the first time Law & Order UK is being shown here in the States courtesy of BBC America. Here is the teaser promo to announce it's arrival.

Brain-teaser Monday.

These days, it's blog this and blog that. And blog you if don't agree.

So what blog is this promo selling?



Answer to last week's brain-teaser: A) 3. Hal Riney; B) 4. Saatchi & Saatchi; C) 1. Where's the beef

I went to see a film and a cool ad broke out.

These days the most engaging creative you experience at the cinema may not be the film.

Heineken and 13th Street are just two brands that have recently sought to engage the audience in an unexpected but very strategic way.

Make that three with this great live stunt for St John Ambulance. Who says talking about first aid has to be boring



Kudos to BBH/London and St John Ambulance.

Fun with John and Sharron.

Perhaps this is a taste of what the establishment Republicans can now expect from the Tea Party.

Website of the now.

I have to confess I'm a sucker for world maps and stats. I knew the capital cities of every country in the world when I was nine.

So it is with uncontrollable glee that I feast my eyes all over this new interactive site from Federal Express.

It delivers (I had to go there) a wealth of information regarding our changing world, but done in a simple yet insightful and at times witty way.

Kudos to BBDO Guerrero, BBDO/NY and Grow Interactive.

Brain-teaser Monday.

It's election eve so it only makes sense to get political with today's brain-teaser. Here are three politically tinged questions to ponder.

A. Which famous ad guy created Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America" commercial?

          1. Bill Bernbach
          2. Jay Chiat
          3. Hal Riney
          4. Don Draper

B. Which British advertising agency made a name for themselves with the legendary "Labor isn't working" billboard for Britain's Conservative Party.

          1. Bartle Bogle Hegarty
          2. Mother
          3. Legas Delaney
          4. Saatchi & Saatchi

C. What famous ad slogan did Walter Mondale co-opt in a Democratic primary debate with Gary Hart?

          1. Where's the beef
          2. Don't lay a finger on my butterfinger
          3. Pizza Pizza
          4. It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: Monster Advertising