Microtransactions (XM-Sirus teaser)

Something that's been really hanging on my mind lately is the whole XM-Sirus bankruptcy issue. What can make them profitable? I got some ideas for it, so if anyone is looking for a SuperTeams project, hit me up and I'll let you in.

*edit* 5/28/09
Well, nevermind then. Looks like they solved that whole issue the iPhone app. Lesson to be learned: If you have an idea, don't sit on it. Someone might be you to it.

Don't be afraid to embarrass yourself in front of your peers

It's taken me this long to embrace being here in Atlanta. Small town to big city lifestyle lag wasn't pretty and to some extent still isn't. Going from home to work and back again doesn't benefit the spirit.

On point of the post, I'm not sure where I heard, but one of the big ad agencies makes their people choose from a list of things to do that are rather embarrassing. The concept is that once you make a fool out of yourself, anything else stupid you do won't be as embarrassing. I don't know what was on the list, but I think walking around in public with your pants around your ankles might be on there.

I am an introvert. Not a serious one, but probably enough that it hurts my professional career. I've held out from going to parties, thinking that I could get more work done, realizing just recently the events I was missing was where partnerships formed. Quite akin to the golf course business deals I suppose. Well, our beloved Andrew Harper snagged a job and a party was going down in his honor. I figured it was time to the make the scene.

Made the party and hung on the wall. Lame, lame, lame. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed people dancing to some music. I've had a little bit of experience, but never the guts. Now was the time. I got out there and danced. I don't know if it was good or bad (betting on bad as no one was on the dance floor when I was done, like I cursed it), but it was one of my more embarrassing moments.

And while I didn't come out of the party with new partnership, I got a sense of whatever I do now can't be as bad as what I did that night.

If you want this to be your job, treat it like such

If you want this job, you've got to be willing to sacrifice for it. Weird eating habits and bedtimes are part of the process. If you're living like it's summer break, you're in the wrong place.

They can't all be winners

One of the hardest things for me to come to terms with here at ad school is finding out that most of my work is sh*t. But you have to understand that when you get out there in the real ad world, alot of your stuff is going to be shot down for numerous reasons. What ad school does is that it prepares for you reality, builds up your resilience and helps you take critiques and failures with grace before royally screwing up out there where it really matters.

Fight for what you believe in

Advertising isn't for the meek. That being said, don't think that you can be an overly aggressive and pompous ass either. What you need to do is stick by your work, listen intently to everything that'ss said and take it in stride. If you can defend your work from a calm and logical standpoint, you're more likely to make an convincing argument. Don't sulk as you won't survive.

Strategy? What's that?

Some people might be confused about what a strategy is. I know I am. I've heard a lot of back and forth at the school, but I think this link offers pretty good insight. Thanks StumbleUpon!

Familiar Strangers: 17 Strategies to Killer Ads

Become your own editor

That's something I haven't really learned until this quarter, but I think everyone who wants to be taken seriously as a writer should know. I definitely would've had more kick ass lines if I had taken the time to go back, look over them, sharpen them and feed them into the shredder of critique.

For a more fluid writing process, I write whatever I want first, just to get going. It's been said that the most daunting thing is facing a blank piece of paper and having to fill it with thoughts and ideas. After that, you start saying whatever you want about the product, how it makes you feel. Then you walk away, do something else for a period of time and come back to see if anything is salvageable or makes sense.

I will admit the method prescribed is not my own, but rather gathered from various books and professors.

I'm done making ads

Or at least in the way that I've come to know/accept them as a consumer. What really struck me lately is that alot of the work that we do, or at least has been posted on the walls of our school, feel as if they're all the same executions, just with different content.

I admit that I was stuck in a rut these past 5 quarters. I was approaching advertising as a math problem, as something has only one solution. I was stuck in the "3 print pieces" land for a long time and really felt restricted by it, by my vocation. Yes, I am a copywriter, but writing without passion makes everything sound like Ben Stein in my head. I wasn't having fun. Balser and Hansen called me out on it and they were right. So to rectify this, I've just slowed down a little and I'm taking more time in the concepting process then just simply tossing together ideas and lines and seeing what shi* sticks. I feel as if I'm getting better ideas, not necessarily more ideas.

Point is, don't just stick to a format. Print pieces don't just have to be singles or spreads. Ambient is more than just bus shelters. If you have an idea that doesn't fit in a predefined category nicely, execute it how you envision it. Then you have something truly innovative.

Back that thing up (2x)

I can not, can not, stress this enough to my fellow creatives. Backup your work. And not just once, but twice. If you can, go for three times.

I know this from personal experience. I have an dual external hard drive enclosure that does RAID. Sparing your the tech details, basically there is a switch in the back that allows me to use both disks at the same time or separately. Well, I was moving files from my small laptop drive to one of the external drives while it was operating in single mode. Note: MOVING THEM. Not copying them like I should have. Well, so happens that one day I bump the switch in the back, freaking out the enclosure and screwing over my data. Quarters 1-4 were gone.

I still have a list of ADs I can contact and have made some effort to get my work back from them, though I'm sure they'll love me for it. I also have some files floating in my email, but it's still quite a hassle.

So to pass on what I've learned from a greater source, back up your work to at least two different places. Send copies to mom and dad, even if they live in Cambodia. You never know when your apartment might catch fire, some thief decides he'd like a new backpack, or in my case, be the victim of your own stupidity.

It's never too late to learn the basics

A tip of my imaginary hat to John Kang, a fellow writer who I worked briefly with on Liftoff Energy. First off, I know that two copywriters working together is not the most appealing circumstance, but he was gracious enough to take the role of art director, as he had more experience with it than I did. There is always the potential of writing styles conflicting if the roles aren't well defined.

Kang brought me back to the basics by making me really ask, "What makes this product unique?" He made me slow down and be more methodical in my thought process, more focused. To move from feature, to benefit of the feature, to benefit of the benefit. And as a result, I feel like I can create more insightful ads.

Class of September 09: Backbiters?

I've come across several people who aren't entirely enthralled with my class. We've been described as arrogant, self serving and cliquish. Do I think it's true? To some extent. I think most of us, myself included, are worried about their own personal careers. Probably so much so that we've built walls against certain relationships. We don't want to share our ideas at the risk of them being stolen or trampled on. We don't want to expose ourselves and get nothing in return. I think it's fear poorly hidden behind tenacity that makes us look cocky.

I love being at the Circus, don't get me wrong. But some days it feels like high school with just older people. I then figure maybe our professional environments might be similar and the only thing to do in both instances is to rise above and expect better out of ourselves individually.

We're all in this alone.

Don't over think it

"Don't over think it" has been the motto that has been drilled into my head and I freely admit that I have this problem. But you know what happens when people tell you not to think something? The harder you try, the more you think about it.

The first week of my 6th quarter has been going swimmingly on the surface, but in the depths is fear and dread. I know that I need a lot of work. No, rephrase that. A ginormous amount of work. My problems are that I lack a unified voice in many of my pieces, I haven't taken a more active part in the art direction of said pieces, and I don't have any long copy ads. I'm fearful that many of the ads I've worked on will be dumped by my initial partner and that I'll have to search for a new one. Granted, that might not be all bad, but I need to know that now before I come to the end of my education here and have to cobble together pieces less than sub-par.

Considering the market, knowing the quality of my work, can you blame me? I need to stop measuring my work compared to those around me. Yes, there are other talented people, but there is enough success to go around.

My kickass sick mail

Thursday I wasn't feeling good when I woke up, but I thought it would pass as the day progressed. It didn't. I tried toughing it out and faltered after the first group presented in the Fantasy Teams class. So I went home and slept. Before I did that, I sent the following email to to my evening class professor.


Subject: Tonight! Tonight! Tonight will be the night...

Body: That I won't be in class. Sorry (professor's name). The biohazard team wouldn't let me leave the building. However, I have sent my goodwill ambassador (my partner's name) to represent me. Her schizophrenia should cover us both nicely for presentation tonight.


I had great fun writing that. Now if only I could get paid for it.

My first Baddies

I have arrived home smelling of smoke and having been butt brushed way too many times by more guys than girls. But still, I couldn't be more pleased. I meet new people and had a great time.

I'm not sure if I've covered this in a previous post, but just so you understand were I'm coming from, I'm slightly agoraphobic, so this was an overwhelming success.

Taking it from the top, this wasn't a right off the bat type move, but a gradual occurrence of events. Previously, I'd been called into Dan's office on concern of my grades. I'm not flailing around and about to drown mind you, but last quarter was less then stellar. We talked and he said, "You have to get over the fear of the wood chipper." He also mentioned that I had a formulaic writing style. That I was attacking advertising as a math problem. "In advertising, the is no one answer. There are multiple answers." He was right.

My buddy, Chris H, has been telling me for the past couple of quarters that I "needed to loosen up." My partner Jes succinctly said that I "had a stick of half lit dynamite up (my) ass." And tonight Shana said, "Sometimes it feels like you're trying too hard." They're all right.

But that's why I went tonight. Sure, I don't drink or smoke, but I had an awesome time meeting new people and hanging out with old friends. I even got into the spirit of the baddies by writing some horrible ads. One for sticky title floors and the other for an alternative use for Smuckers. I don't know if anyone read them, but if they did, I hope they got a good chuckle.

Shana, a personal thanks to you. Without knowing that I had at least one view from someone other than myself, I would have probably dumped this whole blog. We all need a creative outlet other than our work and this is one of mine.

Personal note: Alot of people came up to me and asked if I drank. The answer is no. Yeah, my religion says stuff against drinking, but it's not a rule, just a health guideline. But that's not the reason. I have an addictive personality, so I don't want to risk it. Plus, I've seen how stupid people get on the stuff. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do it or that I'll think any differently of you if you do, I'm just saying it's not for me.

We are a kick ass crew

So one year of ad school has past. 4 quarters at the circus and my brain is about to explode from all the information that has been crammed into it. Quarter 1 was all about getting into the flow of the work load and thinking about the what all goes into making an ad. Quarter 2 was the laying of the ground work for the future, working in teams. Quarter 3 was about pushing the boundaries (at least for me), going beyond the safe zone. To stop mimicking what I had seen and start to make something new. Quarter 4 was about the simplification of ideas, introducing products and simple benefits.

Panel went as expected. Some of the pieces I took in were a joke and others were filler. I know I might get knocked for that, but I wanted to show them that I worked hard, even though I might have spread myself thin.

The website I designed was a bust. Mainly because due to the lack of framing and clear navigation. That and it really didn't sell a product, one of the basic rules of advertising.

TV spot was a stretch. It didn't demonstrate how Rockports were "Tough shoes for Tough times".

Artex ELT was a toss up. They liked the basic concept behind the tag "Change how the story ends" but the body copy read different.

Nutella was a panel bust, but I knew it was wrong. We were coming at it from the angle that we were introducing what the product was to the people and not the experience of it, per our professor's suggestion. Should of gone with the experience. What I envisioned was a Ferrer Roche "Gods" ad. The experience of food is greater than the benefit of food.

Comodynes tanning was beautifully art directed, but they didn't love the line. The line wasn't perfect, I agree.

Sumo had one win out of three. They didn't like the concept of preparation, but they wanted to see how life would change when it was already in your possession.

Puma was the hit of the evening. No surprise. The line was rockin' and so was the art direction.

I think that covers the main points. Already, I can tell that my writing has gone on break. My mind isn't forming sentences clearly and I feel that anyone who reads this will be stumbling over my words, as they hardly flow.

Note to future ad students: Never, I repeat, never take a professor's concept. Especially one that has been in the field for 10+ years. It's our job to come with something new and exciting. They are there to guide us. Not direct us. Listen to what they have to say about copy and art direction. Listen to their suggestions and weigh them. Eventually you'll get to the point where you know in your heart, gut, or head what makes a good ad and what should be burned.

I am kind of hard on myself for this quarter. I had two weeks prior to the last week where I was just completely out of the loop and didn't really write. I should always write. Write and refine. I came down to the last week and spent hours firing off lines to my ADs and they came out crap because I didn't take the time to refine them.

There is a part of me that claims that it was a social experiment. I had spent prior quarters working, refining endlessly and felt that I was talking in a snooty, over educated tone. This quarter I tried not to overthink and just write.I guess that's all well and good, as long as that "under"thinking also has time to be refined. Even the common man has an appreciation for clear communication.

After panel, a group of us copywriters hit Taco Mac and reviewed the past quarter and the past year. Topics ranged from haircuts to favorite memories to the random gossip of the school. And even though I don't drink, it was nice to get out with a small group. So here's to you Adam (Action) J, Adam (AE) Elijah, Erin C, and Ash C. It was walking through the parking garage, en mass and then breaking off, that I realized that we're a kick ass crew.

Sometimes, if not most of the time, failure is the best teacher

One of good friends didn't have an absolute rocking panel and that was part of the discussion at Taco Mac. When we questioned why we didn't help him out when we saw it coming, there were a couple of answers we came up with. First, we didn't know how to flag it down. After all, the professors loved the idea and the writer believed in it. Second, sometimes it's good to fail.

We didn't say the second part out of smite, but rather knowing it's better to fail in a teaching environment before getting out into his career. It'll make the writer a stronger creative in the long run and that's what we want for him.

Never be afraid to admit wrong

It's pretty late and I should get to bed, but I keep looking over my writing and spotting typos and grammatical errors. I'm sure there's even a couple in here, but they'll have to be save for a later time.

"Write while your on fire. Edit when you have cooled off." - Tru'Zen (I'm sure I'm stealing this from someone else)

I speek good engrish

First of all, no, I am not making a stereotypical joke but rather acknowledging that it's out there and applying it to my circumstance.

------ Real post ------

I am full America. 100%, born in SoCal, lived in Michigan, studied in TN and GA. Granted my mom is Filipino, but all that was ever spoken at home was English, except when she was on the phone to her relatives. So what's wrong with my English? I am sure I am one of many people who often times write "their" when what they really mean is "they're". And it happens with other similar sounding words. It's no fault of the education system, it's just that my brain wants to communicate faster than the rest of me. My girlfriend made me aware of this fact when she pointed out that sometimes I stutter. I'm not self conscience about it, but rather more self aware now. It's a little frustrating when you have a lot to say with hardly the capacity to say it all with the meaning and emotion that you want to convey.

I will not become an advertising god

I recognize that there is a vast amount of talent all around me and I can see people going far here at the Circus and farther in their careers, but honestly, I'm not going to be one of them. Not that I don't want to work hard and get far in the business, but I doubt that I will become a career god. I will not be a Bernbach, Burnett, Ogilvy, Saatchi, or Chiat and that's not negative thinking folks. It's just not what I want out of this life. So many people think that their careers are their lives, but that's not how I want to live mine. I want to be a good husband first, a loving father second and an upstanding citizen third. It's may seem like idealistic 1950's crap and maybe that's why often times I feel like I've been born in the wrong century. We've gone from a society of men who carry pictures of their kids to ones that check their stock every 5 minutes. I'm making the choice to be the former.

"“Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant” - PT Barnum

"Become a shameless self promoter"

Two of the greatest men in the entertainment business knew this: PT Barnum and Harry Houdini. The quote also goes well in hand with "The greatest power on earth is that of gossip."

Applying these two quotes to my life, I'm doing a social experiment, using myself as the guinea pig. Though a combination of actions and stories (all real, but all decidedly chosen), I am seeing if I can create a mostly positive, almost mystical, reputation. The reason for this documentation is to show that a reputation can be custom built.

Ground work
1. Work hard
2. Rarely party
3. Keep mostly quiet
4. Being helpful both in general and with technical work

Intermediate
1. Personal stories
a. Suspension from school for a weapon
b. Almost getting sent to juvie for computer hacking
c. Personal injuries ranging from the chivalrous to the inquisitive
2. Eventually creating a unique style of dress (probably won't happen before I leave the circus, but the groundwork will hopefully be put in)

Advanced
1. Falling asleep in the trunk space of a suburban driven by a New York Marine in full "let's go" fashion
2. Reading alot (particularly reading the graphic novel Watchmen in two days)

Note the ground work wouldn't change as that is who I really am, but those are listed there to show what sets me apart initially. The rest of my actions are handpicked with the social experiment in mind.