My Books
Both “Hey Whipple” and
“Thirty Rooms to Hide In” are available on amazon.
Book Me
Book me for speeches and workshops. (Ask about my “No Suck Guarantee”)
I Teach
Lately I’ve been teaching at the Savannah College of Art and Design. It’s pretty cool.
Ad Students’ Assignment: Write Headlines for The Onion
As a writing assignment, I ask students to pen headlines for The Onion. I made a first cut and then two advertising friends helped with final judging. Hope you like.
GOLD
Grammar teacher corrects suicide note
Pedophile Worried He Might Be Priest
Study: Rubbing crying friend on back does nothing for them.
SILVER
Holocaust museum adds fun new interactive experience.
Area Moth Complains Bulb ‘Too Bright.’
RUNNERS UP
Remedial Latin Student Can Only Half Summon Satan.
2018 Flat Earther’s Conference to be held in Sydney.
Opinion: How Do We as a Country Reconcile the Fact My
Wife is a Total Fucking Bitch.
Science Says That It Really Do Be Like That Sometimes.
Army Pilot Sure He Parked Stealth Aircraft ‘Right Here.’
Meth is Back and Better Than Ever!
Lincoln Impersonator Shot.
Are Homosexual Male Relationships Sexist?
Proctor & Gamble Releases Chicken-Flavored Tide Pods.
Nation’s Dogs Wonder “Am I A Good Boy?”
Start Smoking in Just 5 days!
Cobb: “Never Expected Salad Thing to Work.”
Toyota Announces Prius to be Manufactured with Coexist
Sticker Painted On.
Woody Allen Set to Direct Next Movie in ‘Predator’ Franchise.
Women Not Flattered By “You’re Actually Really Funny”
Area Man Discovers Rows of ‘Books’ in Liberry.
Quad-Amputee Criminal Armed and On the Run.
Health Nut Won’t Just Buy Regular Fucking Bread.
Cats: Catching on to Laser Pointer Thing?
FDA Medical Marijuana Researchers Conclude ‘Fingers Essentially Little Legs for Your Hands’
Area Man Accidentally Calls 911 Instead of Mother During Masturbation Mishap.
Woman Projectile Vomits to Protest Catcall
Kanye Joins Family of all K’s. Co-inkydink?
President Moth Issues Statement: “I Did Not Have Relations With That Lamp.”
J.K.Rowling Reveals Hedwig Was Black
New Roommate Talks About Study Abroad Trip For, Like, Fucking Ever
Johnny’s Girlfriend Realizes Everyone Knows Her Only As “Johnny’s Girlfriend”
Man Who Constantly Skipped Leg Day Topples Over
Apple Farmer Complains Gravity Damaging Crops.
Post Impeachment, Trump Spends Summer ‘Crashing at Cody’s Place.’
Picture of Blake Lively Reminds Man He’s Not Full-on Gay.
White Girl Reportedly Huge Fan of Brunch
Area Man Weighs In With Opinion on Thing That Doesn’t Involve Him.
Dogs Protest For Higher Quality Homework.
Swim Meet Parent Holds Sign “Swim Fast or I’m Leaving.”
Mailman Frankly Shocked How Little Cash He’s Finding in Peoples’ Mail.
Michelle Obama: Still Pissed at Fat Kids.
Social in 4 Steps. (Sometimes 3, Maybe 2.)
(Revised from an earlier post.)
“Don’t do an ad. Do something interesting.”
This is one of the best and most basic pieces of advice I have for my students and, for that matter, anyone in the communications industry. Because when you follow it, you’ve pulled yourself out of the old world of advertising into the new.
The old-world model is what I’ll call “interruption-based” advertising.
In this model (which is kinda like Mad Men), we all sit around drinking “highballs,” smoking filter-less cigarettes, and figuring out the right message; the right headline. “What,” we ask, “is precisely the thing we want to say?”
Once we have this polished gem of advertising perfection, we go out into the world and use it to interrupt, harangue, and irritate pretty much everybody. We barge into their homes, onto their TV programs and car radios, and breathlessly unreel our fascinating story about our acne medication that will change lives.
The new model, I think, is not only more polite but more effective. The new model suggests instead of saying something, we do something. We do something so interesting we don’t have to interrupt anybody to get their attention. Because if what we do is sufficiently interesting, they’ll find us. Our ads don’t have to carry our message, people will.
The real trick in this new model is this: we have to do things so interesting, people will listen even if they’re not currently in the market for our brand or even our category. I’ve watched – and I’ve shared – interesting content made by tampon manufacturers. Such is the difference between messaging and content. Because content is interesting in and of itself.
Where we once spent time worrying about what our clients should say, today our time is often better spent figuring out what brands can do.
Doing something interesting, something that communicates the value of a brand without using interruption, is the first part of a simple four-step approach I learned from my co-author, Edward Boches. He writes about it elegantly on pages 211 – 213 in the new edition of Hey Whipple, Squeeze This.
I’ll be doing a live webinar on how folks can use this concept to leverage social media platforms for their brands. I promise it won’t suck and it happens this very Friday, March 30th at 1pm EST. You can register here.
