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Desperation

Since the beginning of 2013, two rhinos have been killed in Southern Africa every single day. Poaching of rhinos for their horns has been on the rise, with over 600 killed last year alone. Poachers fly low over game reserves and dart them with tranquilizer guns. They are quieter that way. After having its horn hacked off the rhino dies slowly from loss of blood. The situation is desperate.

Oh Don Draper

Oh Don Draper. How we envy you. Your corner office. Your ability to make clients swoon with your dapper attire and witty banter. Your resilient lungs and liver. The fact that you and your buddies can get away with behavior that would make any modern day HR executive cringe. How we wish to be like you. To land the big deals. To make TV and Radio ads. To launch campaigns with no way to measure their effectiveness. How awesome would that be?

Love the Jump

I caught up with my brother-in-law a few days ago after not speaking with him for what seemed like an eternity. After we got past some of the obligatory updates on what we’ve both been up to, the conversation quickly moved to what our collective plans, hopes and dreams will be for the upcoming new year.

An Open Letter to Event Planners

I recently attended a conference in Los Angeles. The list of brands presenting and attending was quite impressive. I don’t want to say which conference it was, but many of the attendees were from the biggest consumer brands in the world. I felt very privileged to be rubbing elbows with such very important people. Of course, I was expecting to witness incredible, engaging and well put together presentations. The speaker list was “off the hook!”

I settled into my seat, put my iPhone away and prepared myself to be blown away. Two slides into the first presentation my heart sank.

Bad Education

I have two kids. The girl is 26, the boy, 23. They are smart, vivacious, full of energy and they are always ready and willing to work, and never say no to me. And I love that. But sometimes, I have to confess, I have to tell them to chill and I have to say no.

Let me explain: I’m only 38. So it’s physically impossible that they are my children. And I didn’t (legally) adopt them. So how did that happen, you may ask?

Question for You

The holiday season is here. I heard my first Christmas song on the radio. Lights are going up. Trees are seen tied to the tops of SUV’s. Over the weekend, family and friends gathered for some thankful gluttony. At Thanksgiving dinner, I was introduced to a good friend’s Father, who was in town visiting. He of course asked me what I did for a living. I told him. The small talk continued as we chatted about advertising, my career, DVR’s, a funny TV spot he liked and the annoying length of commercials during NFL games. Gesturing to me with his cocktail in hand, he then asked me a very pointed question. It was a sincere question. It felt like my Grandfather asking me what I really thought about something.

The Top 10 WTF Moments You Can Expect as an Intern

I am often approached by students and career-confused hopefuls who are eager to get their foot into the slamming door that is Advertising. That is, until they learn the truth. It’s not just one big beer garden full of skinny jeans and cufflinks. Well, not all the time…

So I’ve compiled a top ten list of things you can expect as an intern and how to cope, sanity-intact.

ECD: What’s the “E” Really Stand For?

I have been on the creative side of the agency business for my entire career. I have worked for some great agencies: creatively-driven agencies (BBDO), account-driven agencies (McCann) and digitally-driven agencies (iCrossing). Along the way, I was fortunate to work for a number of very talented Creative Directors, a host of stellar account folks and my share of forward-thinking clients. I have also worked for the stereotypical, yet very real, egomaniacal Executive Creative Director who “sold” only their own work – campaign after campaign, year after year.

A Detour On The Death March To Irrelevancy

When you think of great advertising communities both past and present, certainly a few places come to mind: San Francisco, New York, Minneapolis, Richmond, LA, Portland, etc. These are cities with robust creative communities and multiple agencies competing on the national stage with great work for great clients. These communities draw talent and clients like moths to flame.

Dallas isn’t one of them.

Thought Experiment: What Happens If You Combine Marketing Concepts and Evolution

I’m an interaction designer for a digital agency so concepts from biology rarely make an appearance at work. And yet, I’ve harbored an obsession with evolutionary biology since high school, so when I get a chance to think about how it applies to my work, I take hold of it greedily.

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