The Importance of Being Less Earnest

The Importance of Being Less Earnest

Stop me if you’ve seen this one: Open on a shallow depth-of-field shot of a business owner, dentist or HVAC repair technician. They begin: At AAA Acme Services, we know your schedule is busy. Cut to montage of concerned customers nodding as AAAAS “team members” show...
The Importance of Being Less Earnest

The Obligatory Super Hole XI

After a decade of reviewing Super Bowl commercials, I considered changing the format for Super Hole XI. Then I considered getting some nachos. The nachos won. Therefore, the rules remain the same: I only review ads shown during the four quarters of the game, so no...
The Importance of Being Less Earnest

The Golden Rule of Marketing to Women

When asked to align this quarter’s Brand Brief with the editorial theme of the overall publication [the Winter 2016 edition of Omaha B2B magazine with the theme of women in marketing – Ed.], my first thoughts turned to satire. After all, there is no shortage of bad...
The Obligatory Super Hole XII

Advertising Across the Middle

Nearly three weeks have passed since a sizeable chunk of the American public did the (to some) unthinkable and elected Donald Trump the 45th President of these United States. To say considerable kvetching ensued would be an insult to understatement. Even the British...
The Importance of Being Less Earnest

Local Need Not Equal Yokel

As a child of not-the-90s, I grew up watching reruns of Leave It to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show and Get Smart on the local UHF channel. Which means most of the commercials interrupting my quality time in the Cone of Silence were for local businesses. And while some...