The Hum Haw Brief

Great advertising happens when creative agencies jam with passionate brand owners teasing out interesting stories around the brand. This is how these conversaions typically go… Agency: Does your product work better than competition? Client: Umm…not really A: Does it look better? C: No A: Is there something in the way you manufacture that is interesting or new? C: Uh, let me think… We actually have … Continue reading The Hum Haw Brief

The black art of Branding

Lets never forget for a moment that branding is just a modern version of the black arts that works at the dark depths of the barely understood, sub-conscious mind, lulling the customer with the vague scent of familiarity, into a non-rational, non-questioning frame of mind that promotes mindless repetitive behavior… a slave to the brand’s commands. Lets never forget… The primary purpose of branding is … Continue reading The black art of Branding

Shocking truths about advertising, now

Back then, advertising was a necessary intrusion into daily life Now, advertising is a pest that softwares are trained to nix Back then, advertising was a creative tool that could generate sales Now, advertising is high-art that is best relieved of business objectives Back then, advertising was the core of marketing activity Now, advertising remains a core only for prehistoric relics Back then, advertising satisfied … Continue reading Shocking truths about advertising, now

The elusive Joe and the three idiots

Here’s the story of business in a nutshell. How all the functions in an organization work as a seamless whole attracting those elusive customers. A sneak peek into the hallowed world of marketing, customer acquisition and all that sort of stuff! The cast of characters: Joe: Potential customer Lord: The CEO Rob:The organization coach and consultant Baig: The Sales Guy Steele: The Marketer Barrow: The … Continue reading The elusive Joe and the three idiots

The personal vision of a vainglorious patriarch

Our restaurant is called His Master’s Choice It was about to be called His Excellency’s Labour of Love Bucky preferred the former. We do not add any sugar to our dishes Or salt We make our food bland But with a distinct Caribbean flavour We are 100% vegetarian We use only organic produce in our kitchen We buy all our spices from Ms.Martin’s farm All … Continue reading The personal vision of a vainglorious patriarch

Come new year, and things will never be the same again!

A new year can be a time for us to break free from the past and do things like we have never done them before. It is a time for us to dump the past, (maybe) relook at the past (oh oh that’s too pedestrian, replace with) revisit the past (that would be more inoffensive practical (that sounds too tame) pragmatic) and chart a brave … Continue reading Come new year, and things will never be the same again!

The degeneration of the creative brief: Innocence, Cynicism, Farce

Most mediocre pieces of advertising (and design) have often started with a degenerate creative brief where lofty ideals have degenerated to meaningless banality, faster than melting ice. Here’s a sneak peek from the bored room bug on what happens behind those closed doors. The Cast: Loo: The client – Marketing head of a large firm Fro: Account servicing head – advertising agency Xes: The Creative … Continue reading The degeneration of the creative brief: Innocence, Cynicism, Farce

50 ways to kill your brand before your competition can

Assume that your close family members are adequate representation of the consumer Analyse the brand track in great depth and get lost in the details Stop investing in the brand altogether Blame the creative agency for poor advertising Blame the sales team for shops not showing interest in stocking the brand Fight your way out of bad times by offering discounts Run a cleverly worded … Continue reading 50 ways to kill your brand before your competition can