199: Is GeorgeCo LLC really a Delaware company?
Finally, and at long last, George Tannenbaum answers the question on everyone’s mind: Is GeorgeCo LLC really a Delaware company? He talks about much more than that, of course. Henry Gomez and I delight in the return of our friend. He’s our holiday present to all of you. Consider this our joint thank you for […]
198: Alex Morris on the tension between strategy and creative
Our guest, Alex Morris, is a freelance strategy consultant who authored a study Creatives on Strategy: Looking Outside Ourselves to Define What Strategy Offers. It is a survey of creatives’ thoughts about strategy. And it’s the topic of our discussion today. Alex is a strategist of high regard, as evidenced by the comments from his […]
197: Ed Tsue—the brief is dead!
Ed Tsue, Global CSO at Media Futures Group, a respected and admired strategist in our industry, tells us that the Creative Brief is Dead. Today on The Brief Bros., he defends and expands on his position, first posited in his Medium newsletter a year ago. And thanks to last week’s guest Ed Cotton, who reposted […]
196: Ed Cotton’s creative brief provocations
When he launched his Substack blog Provoke six months ago, strategist Ed Cotton had a clear goal. He decided to post excerpts from and links to his favorite LinkedIn articles. But he didn’t stop there. When a topic struck his fancy, he looked beyond LinkedIn and created a curio box of goodies. Most are strategy […]
195: Writer Derek Walker—shunned by agencies, embraced by brands
It’s a too-familiar story. Derek Walker, copywriter and agency founder, came to advertising via journalism. When he graduated, he couldn’t find work in ad agencies. Instead, he cut his teeth in corporate America. Radio Shack, for one, where as in-house ACD, he worked on the Howie & Teri television spots. As he tells it, his […]
194: Christopher Owens, Part 2
Part 2 with Christopher Owens, head of brand strategy at TRG, formerly The Richards Group. Today, Christopher continues to share his passion for strategy. He talks at length about the dangers of short-term thinking on building brands. Then he addresses the turn away information-driven creative back to creativity and story-telling to make emotional connections. He […]
193: Christopher Owens, Part 1
Our guest this week is the man who put us in touch with the author of the famous Kiwi shoe polish creative brief. Christopher Owens, head of brand strategy at TRG, formerly The Richards Group, hired Sarah Walker-Hall. He reached out to us years ago and asked if we wanted to meet this strategist. And […]
192: Coach Rob Schwartz, Part 2
The second part of our conversation with TBWA Worldwide’s Rob Schwartz. Today, guest-host David Moore and I talk with Rob about the heroes among strategists. The story behind the full-page ad for TBWA\Chiat\Day NY’s move. What’s the way forward for our industry? Is advertising creatively rewarding? And more. Reminder: For a 90-minute live webinar and […]
191: Coach Rob Schwartz, Part 1
Creative Director. Executive Creative Director. Chief Creative Officer. CEO. Chair. And now Certified Coach. All the aforementioned at TBWA\Worldwide. First in Los Angeles, then in New York. Rob Schwartz has worn many hats in his illustrious career. He was even my boss at Team One Advertising in the late 90s before he moved on to […]
190: Nick Cohen talks about Honest!
Part memoir, part textbook for all creative entrepreneurs, Nick Cohen‘s Honest! A True Story of a Ridiculous Attempt to Make Advertising More Truthful is a must read. It’s fun, funny, and an improbable tale of 15 years of creative genius and ground-breaking work. And it’s the unforgettable story about the founding of a brilliant shop, […]
