Powerful Message. Forget The sell.

 

When the message is so powerful for the time it airs and the concept is so intriguing, it’s no time to try to insert some kind of sell message. It’s better to do it as a feel-good public relations message. No one will notice your sell attempt anyway. They will remember the line: “Open your heart to everyone” at Thanksgiving time.

New book announcement

I’m pleased to announce the publishing of my latest book, “The Outrageous Hitting Coach.” A baseball guide with very unorthodox methods and training to improve hitting a baseball, told strategically from the pitcher’s point of view. Available from Amazon E-books.

“USING” STEPHEN HAWKING.

 

“USING” STEPHEN HAWKING.

Using Stephen Hawking as a favor to him to play a villain isn’t working for Jaguar. It gets attention, but using a person who probably was never in a Jaguar, and having him endorse it, is such a transparent use of borrowed interest. At the end, he states: “ We all drive Jaguars.”  He could just as easily have said: “We all eat at Burger King.”

I’m proud to announce the publishing of my first full-length book in electronic form. It’s called “West Thirteenth Street” and it’s a collection of memories of coming to New York City in the early 1960’s, and living on a dynamic street in those fascinating, changing times.  It covers the start of my career in advertising , beginning at Doyle Dane Bernbach.

This is not a novel. It is a memoir. The events actually happened. Only the names have been changed.  Available at Amazon Books.

CHILD ABUSE FOR PROFIT.

CHILD ABUSE FOR PROFIT.

How cheap are you to steal from your kid?  How stupid, and borderline abusive to do something dangerous to him? All for some change to buy a pizza that you are too lazy to go to your car to get your wallet to pay for? And what’s the chance he’d have over $5.00 in change in his little pockets? The idiot isn’t the character in this spot, it’s the idiots that came up with this ridiculous commercial, the person who approved it, and the client who ok’d spending his money on a TV spot designed to disgust his customers. They must be desperate for attention with all the competition around for pizza.

HOW TO START AND COORDINATE A SMEAR CAMPAIGN.

HOW TO START AND COORDINATE A SMEAR CAMPAIGN.

It’s sickening to see phony propaganda tactics used during a presidential campaign. People should be able to make a decision without being swayed by professional propaganda people.

                               7 KEY PARTICIPANTS:

1. THE ANALYZER.- Determines the most dangerous  opponent or policy. Decides the key smears to use.

2. THE SIGNALLER- Kicks off the smear campaign. It’s usually a popular comedian who makes the smear seem innocent. (late-night comedians) (“Saturday Night Live”)

3. THE PARROTS-“news”/media people who repeat smear points endlessly (the big Lie: say it often enough and it becomes truth.),   (panel discussions, talk shows) (media “spokespeople”).

4. THE WEAK DISSENTER- Used on panel discussions to give the impression of “balance”. Unable to defend or push back against the smears. Makes the opponent seem as weak as the weak dissenter.  (all panels that are loaded with 3 against 1 .)

5. THE APOLOGISTS- “spokespeople” who try to neutralize a serious charge against the preferred candidate, by equating something the opponent has said or done, whether it is equal or not.

6. THE ATTACK DOGS- Certain hosts and invited “spokespeople” on “news” programs who re-enforce the smear points. They are known as “haters” by impartial viewers, and “favorites” by ones who agree with the favored candidate.

7. THE ENABLERS- “press people” in the audience of press conferences who feed questions to the speaker (the president or the candidate.) that enables a smear answer. Or in a case when the problem is a serious threat to their cause, the question allows an “explanation” that minimizes the charge or event.

8. PROFESIONAL RIOT ACTIVISTS-taking over a legitimate protest. License to loot, steal, and keep the smear on the front pages.

See them all make daily appearances up to the election. Or even afterwards if the “wrong” candidate wins.

USING CELEBRITY’S FAMOUS FAULTS.

 

USING CELEBRITY’S  FAMOUS FAULTS.

Verizon’s FIOS TV has a way for a technician to observe a problem using the customer’s smart phone. In this case, John McEnroe couldn’t tell whether the plug was in or out. This was the cause of most of his arguments when playing tennis, about whether the ball was inside the line or outside of it. Subtle, but clever, if you know the reference.