Opportunity Missed

The cover story in the current Business Week contains a powerful photograph of a man in New York’s Times Square. I don’t know him or anything about his situation, and hope he finds a job soon. But I can’t help but lament the opportunity he may have missed. Within that missed opportunity is a copywriting […]

Bad News For Portland Advertisers

I just finished Day 2 of Dan O’Day’s Copywriting Master Class. Just Dan and ten students. Two flew in from Australia, one from Canada, and one from Fiji. Although there are lots of people writing and producing radio commercials in Oregon and Washington, I’m the only person from the Pacific Northwest at this seminar. So […]

How Language Affects Real Estate Prices

For those in any industry who agonize over their media choices and then have someone “just bang some copy out”, here’s more evidence that every word can be precious.  Interesting article on msn.com about how the choice of words in a listing can increase — or lower — the perceived value of the house.   “In […]

Of Hot Chicks and Peak Oil

My former colleague Randy White is an activist in the Peak Oil movement. On his Lawns to Gardens Blog he’s posted a split-screen video. On the right side, a very attractive young woman, dressed for extremely warm weather, does a dance that would melt a glacier. On the left side, the same woman (I think), […]

Direct Mail Goes On a Diet?

It’ll be interesting to see next year’s version of Ben McConnell’s weigh-in : RRW’s Direct Marketing Blog reports that the Direct Marketing Association has eliminated the $1 fee it had been charging consumers to be part of its opt-out service, the DMA Mail Preference Service.  ____________________________________________________________________________________ I’ve written a white paper called The Seven Deadly […]