Tag Archives: Giles Keeble

I came late to Bob Hoffman, the Ad Contrarian. He writes very well in a no-bullshit New York accent, though I believe he now lives in California. His dismantling of the digital hype is not the railing of an old ...

1. CLR James in ‘Beyond a Boundary’ wrote: “What does he of cricket know who only knows of cricket?” I used to substitute ‘advertising’ for ‘cricket’ – a point Jeremy Bullmore has made in the past with particular reference to ...

Bill Bernbach once wrote that the truth isn’t the truth until someone believes you. He was of course making the point about the importance of response in communication. Recently, research in the US has shown how the ultra-right have ‘gamed’ ...

As the world post-Brexit and post-Trump election seems to be getting more divisive, ads seem to be falling over themselves to be more politically correct. This is perhaps especially noticeable because of the amount of slice-of-life stuff there is out ...

The Oxford English Dictionary has declared “post-truth” is the word of the year. It means “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” This seems ...

I’d like to end my musings for 2015 with three separate thoughts. 1. In his piece on Agency of the Year, Stephen Foster wrote that one way of reversing agencies’ fortunes, and the short-termism of shareholders and its effect on ...

As a postscript to Paul Simons’ piece on Christmas ads, a few thoughts on the ideas that may lie behind them. Paul writes about the stock room of Christmas props, both pagan Santa stuff and co-opting Christian music and imagery. ...

Why are you advertising? When I asked this question on advertising courses for marketing people, I was surprised how little thought it was given. The head of research at one multinational was quite clear it was to increase sales, and ...

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” (George Bernard Shaw.) I recently came across an agency claim that they create one idea that can work anywhere, in any channel. This is, of course, ...