Mountain Man

It's nice to be home.

I have had a chance to rest. To hang out in the snow. To breathe the clean mountain air. And get back on my feet.

My little mouse is still in Hong Kong, but I will see her soon.

In the meantime, I haven't stopped solving briefs. I must say, it is much easier to do so at your leisure.

Time is the biggest enemy of the creative mind. Although deadlines do keep the mental momentum going.

We're #1

Well, well, well. It looks like all of that hard work, blood, sweat and tears has paid off.

Ogilvy has been chosen as the #1 agency in Hong Kong by Marketing Magazine.

Not just for creative, but in every category, across the board.

So yay for us.

Sleep, Eh?

I haven’t posted for a while because I’ve been a bit blah.

However, I have a vacation in the works. So I’m going back to Canada to rest.

Ahh, sweet, sweet sleep. It’s what Hong Kongers look forward to more than anything else (I’m not kidding, just ask them).

I saw this ad the other day and it made me laugh.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

This is quite nice.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

I love the writing in this ad.

Hard Sell Headlines

You know you are a good copywriter when you can write a great headline about something as mundane as a 50% off sale.

This one is my favourite:

Pay half now, nothing later.


While I'm at it, this one is pretty sweet.

What Do I Do All Day?

I spend all day writing and coming up with ideas.

I spend all day trying to dream up with something like this:






So simple. So brilliant.

Just a guy driving around with a Starbucks coffee glued to his roof. Everyone that tells him about it gets a free coffee, or something like that.

That is your job? Why yes it is.

Zounds!

I’ve logged 100 hours this week.

Madness.

With all this work, am I getting any closer to my goal?

Well, I’m getting a lot of practice if nothing else.

This ad is fantastic:

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Hard Work Never Killed No One

Wow.

What a week.

We’ve been putting in 14-16 hour days for the last five days.

Now, it’s 1:30 on a Friday night and I’m still here.

Tomorrow we work.

Sunday we work.

Three major projects for three major accounts, plus all the day-to-day stuff.

Hong Kong is crazy.

A Little Shuffling

Here' s my latest article, although it may seem a bit familiar.

Give Us Your Issues, Plights and Causes


This is a nice spot:

Stunts

After two weeks of scheming initiatives every night, we’ve got 50 more ideas.

But work is piling in. And some astounding new briefs. So now all our energy is going towards that.

There’s a chance here to make some astonishing stunts for the New Year, the kind of stuff that makes the papers.

Here’s what I mean by ‘stunt’:




At the time, this was the world’s largest announcement. It was for the launching of the Financial Times in Asia. This building is the IFC, the tallest building in HK. They made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for this one.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Okay, the first time I saw this I thought it was outrageous. Great art direction, but compeletely outrageous.

Now, after watching it a few times, I think it's great.

If an ad grows on you, that's a good sign.

Linkin Park

So I went to see these guys last night. Now, I’m not a big fan. But the show was alright.

There was none of this sitting on your hands until politely clapping business like at the other show I saw there.

At least when there’s a rock show in Hong Kong they treat it like a rock show. My back row seat was easily upgraded to a front section spot after joining the hordes of sprite-ish and black-clad locals as they slipped past security, and, like lemmings, scrambled over the seats and piled into the front.

There were mobs of pumping fists and rehashed lyrics and screaming faces. According to the singer, we were the best city of the tour, so we were probably the first.

He put on a pretty good show. Nothing but the front pockets of his shirt retained their original color.

50? Aieya! So Many La!

Why come up with so many ideas?

I see it like this. Once you’ve gone through your own initial screening you end up with four types of ideas:

Sparks – these can set off another idea, which can help it grow into a big big idea. You can’t predict how your partner’s mind will work, so if it has potential to be good, it could be a spark.

Dead ends – Here’s an ad that is hopeless, you just haven’t seen the hopelessness yet. Compared to other ads in the same category, it doesn’t match up in terms of unexpectedness.

Dones – If it has been done. It has been done. No point. With enough eyes that have read enough ads, it doesn’t take long to find what has been done already.

Gems – There’s a solid idea there. It’s a good ad. You just need someone else to say so too.

We’re on our way to another 50 by Friday. I’ll let you now how Round 2 goes.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Pine Sol - Shame

Churn, Churn, Churn

It’s been a crazy week for Howard.

He has hardly slept. Yesterday he was up for 40 hours straight.

We still managed to show our CD 50 ideas. Of those he liked 8. Of those the ECD liked 2.

Now, we just need to mock them up. Then get the clients onboard.

And we’re rolling.

Things are going well. I'm shooting for another 50 by next Friday.

This means a lot of running.

Tapped In

Howard and I have a plan.

We are going to crank out 10 initiative ideas every night.

When we have 50 each (ideally, every Friday) we’ll show our CDs. They’ll help us whittle those 100 down to about 5 to show the ECD.

If we can get one idea through a week, we’re laughing.

This is our ticket to success, and ultimately, to reaching our goal.

I’ve been on a roll. I’ve been tapped in. I’ve got a lot of nuggets. I just need Howard to see if they’re fool’s gold or not.

Earshot

Ah chaos.

At this very moment there are six songs going on (from itunes, ads, and whatnot).

I like it. It's good for the ol' synapses.

1. “Feel it in the Air” – Phil Collins
2. “Park Life” – Blur
3. “15 Step” – Radiohead
4. Is that the Cult?
5. Random cantopop numbers from random corners
6. “Hey Little World” - The Hives

Idea Factory

The best part about being in a creative industry is having the resources to bring ideas to life.

It’s always been a popular pastime for my friends and I, to dream up random inventions and schemes.

Working for an idea factory, these inventions and schemes can actually be…actualized.

It’s a pretty sweet situation to be in. No worries about patents, or lawyers, or prototypes, or bank drafts, or any of the fuss of going out on your own. You just need to pitch it to a company that wants to run with it, and you are on your way.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

I love the twist in this ad.

It’s for a site to rent better apartments? No.

It’s for a flat screen TV? Noooo.

What the heck is it an ad for anyway?

Big on the Medium

For me, a great way to get inspiration is by reading magazines.

You can look at any given ad and ask yourself two things:

1. Does it cut through the clutter of everything else in the magazine?

2. Does it have enough branding to differentiate itself from its competition in the same product category?

Then I set to work on making those two things happen.

Looking at the medium, in this case magazines, is also a good way to remind yourself how a finished ad will look, or what a client will be happy with at the end of the day (or month-long process).

It’s usually not that extreme.

This is where the second part comes in. Coming up with an award-winning idea to fit the brief.

However, award-winning caliber communication is never the safe road (entirely because it hasn’t been done before). So to have it run, you need a client with faith in the very professionals they have hired. And advertising as a whole.

To me, that’s the ultimate goal. To produce an award-winning ad that is put in heavy circulation.

But at this stage in my career, I'd be happy with anything.

Another Gem From Scandinavia

Black Dogs

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

No Sleep ‘til Kowloon

One of the problems with Hong Kong is that you are putting in 12-16 hour days, every day.

You never get a chance to breathe, let alone think about anything except what’s immediately on your plate (which is a lot).

When you are not working on the weekends, you have to spend that time coming up with initiative stuff for awards.

Last weekend wasn’t so fruitful so now I’m panicking. The clock is ticking. I need to eliminate the noise that is sleeplessness and exhaustion and overload. I am seeking that Zen state. Clearing my mind of all but ideas. Mmmm. Okay, quit reading, you are distracting me.

Quelle Coincidence!

I just noticed that the columnist for The Peak, Hong Kong's magazine for the super-rich, is Rick Hetamalle.

I know that guy.

The Return of The Hives

On a note completely unrelated to advertising - the new Hives album has arrived.

Excellent stuff.

Crafting vs Concepting

I spend half of my time crafting copy. Basically just writing and writing and re-writing.

Sometimes this is my work that I am smoothing out to be perfect. Sometimes, being an English copywriter and all, it’s editing other people’s stuff.

I spend the other half of my time coming up with ideas.

Advertising is a crazy business, because you come up with ideas all day (or half a day) every day, and all you have to show for it later is a handful of ads at the end of the year.

That’s the nature of concepts. It takes time for them to be realized.

When a copywriter shows their portfolio to a creative director there should be a balance of crafted writing and conceptual thinking in their book.

After a year and a bit in Hong Kong, I have heaps of crafted writing, but not so much concept stuff.

So it’s going to be an initiative weekend for me.

Happy Halloween

Fickle Fickle SEO

I’m having more SEO problems. It appears I have a certain love/hate relationship going here with Google. Most of the time I’m at around #3 for English Copywriter, but for the last few days, I’ve been right off the map.

Curses. I’ll make a few tweaks here and there and we’ll see how it goes.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

via videosift.com

Up for some Scrabulous, Mr. Peanut?

Microsoft just signed a $240 million deal with Facebook. If nothing else, this tells us that this little networking site has something to offer in terms of advertising potential.

The thing about Facebook is all the little applications you can download. There are a lot of really dumb ones, but some are kind of cool.

These applications have been dreamed up by random entrepreneurs looking to build up databases. That’s fine, except for the spam. I just don’t get why the big brands haven’t jumped onboard yet, but to do more than just collect names and interests.

The way I see it, you could create a Facebook character to represent the brand (and most brands already have a character in mind). Then build up a network and involve them in games, riddles, puzzles, and all the while offer the latest promotions etc. through the one-on-one interaction with your audience.

Ah, we’ll see.

English Copywriter x 2

Here's another one from the mouse.

Spectators at the Beijing Olympics Warned to Watch their Lungs

Identity Crisis

My little mouse has been busy.

Here's the latest: I am not a plastic bag.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

So simple.

Weather Schmeather

My latest article is out. I wrote this one with Maria.

Weather Modification at the Beijing Olympics

Influential Speakers Take II

Keeping with the theme of pivotal pitches, here’s another.

It’s one thing to give a persuasive speech for new business or funding, and quite another to speak, off the fly, to one very angry mob.

This is a speech given by Robert F. Kennedy in Indianapolis on April 4, 1968, the night of Martin Luther King’s assassination.

All over the United States riots had broken out upon hearing the news.

Now, he had to announce King’s death to a mostly black audience in a black neighborhood.

The speech he made was off the cuff, to a crowd on the verge of rioting.

That night, race riots broke out in 60 cities, but not Indianapolis.

Some attribute that fact to this speech.

Master of Puppets

Here’s Mr. Rogers winning $20 million for PBS in about six minutes.

Talk about a persuasive speaker.

Howard and I agree. The guy can pitch. And that I need to speak more slowly when I present.

Perhaps we need to throw down some poetry Rogers-style mid-presentation as well.

Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death

Hong Kong has to be the most convenient city in the world. Anywhere you want to go is within a ten or fifteen minute cab ride. And a ten or fifteen minute cab ride costs less than $40, which is like $5 Canadian.

Any type of food is right at your doorstep (at least if you live in Causeway Bay). And you never have to look far for any kind of service, be it optometrist, dentist, doctor, or a haircut.

Coming from a small town with three traffic lights, where the closest McDonald’s is an hour and a half drive away, it’s a bit surreal at times.

Here's a shot from my roof. Dig the old school buildings mixed in with the ultra-modern skyscrapers.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Pure candy.



So ridiculous it's good.

Back at It

Alright, that was easy to fix. I'm back in the listings.


Here’s another one from Happy Slip.

Dee-sas-tar

This is Happy Slip. Maria loves her.

It's pretty amusing stuff. I've been saying 'Dee-sas-tar' all day. Mostly because Google's banned me again...Ar! Dee-sas-tar! I'll have to sort this out - keep an eye out for some serious damage control in the next couple of days.

Ahhh Advertising

The sad reality of my job.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Another oldie. I absolutely loved this ad when I first saw it years ago.

The Steady Progression

Some people go from advertising to making music videos. Then, they go from making videos to making films.

Either way. Here are a couple of great ads that would make cool videos.





Here are a couple of cool videos that would make great films.

Probably Maybe

There’s nothing like having a word all your own.

Ad critics aside, it’s a marketer’s dream.

Take Volvo and safe. McDonald’s and fast.

But Carslberg probably has the best tagline out there:



And they use it to great effect.

You can’t run ads for alcohol or tobacco in Norway. So when Carlsberg wanted to sponsor a football (soccer) match in Oslo, they weren’t allowed to put their brand on the jerseys.

‘Simple’, said they, ‘we’ll just put: Probably….’

People got it. Loved it even.

The other day, I was watching ‘Pursuit of Happyness’ with Will Smith. I wasn’t a big fan of the show, but anyway, there is one scene where they walk along discussing the difference between ‘possibly’ and ‘probably’.

Right away Carlsberg came to mind. Is there a link? Or have I been doing this too long…

Either way, here’s another in that campaign I was going on about a few posts back.

Status Report # Something or Other

It may seem that I am meandering a bit with this ridiculous mission and all, but I’ll get you up to speed just the same:

Every so often we have initiative meetings to come up more off-the-wall stuff for our clients.

Ideally, if the work is clever enough, it will get produced. And if it is great, it may even win awards.

The whole creative team presented some work. Howard and I had some pretty cool ideas.

Only one of the concepts we presented was cleared for the next phase.

So, we’ll work on it, and make it into a campaign. This is the first hurdle. And there will be many more to come. (More ideas too.)

A Few More From Brian

This is a very cool idea for Toyota Corrolla. It's not a 3D rendering, it's an actual wire frame.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

This is very cool.

Genre-Bender

Every ad needs a twist. Something unexpected to hook the audience's attention or memory. Like a joke, this usually takes the form of a surprise at the end.

My favourite twists come from swapping moods. For instance, you set the stage for horror, and then deliver comedy. Or even more harrowing: you do the opposite.

Scandinavians do this very well...which is probably why I work so well with Swedes and Norwegians.

Here are a few examples:

This one reminds me of those train safety videos they made us watch as kids.



Here's a nature documentary on the world's hungriest animal.



A good twist on 'reasons to give'.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Some excellent Amnesty ads brought to my attention by my friend Brian.

The tagline is: It's not happening here but it is happening

Vancouver Transit Advertising

My friend Jon just informed me that the blog I made for him almost a year ago: Vancouver Transit Advertising is still on the first page of a google.ca search, even though he has hardly done any maintenance.

And the calls are coming in.

In my experiments with SEO copywriting over the last few years I have been able to pick and choose which words I want to shoot to the top of Google and keep them there.

I do this the hard way: through blogs. But so far, I’ve been on a roll.

Of the six blogs I’ve made, they are all doing well:

Freelance English Copywriter - #1 worldwide, with four links on the first page

English Copywriter - #1 worldwide, and four links on the first page

Sustainability Advertising (for Creative Wonders) - #1 worldwide, with four links on the first page

Copywriter in Asia - #1 worldwide, with three links on the first page

Vancouver Transit Advertising - #12 worldwide, #10 in Canada, with one link on the first page

Native English Teacher - #3 worldwide

The nice things about blogs, too, is you get shot up in the ratings for words you weren't even banking on.

For example, I am on the first page for SEO copywriting Hong Kong without even planning on it.

Is it just as simple as making a blog? Not exactly. But if you would like to know more, let me know.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Today is a family holiday for those in Hong Kong, much like Christmas is for us.

They get together with their loved ones and worship the moon. It's much cooler than putting out milk and cookies for a fat dude in a red suit when you think about it. They go to Victoria Park, sit under the big bright full moon with their lanterns and munch on, what else, but mooncakes.

Here in Hong Kong they don't have a 'man in the moon' but rather a 'woman in the moon'. According to Howard the story goes something along the lines of:

'There once was an Emperor that wanted to live forever, so he had a magical pill made that would give him immortality. One day, his wife came along and ate it on him, so she got to go up in the moon to live forever, and not him.'

I'm sure ther's more to it than that, but either way, Causeway Bay is nuts right now.The place was packed last night. It was like milling through a concert. With hour-long waits at the restaurants and traffic cops on every corner.

I am imagining today will be just as intense.

One of the drawbacks of being in a frantic industry like advertising, in a frantic country like Hong Kong, is that you need to work on the weekend sometimes, and your holidays as well. Ugh.

So, it's off to work I go.

Massive Media Buy

One of the nice things about working on big accounts is the amount of media you get.

Our Halloween stuff for Disneyland is everywhere right now. They bought the front and back cover of almost every metro newspaper and the TV buy is incredible. It’s a good campaign. I like it.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Two of my all-time favourites from way back.






Oh, I like this one too.

Advertising and Public Relations

Agencies always talk about seamless integration between their advertising and public relations. But it’s quite rare to actually see it in practice.

The new ebay campaign does it well.

The campaign is about all the gripes people have about Hong Kong, such as dripping air conditioners and how it is next to impossible to ride a bike around here, and stuff like that.

If you ask me there is too much of a disconnect between griping and buying something on ebay. But that’s not the point.

The point is, if you open HK Magazine, there is the ad about the bike lanes, and right next to it is an article in the paper about bikes.

It’s unobtrusive. It’s believable. It’s the perfect marriage of advertising and PR.

Why this doesn’t happen more often, I don’t know, but it sure is an effective way to drive home the message.

I think this eBay ad from New York is absolutely brilliant, it takes forever to load though.

eBay ad

Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment

Naomi Klein is an interesting cat.

She wrote No Logo a few years ago, and it's some serious food for thought.

It's something that everyone in advertising should read.

Now she's onto the dangers of capitalism brought about by disaster and crisis. Hong Kong, being the freest market in the world, may find this thought-provoking.

Check it out

Shock Therapy

Put 'er There

It’s good to have a partner.

I have been a lone wolf most of my career, so it’s a nice change.

Working with Howard reminds me of when Kristian and I first started out with PDP in Australia.

We were constantly coming up with wild plans. In fact, we even had a notebook that we called the ‘Book of Schemes’ that we would break out whenever we were on a roll.

We documented everything. And as a result, we came up with some great ads.

Howard and I are on the same page, awards-wise. At this point in our careers, we need that zoo (filled with lions and pencils – for lions to draw with). Only with that zoo will other agencies take us seriously enough for us to do what we actually want to do.

We want to make earth-shaking work for a client big enough to have an earth-shaking budget and media buy.

We want to make stuff that will get seen. And to do that, we may have to start by doing stuff that is basically invisible to all but other creatives. So it goes in this crazy biz.

However, as Howard reminds me, like, every day, we are working on two of the biggest clients in Ogilvy, in Hong Kong, in Asia for that matter, with some top-notch CDs, ECDs and super-suits....so here goes...

Honey, Quick, the Polaroid

Here are two campaigns that I think are fantastic.

They are both hinged on a fun, new big idea. They both have the potential for a lot of mileage. And both of them are ownable by their brand alone.

Doritos - these spots remind me of the Dead Kennedys.








Carlsberg - A fun, clever angle, that only they could pull off.



Hmm..I can't find the others, either way, you get the idea.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

The music is what gets me on this one.

Tough Crowd

I’ve been in Hong Kong for a year now, so I’m pretty much used to the way Hong Kongers react to presentations. But if you are from the West, and it’s your first time pitching, it can be rather unnerving.

Hong Kongers show no reaction. After doing your song and dance, they will sit, without expression, and give a single head nod and an ‘mm.’

This could mean they like it, this could mean they don’t.

Who knows? Either way, it’s not easy.

Copywriting, English Copywriting and SEO Copywriting

A few people have been inquiring about the differences between copywriting, English copywriting and SEO Copywriting.

Copywriting is one part coming up with ideas, one part crafting the words for execution.

An English Copywriter both a copywriter and an editor. As an English copywriter in a foreign country, my greatest obstacle is to produce idea-driven work that transcends language barriers. An English copywriter needs to have solid ideas to be recognized on an international stage.

SEO Copywriting is an entirely different kettle of fish. As opposed to being idea-driven, SEO Copywriting is more about bringing a site to a higher ranking in the Google search engines. It requires craft, but also a working knowledge of how pages are ranked. But of course, solid ideas have never hurt anyone.

Quick quiz – what kind of writing is this?

Trent Bright R.I.P.

Trent was a great friend and a noble, fun-loving and exceptional person. He will be missed.

English Copywriting in the Modern Age

I grew up in a town in the middle of nowhere. It's in the mountains of Canada, with a population of just over 4500 people. It's about 4 hours from Kelowna, where my friend is, so I'll pay my parents and brother a visit as well.

Even from there I can write, receive emails and fax comps to Howard and, hopefully, not even miss a beat while I'm away.

This is the joy of the modern age and the curse of the Hong Kong work ethic.

Life’s Cruel Twists

Four of my friends back in Canada were in a serious car accident yesterday. One of them is now in a coma.

Maria and I have decided to go to see him. We will be back on Wednesday evening.

Initiative Comes to Those That Wait

I read a great quote the other day:

"A lot of people never use their initiative because no-one ever told them to."

With the plan still in check, despite the odd ramblings, I start each day coming up with initiative ideas with Howard.

Essentially, this means we think of ideas for our existing clients before they have a chance to ask.

It's only a matter of time now until something really resonates.

Mike or Michael?

One of the most frustrating things in the world is having two names in a foreign country. For some reason banks, landlords, customs officials, and just about everyone else refuses to acknowledge that these two names are the same.

This means I have this endless back and forth between all of my documents because they all say something different…ugh, so annoying. Okay, I’m done. Thanks for listening.

But word to the wise: change your name to something simple.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

This is too good. They take stuff and put it in a blender to see if it gets destroyed or not.

Will It Blend?

And another fun ad.

Baskin Robbins - Peas

Vagabond Shoes

I’ve moved again.

I’m still in Causeway Bay, but a bit bigger place so Maria and I can stretch out a bit.

It took me three trips this time, so it looks like I’m breaking away from my personal mantra of ‘never own more than you can carry’.

Anyone need any DVDs or sneakers?

Why it Never Hurts to Have an English Copywriter On Hand

It's always handy to have a native English copywriter nearby to sort out conundrums like the every day vs everyday deal and to double-check for things like this:






(courtesy of engrish.com)

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Sizzle!

Crash Media Diet

Craigslist has its own, bizarre, online community.

People get on there to find new apartments, or work, or relationships, or just to rant and rave about traffic and politics and their pets and the world.

Every so often you find some really great anonymous writing on the “best of craigslist”.

Here are a few of my favourites:

How I got the best of this Nigerian scammer

MC Hammer pants

Warning: Credit Card Scam

One year ago today

You shot me after I got hit by a car last Halloween

Advice to young men from an Old Man

Free Terrarium - Mixed Media Piece

To the dude who answers the phone at Big Cheese Pizza

What A Reel

When I think to myself sometimes, 'what am I doing? I write ads...for a living...how ridiculous is that?'

It takes some amazing work to re-inspire me and remind me what I think is so fun about this bizarre job.

This is hands down the best reel I have ever seen.

Alex Bogusky's Reel

(courtesy of Ihaveanidea.org)

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Triple Distilled Copywriting

Copywriting is a lot like distillation.

You have to wade through an enormous amount of information. And make it concise.

Copywriting is a lot like translating.

You take something that is really confusing and unintelligible. And say it simply.

Copywriting is a lot like storytelling.

You have to keep people engaged. So they read it.

Cantonese 301

Say gun ah – Die hard

Ho Pow – super cool

Joe gay doh may yuun – work never ends

Joe Lay Ho One – good luck

Yang don deen – win/good luck in Macao

Die gut – good luck (when you sneeze)

Nay Joe Gun Mut Yah – What are you doing?

Gwan eh Gwhy see – None of your business!

Been Gohn – Who
Meh – What
Gay see - When
Been Doh – Where
Deem Guy – Why
Deem Yeung – How

Motz-zawa – Don’t leave

Poo jhen – disappear (mandarin)

Jo say yun meh – work to die

Pok guy – slip in the streets (damn you!)

Long ann – dragon eye (fruit)

Mol dee wa – nonsense

Jong Soy ah – very bad

So Qua – Stupid

Foo heenee – you do what I say

Hoy sum go-ah – Happy nuts

Hoy sum – happy

Lun Dan – Salary

Lone see fat – old man

Soh Chee – Finger

See Fat Kway – Pretentious

Cha Seeooh Fan – BBQ pork and rice

Sup mahn – 100,000

Escaping Sweetly

For some reason, few good live bands come through Hong Kong.

So when a concert does hit the town, sometimes you have to take what you can get.

Either way, I saw Gwen Stefani last night.

I'm not really a fan, but I had a good time.

If nothing else the girl is a performer.

Harajuku girls dressed as inner-city gang members, Rastafarians, and prisoners, danced alongside professional breakdancers and Gwen, who has all the smile and charm of a 30s Broadway star (with the endurance of an athlete).

I got a kick out of the Hong Kong crowd as well. So well behaved for a rock show. They were loving it, and when Gwen said she loved each and every one of them, they ate it up.

And so ruly. People actually stuck to their seats and did what they were told.

But then again, I usually go to shows like Tool and System of a Down.

Mmm. Yes. Mmm.

Don't Dance Dance Revolution

This just in from Strategy:

Milwaukee's Best Light website

Pretty amusing stuff.

Working with an Art Director

I've moved to a new seat so I can work next to Howard, my partner and AD.

I find after working with an AD, you think a little like an AD.

You'll see what I mean in the post below.

Sometimes writers can be so linear.

Sheesh.

Copywriting Skills

knihT


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Haystneedleack

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Well, the typhoon was a little disappointing.

It was just a bunch of rain, no palm trees and trailers flying through the air or anything.

But here I am, back at it, along with your Pick of the Week.

This one is an old one, but one of my all-time favourites.

Act of God

Hong Kong is going to be hit by a Type 8 Typhoon in about an hour.

They are sending everyone home.

If this is my last post, you'll know why.

SEO Copywriting and Patience

It took a while this time, but I'm finally on the first page for English copywriter. Now I have both the #1 and #3 spots.

I've been shooting for the top spot since this post: English copywriter link.

Sweet, and for Freelance English Copywriter I also have three of the top four.

It just takes a while.

In other news, I've also put Maria, and her blog Native English Teacher to the #2 spot on Google for, you guessed it, Native English Teacher (she's actually looking for new students now, so if you need lessons - let me know).

Teamwork

Excellent.

Ogilvy has paired me up with an Art Director, Howard, and an Assistant Art Director, Ciff.

And these guys are good.

I went for dinner with Howard last night and we are totally on the same page.

We’ve got the same goal: An Award at Cannes.
We’ve got some ideas.
This is when things get really rolling.

My plan at this point is to think small and then big.

We’ll start with ambient stuff for existing clients and then go for the big campaigns. My goal is to come up with one new initiative idea per week.

I know I can’t post any ideas on here, but once things start getting produced, I’ll show you.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Some extraordinary eye candy this week.

Four Exciting Days in Hanoi

Well, I’m back from four exciting days in Hanoi.

It’s a wild place, built around a tranquil lake in the centre of the city that is constantly circled by whizzing motorbikes blaring their horns and laden down by families of four, sometimes five.

They jockey for position between teeming throngs of taxis and exhaust and noise and cars and overloaded bicycles swerving through lineless lanes. Then meandering pedestrians in colourful clothes, sweaty tourists, wandering drones, and locals in pointed hats with bars on their sturdy shoulders like the banana scales of justice.

It is the perfect blend of France and the East. On one hand they live in a European land. Fantastic architecture with the skinny, tall, colourful houses and terraces and patios fit for the common royal, and delightful cuisine and joie de vivre. A necessary leisure that is second to nothing. On the other it’s the polar extreme. It’s all Asia, with driven sentiments, heritage and hustle.

I’ve never seen anything like it.

It’s a fantastic place and I wish I had more time.

Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary

I have been in Hong Kong one year now.

This is a great city/town/country (call it what you like). The weather is fantastic, the people are cool, and the work ethic here is unbelievable.

I’ve completely restructured my portfolio in this time and filled it with ads for some of the world’s biggest airlines, theme parks, casinos, hotels and banks. So that’s coo.

I came to Hong Kong to write.

I can’t imagine anywhere else in the world that gives you the fuel to produce so incessantly (as well as the lash to enforce it).

If nothing else I’ve been prolific.

I have written countless articles, three short stories, two websites, four songs, three blogs, a journal, 57 chapters of my book, as well as my daily ad writing that comprises thousands of words a week in print, brochures, TV, outdoor, online - you name it.

Just yesterday I was asked if I would also like to write a monthly column about my perceptions of this frantic town for a prestigious magazine. So that is quite an honour to be considered.

Last night at 8 pm I was assigned an 800 word brochure, I now realize it is due tonight.

Back in the day, in school, we were given three weeks for what I do in one day here.

Madness. Either way, it’s good for me. I like writing, and, I think, I’m getting better.

I’m off to Vietnam tomorrow for four days. It will be a nice little break. So we’ll catch up when I return, hopefully with some pictures and fresh inspiration.

The Plot Thickens

I learned something rather interesting the other day.

Gavin, our ECD here at Ogilvy, was asking me about this little mission of mine.

When he enquired to what my first step was to be to win this lion, I told him that it was to submit my work from a good agency, in this case, Ogilvy and Mather Hong Kong. The idea was that work is judged by the agency first, or it at least had some sway with the judges’ opinion.

He was quick to inform me that when the judges receive ads, there is no information attached to them that links them to an agency.

The work must stand entirely on its own.

In other words, it is judged without bias, which I found somewhat surprising (although looking back on it, I’m not entirely sure why).

So. The next step is to make a formidable ad…and I have just the client in mind.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Advertising and Mind Manipulation

I have always had an enormous curiosity about advertising. I used to wonder what was the great formula that made it so effective. So I became a copywriter to find out for myself.

The other day an old friend asked me what I had learned.

I suppose it boils down to one question:

Q. Is advertising messing with my brain as much as I think it is?

A. Yes. But mostly no.

Advertising is like this: It is mostly business. So you have to cater to the whims of the clients who are paying for it in the first place. This means that powerful emotional sway is immediately at risk because the more people involved, the more likely it is to get watered down to bland, tepid familiarity. Just imagine how Shakespeare would have turned out with a dozen editors. That’s one of hundreds of obstacles as to why advertising is not as effective/dangerous/mind manipulating as one would think it actually is.

Here are some other reasons:

English copywriter link

However.

The ideas produced in agencies are done so by some of the smartest, most creative and most cunning people I have ever met. They have a strong idea of what makes people tick and how to move them. They are excellent salespeople and keen observers of human nature. Their ideas work. They are intuitive, yet logical, and artistic, but their ideas click with people through a combination of experience in identifying what will work, and a natural ability to use words/images/ideas in a way that has a resonating effect.

This includes everyone from the writers to the client by the way.

Basically, these are people who have put an enormous amount of thought into how ads work. They understand the process, and in turn, they have a talent for messing with your brain.

So there is no set formula, just a lot of gut instinct from a few people.

Of those few, there are hundreds of others with opinions. And everyone with an opinion also has a fingerprint that they want to put on someone else’s concept. Sometimes this helps the idea. Most often, it doesn’t.

Suffice to say. Advertising is persuasive. But only at its best. And only because of the talent usually found in the halls of the biggest shops. In the same way a great book can move you, or an incredible song – there are a few people out there that are artful at creating sway. But in advertising, there are a lot of people who think that they have this capacity, but they actually don’t. This is why there are so many casualties. And this is why there are so many terrible ads out there. One part is having the ‘touch’ and the rest is fighting to prove it. Those that make careers out of this game are either really talented, or really aggressive, or both.

The great ads are what clients pay the big money for. They pay the big money to big agencies because big agencies have the resources to hunt down the top talent. It’s like a sports team.

Everything else out there is pervasive media. A repetition effect. And this is just mindless plastering to foster familiarity. Of course repetition works. Of course repetition works. Of course repetition works. Familiarity works! But that’s only half the game.

Sophisticated brands demand more. And they pay more. And that is why creative agencies exist in the first place.

But who’s to say if you’ve got the touch or not? Only time and consistent good ideas/work will tell.

The Subliminal Effect of Advertising

Food for thought:

I'm Famous

Well, not really, but I have people contacting me from Singapore in regards to social media and PR in Asia.

Check it out here: English Copywriter link

Awards! Uh! What is it Good For?

I’ve had people inquire as to how I plan to document my steps to get into Cannes when you can’t really disclose anything along the way.

This is a problem, I admit, I’ll have to mull this one over a bit first.

Why would I want to win an award in the first place?

Let me tell you, it isn’t about money – which can be a driving factor.

It’s about license.

With some letters behind my name (as in agencies) and awards under my belt, I will have the credibility I need to put some of my theories into action without seeming completely like a mad scientist.

Excellent!

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

Disneyland Summer Blast TV Shoot

Visually delicious.

Anticipation

The TV ad we’ve been working on is now out. It’s my first big-budget TVC for a major client at a major agency.

With that stage complete, I’m onto the next phase.

I was up all night trying to figure out where to go from here.

I can really stretch out in a lot of different directions, but my plan now is to sink my teeth into three major clients’ projects and produce something award-worthy.

Anticipation. This is the key, I figure. I want to produce something that will be anticipated.

The Bar Has Been Set

The Cannes Lions 2007 winners are out.

Well, they’ve been out for a while, but anyway.

As usual there is some stuff out there that blows my mind, as well as some stuff that makes me just go, ehhh.

If you were to ask me, ads that present a unique product benefit, framed in an insight about our culture, or behavior are the most powerful ads.

Sometimes you see stuff that you think was just rehashed from a comedy club somewhere. It’s a funny observation, or idea, shoved into an ad format.

I don’t why these win awards.

You also see the rehashed strategies from the previous year. If the award went to a cool idea, then why award that same idea for a new execution?

Pssah.

Anyway, here are some of my favourites from this year.

In regards to highlighting a unique product benefit in an insightful way, nothing beats this Burger King ad: English copywriter link

However here are some great ones:

I love this one.



For dropped calls by Cingular. (I have yet to see a concept this parodied on Youtube).



Bahamavention is a brilliant concept.



The Altoid Fruit Pants ad wins for the so-bizarre-it's-good category.



And you've never seen anything like this:



I like ads that hit emotional chords as well. I really like this Nike spot, because it takes something as universally regarded as superficial and cheap as an interruptive advertisement and it marries it with a profound emotion…without crossing over into the realm of cheese through immaculate execution.

By focusing on the pain of defeat, this ad, I feel, has the most emotional, and thus the greatest connection to a brand of all this year’s winners.

There are other things to keep in mind. I have an attention span of four seconds. If it doesn’t engage me in that time, or hold my attention for that long after, I am changing the channel. Also, I’m seeking these ads out. If I don’t want to see them, they won’t work at all. This combines with the whole attention-grabbing-cut-though-the-clutter ideology as well.

Needless to say, this year had a few gems that reminds me why I get such a kick out of this industry, and why I work so hard at something that seems so ridiculous sometimes.

Advertising and the Elaboration Likelihood Model

My favourite communication theory (don’t we all have one?) is the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). I’ve been thinking about this one quite a lot lately.

The ELM dictates how information is stored in your brain.

In a nutshell, there are two types of memory (recollection and recall) that stem from two modes of persuasion (central and peripheral).

But before we get carried away, let’s talk about memory.

Recall is when you can regurgitate a piece of information off the top of your head, such as your phone number. Recollection is when you can’t remember something just then, but you ‘know it when you see it,’ such as your license plate number.

This is very important for advertisers to know.

What is more important, however, is how information gets to the ‘tip of your tongue’ vs. the ‘top of your mind’ in the first place.

This is where the ELM comes in.

Basically, it’s a very straightforward theory: the more you have the ability and desire to elaborate on something, the more likely you are to develop a lasting determination (either for or against the information presented, depending on how much you like it). In other words, if you take time with something, you will be more persuaded, for a longer period of time, because in essence, you are persuading yourself.

This is called central processing.

If information is thrown at you quickly and you only have a second to process it, you will make a determination on whether you like it, or believe it or not, based on an emotional response. This persuasion is ephemeral, that being, it doesn’t last too long or penetrate too deeply.

This is called peripheral processing.

Centrally processed information gets shuffled over into your recall part of the brain.

Peripherally processed information gets shuffled over into the recollection part of the brain.

In other words, if you want something to have a lasting recall effect – be logical, write a book (or blog). If you want to go for immediate response, pull at the heartstrings and write a fancy jingle.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

This is fun.

Whiskas - Only cats can be cats

Five Reasons Why Your Business Could Use an Award-Winning Advertising Campaign

1. To make money

There is a direct correlation between good creative advertising and sales. It’s like a recipe. If you don’t believe me, check out the Gunn Report.

2. For the talk power

People talk about good ads. They bring them up in dinner conversations and on the bus. They email them to their friends. They become a part of our culture. The more people like the ad, the more free advertising you get, and the more you save on your media costs, the closer we get to point 1.

3. For the press

Awards get a lot of press. Full-page articles are written about good campaigns and great campaigns become the stuff of textbooks, annuals and magazines. Press beats advertising any day, mostly because it’s free. And the more you save, the closer we get to point 1.

4. For the bragging rights

That’s right, having a wicked ad campaign is cool. Your friends will think you are cool and even better, they’ll think your product is cool. The cooler people think your product is, the more they buy it, and the closer we get to point 1.

5. To get better staff

This works for advertising agencies and I’d bet good money that it works for outlets as well. People take pride in working somewhere that is cool. Just look at Diesel, or Nike, or Mini. An award-winning ad will bring you better staff. And the better, and happier, your staff, the more they sell and the closer we get to point 1.

One Dash of Insight, One Dollop of Luck

I’ve been keeping an eye on my Google ranking. Basically I want to do the same thing with this English copywriter blog as I did with my Freelance English Copywriter blog. That being, I want to get to the top. Oh yeah.

I’m at #60 now for English copywriter, but she’s slowly growing.

The major difference between the two was that my last one offered a step-by-step on how to get a job, while this one is more organic at the moment. I’ll need to figure a way around this, as it is awfully hard to wrangle opportunity and idea generation into measurable steps.

English Copywriter AKA Octopus

What does an English copywriter at an ad agency do anyway?

An English copywriter is an octopus.

There are always eight things on the go.

I break it down into the following:

1. Concepting – this is the stuff you are constantly switched on to do. To find the BIG IDEA, something you can hinge an entire campaign on. This is the most fun part of the job. It is also the most harrowing, as you can’t force an idea, you can only coax it out of its hole with promises of a better life and scraps of cheese and bread.

2. Headline writing – as an English copywriter you have to write copy for your ads, obviously, but as the English copywriter, you also need to help write copy other people’s ads as well. That’s a part of the job.

3. Body copy – there are always articles, press releases, brochures, direct mail pieces, websites, etc. All the below-the-line stuff. As an English copywriter, this is also a part of what I do.

4. Drawing – you need to be able to draw to get your ideas across. I’m not much of an illustrator, but I had to learn the basics to convey an idea.

5. Polishing – This is where you take something that is already written and smooth it out to sound a bit nicer. At Ogilvy the standard of English is very high, so it’s no problem.

6. Proofreading – this is going through every word with a fine-tooth comb to check everything from spelling, to commas, to kerning.

7. Transcreating – this is similar to polishing, but you need to add your own flair. Basically this is a back-translation from a pre-existing ad. Back-translations can sound a bit strange sometimes, so you need to inject the idioms and colloquial nature of English into the pre-existing idea.

8. Sales – advertising, bottom line, is about selling things. So you need strong salespeople all along the line. So when I come up with an idea, I need to sell it. First to the creative directors, then to the accounts and strategy folk, and then the client. If you can’t sell things in this game, you are in trouble.

That said, how do I like being an octopus writer? I like it. It suits me just fine.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week - Take Two

Stop press.

For I hadn't found this yet.

This truly is the best thing related to advertising this week.

Armwrestle the Most Interesting Man in the World

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

English Copywriter in Hong Kong

Here's my latest listing in the Hong Kong, China Copywriter, Copy Writer Directory

Why Strive for Awards?

Advertising isn’t like any other industry.

Awards in most jobs are few and far between, and when they are granted, they are rare, momentous things.

In advertising they are milestones.

In my years of writing I have had a grand total of 3 emails from clients saying how they liked my copy or ideas.

I imagine it is a lot like being a locksmith, or a chimneysweep, or a dentist.

You are invisible and forgotten unless something is wrong. And you almost never get praised for a job well done.

That is the hardest part about being a copywriter actually, the persistent negativity.

It is one of the most ironic things about advertising. Here is an industry filled with all these happy, fun and youthful people sparking up happy, fun and youthful ideas all day long - only to have them systematically destroyed.

You need really thick skin to do this job.

So how do you keep yourself from going mad? You strive for award-quality work, constantly.

Mind you, very few of these award-worthy ideas ever get published.

I’ve seen this in every agency I’ve worked at. I’ve seen some brilliant ideas, but they just weren’t right, just then, for that particular client, or brief.

They end up the Idea Graveyard, to hopefully be exhumed one day for another shot in this life.

So don’t get me wrong, when I say I’m shooting for a Lion, it isn’t like I’m downplaying the significance of it all.

Quite the opposite.

I think it’s the most worthwhile pursuit of my career at this moment.