In Sight - Latest Comments

Re: // Lessons From the Olympic Losers

trenbolone acetate — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 04:30:15 -0000

It's not easy being this good, and sometimes it gets lonely at the top, so I put in a call to my unofficial teammate, Olympic gold medalist -- and fellow aquatic demon -- Natalie Coughlin. Coughlin gave me some tips on how to best approach the swim leg ...

Re: // My Take on the TTU Football Twitter Ban

Miami Personal Injury Attorney — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 06:04:45 -0000

So I'd take off and see five or six players, and then I would come back and be able to finish my vacation.â€ More than two decades later, recruiting remains just as nerve-wracking for college football coaches, especially this time of year with schools ...

Re: // Lessons From the Olympic Losers

not_so_madman — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:21:22 -0000

Spot on my Canadian friend.
It reminded me of one of Teddy Roosevelt's most quoted quotes,
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Re: // Never Fall in Love (With an Idea)

not_so_madman — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:45:18 -0000

Great creative debates can create great work - it can also create "Mulligan Stew" when weak ideas are stirred into what was a great idea. Take the "Think Smalll" Volkswagen campaign by Doyle Dane Bernbach in 1959 (ok, most of you will need to Google it). The Creative director who presented it must have had sweaty palms showing the client a full-page newspaper ad with only a very small picture of the car at the bottom of a full-page ad. Ad Legend Hal Riney once did a remake of the ad after their client "might" have made changes - adding American flags to offset the negative connotation of a German car (in 1959), then adding a Country Club in the background to class it up, making the car larger to dominate the lower half of the page, greatly enlarging the logo, etc.
Bottom line, make the changes and add the additions to improve the ad, not to satisy a whiney ego.

Re: // Never Fall in Love (With an Idea)

jphodgins — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:13:14 -0000

I've come up with a system. If I have a really good idea, I wait a while to let some other ideas circulate. Then I throw mine out. I found that if an idea is brought up early, even if it's the best, the group wants to discuss for more time. It may be cheating, but sometimes I'm ok with that.

Re: // Never Fall in Love (With an Idea)

Jim Mitchem — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:10:14 -0000

Spot on. The best advice I received early on in my advertising career was don't marry your ideas. That said, most of my ideas *are* always the best ones, but I let other people try to come to that decision on their own. ;)

Re: // Is Hype the New Super Bowl Measurement?

jphodgins — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:41:53 -0000

Good point. Unfortunately too many companies are content with showing off their creative, even if it is bad, just to get "noticed" because they were on the Super Bowl.

Re: // Is Hype the New Super Bowl Measurement?

Jim Mitchem — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:00:25 -0000

If brands aren't combining PR opportunities with Social Media buzz before, during and after their Super Bowl spots, then they're just showing off their creative. And unfortunately, most of it is bad.

Re: // Is Hype the New Super Bowl Measurement?

not_so_madman — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:48:19 -0000

James, this ad is a copywriter's dream and the client will like the production budget. Still... I was hoping to see the French girl :-)
Phil

Re: // Can a Soda Promotion Change the World?

jphodgins — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:41:17 -0000

I agree completely. I can't really blame Pepsi for wanting attention and buzz. After all, it still is marketing. But if the program is a success in that it does bring about good in communities, then Pepsi should get a lot of credit.

Re: // Can a Soda Promotion Change the World?

Edward Boches — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:06:58 -0000

No doubt Pepsi is getting on the bandwagon. And this may be a bit contrived and for reasons of attention and buzz. But it is at least an acknowledgment that community is the new way to connect and engage. And at most, it's an example for other brands and even a new catalyst for this emerging direction.

Re: // Something New for a Writer’s Toolbox

jphodgins — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:42:38 -0000

Nice write up, and I think Google-like will soon be a word if it's not already. Glad you enjoyed OmmWriter.

Re: // Something New for a Writer’s Toolbox

Loyd L. Turner — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:41:48 -0000

Written in OmmWriter...

Well, this is pretty cool.
A good way to write poems.
Something Google-Like (is that a word?)
about typing in a clear space.
Right up an ad agency's alley--
here's all the clear space they keep trying
to make their clients pay for. :-)

Re: // How a Break-in Changed a New Year

jphodgins — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:42:40 -0000

It is harder to be proactive, but oddly enough, it's not the action that's hard, it's the choice. Once you decide to act, getting it done is the easy part. Thanks for the comment.

Re: // How a Break-in Changed a New Year

Dennis Bernhard — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:37:22 -0000

Sorry to hear about that. I'm just glad you weren't home. You make a great point about not waiting for something to happen before you react. its harder to be proactive but in the long run it pays off.

Re: // Are B2B and B2C Outdated?

jphodgins — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:39:38 -0000

No problem. You had a great conversation going on your post, and when you mentioned people to people, it sparked something. Personally, I never understood why there's a difference in marketing to B2C vs. B2B. Maybe that's because there isn't anymore.

Re: // Are B2B and B2C Outdated?

Jim Mitchem — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:24:12 -0000

Yep - P2P. Which is basically regular business. I always thought B2B was a funny statement. Thanks for the props JP.

Re: // Is Blogging This Hard for You?

jphodgins — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:13:15 -0000

I follow your blog closely, and it is always helpful. Thanks for commenting.

Re: // Is Blogging This Hard for You?

Michael Gass — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:23:13 -0000

James, I'm glad the post was helpful. Hopefully we can all be a help to each other.

Re: // Is Blogging This Hard for You?

jphodgins — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:40:53 -0000

I keep up with many great bloggers, and it seems when I'm struggling with an issue, one of them inevitably write a post about it. Glad I could be the one to help this time.

Re: // Is Blogging This Hard for You?

BobRagsdale — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:34:16 -0000

I especially agree with your point about "reading other bloggers that you respect" for inspiration. I think this post is just the inspiration I needed to explode that log jam of writers block (or just plain avoidance) that I have been experiencing.

Re: // Is Blogging This Hard for You?

jphodgins — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:32:48 -0000

Great way to sum it up. Comments always help as well, so thanks for the feedback.

Re: // Is Blogging This Hard for You?

Dennis Bernhard — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:02:42 -0000

I feel the exact same way. I want to write but I can't think of anything. When I can't think of anything I start pressing and then I lose interest. It's a vicious cycle. Glad to see I'm not the only one. Look forward to your future posts.

Re: // Crowdsourcing vs. Competition (Part 2): It’s about Collaboration

Tony Santos — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:05:42 -0000

Finally. Someone else gets it. Let's shout this message from the rooftops :D

Re: // Crowdsourcing vs. Competitions

jphodgins — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:26:10 -0000

To be completely fair, your post really got me thinking about this whole topic. Part 2 tomorrow will deal much more about using collaboration. Thanks for the comment.