I’m not sure why I haven’t seen this yet. Bad copywriter.
Did Mini Vans Just Become Cool?
I love the new Toyota campaign for the Sienna. It’s a bit of a nod to Modern Family, or at least appears to be. The serialized spots are so well done and so funny that I look forward to seeing them.
And as good as the other stuff is, this long form music video for the Swagger Wagon takes the cake. Damn funny stuff.
New Valero Texas Open Creative
I wanted to share this new work. I’m really proud of the creative. The campaign was fun and the client is great. These are the first set of outdoor executions. The idea behind the “Unapologetically Campaign” is to capture the spirit of the Texas attitude which lies at the heart of the tournament, the region and the people of the state.
Listen To A Brave New World Narrated By Aldous Huxley
This is great. Aldous Huxley narrates his book A Brave New World as actors perform sections from the book to the music of Bernard Herrmann, the great composer who worked extensively with Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Scorsese and other great diretors.
This is a digital conversion of the original LP so there is a lot of noise, hisses, pops and scratches, but this is brilliant to listen to nonetheless.
Find the MP3s here.
A Great Read for Fiction Writers
Throughout my writing career I’ve written or some other creative writing off and on from music video treatments and screenplays to novels, short stories and poetry. Along the way, I’ve made about every mistake you can make, learned some great tricks, had great successes and a few white whales I can’t seem to conquer.
The most important thing to know as a writer is that you have to write, a lot. Write every day, every morning, write when you’re on a break at work, write before bed, write at lunch. Scribble the words on napkins, in journals and into your writing program of choice.
The one resource that I really love is The Lie That Tells A Truth by John Dufresne. No other books has had the impact this book has had on how I approach the craft of writing fiction. His book is full of great information, first-hand examples of how he tackles tough writing challenges and best of all the book makes for a great read. Dufresne’s style is funny and personal. He writes like he gives a damn. And, he knows what hell he’s talking about.
If you write, read this book. Of course, do it while writing. Read it in the nooks and crannies between putting ink to paper (or font to form?) and I think you’ll find that the insights will give you fuel, help you find certainty and just enough hubris to do the unthinkable: write a novel.
That’s my plan. I will write a novel this year. I’d hate to let John down.
It’s NaNoWriMo Time
November is National Novel Writing Month and to celebrate there is a yearly event affectionately called NaNoWriMo where writers from all over world participate in a mad dash toward writing a novel.
The idea is simple: starting November 1st, you write like a maniac for 30 days and before you know it you have a novel, or at least a draft, or at the very least a ton of words on paper from which to craft the shell of a novel, hopefully. But hope is critical in such endeavors.
Because the truth is writing a novel is damn tricky stuff. Completing one has eluded me and I’ve been writing for all of my adult life. I’ve written professionally for a long time, covered bands, written for music videos, TV shows, documentaries, advertising and I’ve even completed a pretty decent screenplay, but the novel. Ah, yes, the novel. Creatively speaking, this has been the one that has gotten away.
So maybe this year I’ll dive in, using November as the catalyst for finally pulling it off. I have ideas. A folder’s worth of them. I have the desire. But, it’s sticking it out when you hit that wall, that place where the story sputters or the plot gets thin, that is the part that gets most writers. You gotta see it through, hit it head first. You gotta be willing to be okay with the “shitty first draft” Hemingway wrote about. But most of all, you’ve got to have conviction that you will not stop. Reach the end. Tell a story.
Any takers? If so, today is the day to start. And what about me? Should I head once more into the breach? Who is with me?
The Best Ever Books for Copywriters
I’ve had junior writers ask me over the years if I could give them some suggestions regarding the best books for young copywriters. I’m always torn on this one because ultimately becoming a better writer is about writing, studying effective writing and reading with a critical eye the words of others. However, there are books that have helped me. Mostly via inspiration or by influencing how I think about what I do.
Here are some of those books.
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Zinsser’s book is an absolute classic. No other book has better insight into writing clear, concise, fluid and forceful prose. Perhaps it’s best advice however is the section on the true secret of really great writing: self-editing.
A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
This amazing book by Daniel Pink is about ideas, creativity and the symphony of fusing design thinking, story and the over-arching notion of aesthetics to create a new model for collaboration. Great stuff.
The Elements of Style by Strunk & White
Strunk & White’s ubiquitous book is one of the true grammarian classics. A writer’s bookshelf seems unbalanced without a copy resting somewhere among the books and issues of Print and Creativity. Plus, it’ll help you write more precisely and can answer those pesky little grammar questions we all have from time to time.
A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver
Mary Oliver is one of my favorite poets. Her style and command of language will dig deep into your soul. Give her a read and you’ll see. This book is just what it claims to be, but on a deeper level her deconstruction of great poems, her attention to the nuances of language and sound and the shape of words as they roll off the tongue will help any writer craft more impactful copy. Thing about the meter and rhythm of language. Thing about how this impacts a headline, tagline or any piece of copy and you’ll be all the better for it.
The Lie That Tells a Truth by John Dufresne
A great book on writing fiction by novelist and teacher John Dufresne. What really makes this book great is that it’s one of those writing books that doesn’t feel like a writing. The essays read more like inspirational mantras on the ins and outs, dos and don’ts of the craft of writing. Chapters are filled with great insights, wonderful quotes and tremendous tools for creating great prose. For the copywriters out there read this book for the perspective, the style and because it’s a really fun read.
So that’s my top 5. Ask any other writer and they’ll likely have five different choices as their favorites. The truth is, you can’t go wrong as long as you remain curious and never stop trying to be better at what you do.
American Artifact : Rock Poster Doc
Anyone seen this movie? I knew it was coming out but I hadn’t had a chance to check it out yet. However, my friend and favorite musician Dan Wallace has two songs in the film – this alone is worth the rental. Dan blogs a bit more about this over at his excellent site.
Carl Jung’s Mysterious Red Book
A recent story in the New York Times discusses the release of a long-await and very mysterious book by the great psychonaut Carl Jung. The Red Book, set to be released October 7th of this year promises to blow minds while delving deeply into the psyche, dreams and thoughts of one of the world’s greatest minds.
The book has been shrouded in mystery for almost 100 years and still creates a bit of unease even to this day. According to the Times article,
Some people feel that nobody should read the book, and some feel that everybody should read it. The truth is, nobody really knows. Most of what has been said about the book — what it is, what it means — is the product of guesswork, because from the time it was begun in 1914 in a smallish town in Switzerland, it seems that only about two dozen people have managed to read or even have much of a look at it.
So, what is the book about? Well, in essence it’s the search for the Holy Grail. In other words, the primal and very essential search for Soul. Or, as the article puts it, the story is one of the classic hero’s journey where ”Man skids into midlife and loses his soul. Man goes looking for soul. After a lot of instructive hardship and adventure — taking place entirely in his head — he finds it again.”
What did the author find as she read the book? She summarized her reeading of it like this:
The book is bombastic, baroque and like so much else about Carl Jung, a willful oddity, synched with an antediluvian and mystical reality. The text is dense, often poetic, always strange. The art is arresting and also strange. Even today, its publication feels risky, like an exposure. But then again, it is possible Jung intended it as such. In 1959, after having left the book more or less untouched for 30 or so years, he penned a brief epilogue, acknowledging the central dilemma in considering the book’s fate. “To the superficial observer,” he wrote, “it will appear like madness.”
I can’t wait to read it.
Open Source Everything
I keep thinking that the best ideas will come when we can get past self-interest and get to a baseline of true collaboration. In my own work, I’m fortunate to have a tremendous creative partner that has great ideas and insights that feed well into the way I think and together we’ve been able to create work I’m very proud of as a creative.
However, this isn’t always the rule. My question is why? What do we have to lose by opening up and letting good thinking in regardless of where it comes from? Are we that territorial?
This from Get Back In The Box by Douglas Rushkoff.
Open source is more than a computer-programming ethos. It’s the impetus to an approach toward work and life that makes secrets and protectionism obsolete, and opens the floodgates of innovation on an unprecedented scale. As of yet, however, most people and businesses are still unprepared to confront the challenges to their own sense of competence that go along with it.
In other words, as Rushkoff writes, “Open source may be a new business model but it’s also a well tested, even ancient, approach to innovation.”
Personally, I like the notion of transparency. It’s honest and sincere and in an industry plagued by deception and skepticism, we need a fresh dose of truth. This begins with the ways in which we work and conduct ourselves. Besides, if we haven’t figured this out yet, people don’t want to be sold, they want instead to be inspired by brands that mean something to them, brands that resonate with their value systems and sense of self.
We gotta start somewhere. Why not the creative process?