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Middle seat nightmare. BTW, it's a 787. And the reason I know that is because of the recent spate of bad news about that plane, from fuel leaks to electrical fires. I'll take the 757, thank you.
Commented Jan 9, 2013 on This Dreamliner is a nightmare at RepMan
This Dreamliner is a nightmare
Picture the following scenario: You're squeezed in the middle seat of jam-packed United 757 about to leave Newark en route to Las Vegas. Flight attendants are yelling at passengers to pass their oversized luggage forward since it won't fit in the overhead bins, the aroma of Big Macs and pizza...
I remember what Jimmy Huff had to go through to help win that business. But I never heard that anecdote about Malcolm. Brilliant!
Commented May 3, 2012 on Pitch this at RepMan
Pitch this
Have you had an opportunity to watch 'The Pitch' on AMC? For those of you not in the know, it's yet another artificial reality TV show. In this case, though, the plot revolves around two real-world advertising agencies pitching a living, breathing client. But, after that, all semblance of reali...
Contrived conflict is the primary ingredient for "reality" TV, Steve. Making solid strategy is visually boring.
Commented May 2, 2012 on Pitch this at RepMan
Pitch this
Have you had an opportunity to watch 'The Pitch' on AMC? For those of you not in the know, it's yet another artificial reality TV show. In this case, though, the plot revolves around two real-world advertising agencies pitching a living, breathing client. But, after that, all semblance of reali...
My fondest quote from Mr. Foster was when I told him I was getting married: "Marriage? Well that'll f*ck you up."
Commented Jan 30, 2012 on To be stuck inside of Brouillard with the Peppercom blues again at RepMan
To be stuck inside of Brouillard with the Peppercom blues again
This post is dedicated to every Brouillard alumnus who suffers the same type of PTSD. Do you have a recurring nightmare? I do, and it's something special. The plot's always the same, although the characters sometimes change. Here's the gist: For god knows what reason, I've decided to sell...
*head smack* Would love to know how many man-hours it took them to come up with that.
Commented Dec 2, 2011 on We just got religion at RepMan
We just got religion
As a proud alumnus of Hill & Knowlton, I was interested (and then disheartened) to read of the firm’s name change. Effective immediately, Hill & Knowlton is now Hill+Knowlton Strategies. Wow! Talk about cataclysmic news. I’m not sure I’ll ever be quite the same. Adding the word strategies is, we...
Not there yet, a mere 77. A lot younger than Ernest Borgnine. I like the fact that they still work together as the voices of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy on Spongebob Squarepants.
Commented Nov 15, 2011 on Red roses for a blue lady at RepMan
Red roses for a blue lady
I’m not sure why I’m on Mike Carlton’s e-mail distribution list, but I’m glad I am. Mike’s a Chagrin Falls, Ohio-based, advertising agency consultant who produces a periodic e-mail newsletter and video. (Note to Mike: if I were you, I’d urge the city fathers to change the name of your headquart...
Informative and cautionary content for sure. By the way Steve, Chagrin Falls is the hometown of comedic actor Tim Conway.
Commented Nov 11, 2011 on Red roses for a blue lady at RepMan
Red roses for a blue lady
I’m not sure why I’m on Mike Carlton’s e-mail distribution list, but I’m glad I am. Mike’s a Chagrin Falls, Ohio-based, advertising agency consultant who produces a periodic e-mail newsletter and video. (Note to Mike: if I were you, I’d urge the city fathers to change the name of your headquart...
Lorraine. Duh.
Commented Oct 27, 2011 on What a REAL Steve Jobs presentation must have been like at RepMan
What a REAL Steve Jobs presentation must have been like
Wednesday's CommPR.Biz contains a blog authored by Makovsky's Gene Marbach and entitled, "The Art of the Presentation (and What I Learned from Steve Jobs). As might be expected, the blog contains all the smart things great presenters already know (i.e. Jobs strict adherence to The KISS princip...
Passion is important, but in his case it was all consuming.
Commented Oct 27, 2011 on What a REAL Steve Jobs presentation must have been like at RepMan
What a REAL Steve Jobs presentation must have been like
Wednesday's CommPR.Biz contains a blog authored by Makovsky's Gene Marbach and entitled, "The Art of the Presentation (and What I Learned from Steve Jobs). As might be expected, the blog contains all the smart things great presenters already know (i.e. Jobs strict adherence to The KISS princip...
Based upon all the anecdotes Job's biographer supplied during his book tour, from the temper tantrums to the weeping, I've come to the conclusion that Jobs was simply a moody, genius level menopausal woman. No offense to actual women.
Commented Oct 27, 2011 on What a REAL Steve Jobs presentation must have been like at RepMan
What a REAL Steve Jobs presentation must have been like
Wednesday's CommPR.Biz contains a blog authored by Makovsky's Gene Marbach and entitled, "The Art of the Presentation (and What I Learned from Steve Jobs). As might be expected, the blog contains all the smart things great presenters already know (i.e. Jobs strict adherence to The KISS princip...
My eyes are still burning from reading this. Ivory tower thinking at its best.
Commented Oct 7, 2011 on Big agency think at RepMan
Big agency think
As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I recently had the opportunity to speak on a cable industry panel that addressed such subjects as client-agency relationships, social media and what's next. I was paired with a branding expert and a big agency guy. The former was somewhat out of his depth s...
A ham-handed attempt at social media-influenced humanization.
Commented Sep 26, 2011 on There's nothing gray about this name at RepMan
There's nothing gray about this name
Grey Healthy People is the horrendous name chosen for the new, combined healthcare unit of Grey Group, one of hundreds of agencies within WPP (insert link). The global division will specialize in advertising for health-related products and services. But, let me ask you something, would you ret...
"To the best of my knowledge, Ronald was never ordained". Oh, snap!
Commented Aug 26, 2011 on The Pol Pot of supersized portions at RepMan
The Pol Pot of supersized portions
First it was Hosni Mubarak. Then, Muammar el-Qaddafi. Now comes news there's been a coup d'etat at Burger King as well, and the King has been banished. The media cited words such as 'creepy' and 'disturbing' to explain the king's overthrow. I'd add “…horrific role model, guilty of encouraging m...
I was thinking the same thing after reading at your first graph. New biz pitches are about as ugly as sausage extrusion (and law making).
Commented Aug 4, 2011 on I wouldn't pitch 'The Pitch' either at RepMan
I wouldn't pitch 'The Pitch' either
Looking to cash in on its breakout hit, 'Mad Men', AMC is scrambling to create a new reality show called 'The Pitch'. It's intended to be a behind-the-scenes look at real ad agencies pitching real pieces of new business. There's only one problem: AMC can't find ANY agencies to participate in...
A positive twist on your use of Heinz 57: lots of variety creates a rich life. Can't say you're not squeezing every drop out of the bottle.
Commented Jun 29, 2011 on Golden Years at RepMan
Golden Years
I'm 57 today. That's old. It sounds old and it looks old. As a matter of fact, 57 only looks good on the label of a Heinz's ketchup bottle. Turning 57 is an actuarial wake-up call. There's no denying that, statistically speaking, I'm much closer to the end than the beginning. But, to add insu...
"I believe religion, and not money, is the root cause of all evil."
Damn straight.
Commented Jun 8, 2011 on Forget WeinerGate. What about JudgmentGate? at RepMan
Forget WeinerGate. What about JudgmentGate?
How come we're hounding Congressman Anthony Weiner out of office but allowing Brother Harold Camping to continue scaring people and collecting millions of dollars for his ersatz preaching? In case you don't recognize the name, Camping's the lunatic who predicted Judgment Day would occur on M...
Oh, just give me the TARDIS. End of the world wouldn't matter.
Commented May 12, 2011 on Ten days to go! at RepMan
Ten days to go!
According to Bible scholar and Family Radio personality Harold Camping, Judgement Day will occur on May 21, 2011. (Note: Harold & Co. spell judgment with an “e” so RepMan is compelled to honor their mistake. But me wonders if their math is off too…?) That's right. We have 10 days until “The Ra...
Sit in on every comedy act I could find. Hey, if the world is about to end, might as well drink and laugh. I'd expect a set from you, Steve.
Commented May 11, 2011 on Ten days to go! at RepMan
Ten days to go!
According to Bible scholar and Family Radio personality Harold Camping, Judgement Day will occur on May 21, 2011. (Note: Harold & Co. spell judgment with an “e” so RepMan is compelled to honor their mistake. But me wonders if their math is off too…?) That's right. We have 10 days until “The Ra...
Consider Lewis Black's take on soy "milk" [Caution: Not safe for work] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXS5GBuk-GQ
Commented May 3, 2011 on There's no joy in Soyville at RepMan
There's no joy in Soyville
The market for soy food and beverages dropped a whopping 16 percent in the last two years, according to a report from market researcher, Mintel. Soy watchers blame rising prices, new alternatives and the fickleness of health-conscious consumers. I'd add one other ingredient: taste. Yuck! Hav...
What makes a blog popular seems as elusive as what makes a video go viral. But Book and Lunch are right. We all have reputations; the topic is deep as it is wide. So we regularly tune in to find out who screwed up this week and how to avoid making the same missteps ourselves.
Commented Apr 13, 2011 on A blog about blogs at RepMan
A blog about blogs
Remember the Seinfeld episode in which Kramer writes a coffee table book about coffee table books? Well, this is a blog about blogs. I began blogging in 2006. Since then, Repman has been named best in industry, consistently ranked among the AdAge Power 100 and attracted hundreds of subscribers...
Where will it end, Steve? With people like the Steinbrenner boys casually referencing socialism when public funds built their cash-making sport palaces, who knows? http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/index?id=6146704
Commented Feb 24, 2011 on Wretched excess at RepMan
Wretched excess
I sometimes shake my head in wonder at how utterly detached from everyday reality our role models have become. Take the New York Yankees’ Derek Jeter. Please. I think the Yankees would like another team to take the aging superstar off their hands. In addition to his eroding, on-the-field skil...
Private elevator? Feh! I remember back in the day that our erstwhile CEO had his own corporate lunch table. I glanced at it once.
Commented Feb 7, 2011 on Sorry, but this is my elevator at RepMan
Sorry, but this is my elevator
Erstwhile Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O'Neal had his own private elevator at corporate headquarters. After being deposited at a separate, ground floor entrance by his liveried driver, Mr. O'Neal would stroll into 'his' elevator and zoom upwards to his world-class corner office on the 32nd floor. Wh...
You killed.
Commented Jan 25, 2011 on What sets your organization apart? at RepMan
What sets your organization apart?
Differentiating a public relations firm is no easy task since we all pretty much offer the same set of services. Sure, the holding companies will play the size card and boutiques will tout their category expertise while we midsized firms will sell a ‘best of both worlds’ solution. Still, it’s...
I knew the second Jim and you'll never be him. Of that you can be glad.
Commented Dec 21, 2010 on The Lion in Winter at RepMan
The Lion in Winter
I've worked for two lions in winter. Both were aging CEOs in the twilight of their careers. Both were both named Jim. And, both told me I should be ashamed of myself (but, for dramatically different reasons.) The first Jim was president of a global consulting firm in the mid-1980s. He was te...
Feeling the same way out here on the prairie, Steve. Looking around the bend for better news. BTW, regarding the Q-Tips? Unlike pursuing new business, stop when you feel resistance.
Commented Mar 24, 2010 on A distant ship’s smoke on the horizon at RepMan
A distant ship’s smoke on the horizon
Ever since writing the very first RepMan blog back in 2006, I’ve been trying to find a good fit for my favorite Pink Floyd lyric, ‘A distant ship’s smoke on the horizon.’ And, while I’ve never been quite understood the lyric’s context within ‘Comfortably Numb,’ I’ve always found it incredibly ...
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