So, I just finished reading a great book on the nitty-gritties of starting and running a small business. It's not a How-To, by any means. It's more of a Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. It makes a lot of sense and it put many things in perspective for me. Mainly, it made my heart quit racing for half a second and now I feel like everything might actually be okay.
It's called Rework. Here is an excerpt from the conclusion that especially hit home for me:
Inspiration is perishable
We all have ideas. Ideas are immortal. They last forever.
What doesn't last forever is inspiration. Inspiration is like fresh fruit or milk: It has an expiration date.
If you want to do something, you've got to do it now. You can't put it on a shelf and wait two months to get around to it. You can't just say you'll do it later. Later, you won't be pumped up about it anymore.
If you're inspired on a Friday, swear off the weekend and dive into the project. When you're high on inspiration, you can get two weeks of work done in twenty-four hours. Inspiration is a time machine in that way.
Inspiration is a magical thing, a productivity multiplier, a motivator. But it won't wait for you. Inspiration is a now thing. If it grabs you, grab it right back and put it to work.
Amen y'all.
--Stefani
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Amen, brother
Good article here:
http://adage.com/smallagency/post?article_id=142726
I got into this business because I didn't want to take calculus in college.
I stayed because it's fun.
But Marc Brownstein is right. If you're not careful, this business can squeeze the life out of the best and brightest.
And you'll find yourself wishing you had taken calculus. Ouch.
http://adage.com/smallagency/post?article_id=142726
I got into this business because I didn't want to take calculus in college.
I stayed because it's fun.
But Marc Brownstein is right. If you're not careful, this business can squeeze the life out of the best and brightest.
And you'll find yourself wishing you had taken calculus. Ouch.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Ballet Austin
We have been sitting on our hands, trying not to talk too much about our latest client project. Now that the news is out, we can blab. It's been an honor to work on this business for Ballet Austin. And humbling. Oh, so humbling. Stand in a room full of dancers (and mirrors!) for a two-day shoot and you too will be on a salmon and veggie diet. Read the news story here.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Addys!
As this is our first year in business, it was also our first year to enter the Austin Addys and we are very pleased to announce that we won 3 awards this year: two bronze and a silver, for our website, our logo and our LifeSize Communication DM piece.
YAY! Go team.
It wasn't without it's disappointments however. Not to be greedy or anything, but we were saddened to learn the work we were most proud of -- our Velocity Credit Union work -- didn't get any love. Very very disappointing indeed.
BUT, we are happy with what we got, and we'll just have to work harder for our Velocity client as well as others in 2010.
YAY! Go team.
It wasn't without it's disappointments however. Not to be greedy or anything, but we were saddened to learn the work we were most proud of -- our Velocity Credit Union work -- didn't get any love. Very very disappointing indeed.
BUT, we are happy with what we got, and we'll just have to work harder for our Velocity client as well as others in 2010.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Season Three, Finale
It's in my nature to say something one week, and then say the exact opposite thing a few weeks later. So here I go again.
Last time I was the Betty cheerleader, and this time, I'm the Betty whah whah whah. Really? You can't leave your marriage without jumping into another one immediately? Even for the early 60s, that's kind of pathetic. That guy might be tall and handsome, but he's so vapid I can't stand to hear him talk. And when he does, I don't listen to a word he says. Henry Francis? The fact that his name sounds like a Cabbage Patch doll's should have been your first clue honey.
As for Don, I'm going to do another 180 turn. While I hated him last we spoke, now I want to join his renegade agency. (Just please don't call it SCD&P) Because while there's nothing that turns me off more than arrogance, there's nothing more appealing to me than a man who can feel that comfortable while eating so many large helpings of humble pie.
He walked into room upon room in last night's episode and basically said, "You're right. I'm an ass. Everyone knows it. I'm the last to find out. But now I get it. I'm sorry. Let's move on."
That took a lot of courage. You have to respect that.
Speaking of courage, let's talk about Peggy. In 2009, after being a female copywriter in the minority for 16 years, I would still find it difficult to tell a male superior that he was taking me for granted. I might have said the same thing that she did, and I would have been just as nervous, but to say it in 1963 was almost unheard of. She is so far ahead of her time it's bordering on brilliance. No, she is brilliant. And then when Roger asks her to get him some coffee, and she doesn't hesitate for a second to say No, it was the best line to me by far. One word. Two letters. But packed with the power of a song.
But aside from the great character development, dialogue and art direction that plops us so perfectly into the past, there was a spirit to last night's episode that is universally appealing, for it captured the feeling of starting over, and what a liberating feeling that is.
Who doesn't want to chuck it all and start over sometimes? Who isn't longing for the opportunity to admit that things are not right for us, have not been right for us for some time, that we've been living a lie and trying to fit into a mold that doesn't jibe with our true selves? How great does it feel to realize we don't have to conform to another's ideals anymore?
Yes, divorce is hard. The scene with the children was difficult for me to watch. And leaving a comfortable job with benefits takes an equally terrifying leap of faith. So it was a show about risk. It was about not knowing what lies ahead but diving into it anyway.
Last night's show had that entrepreneurial spirit that was so perfect for our time, even while it was set in the early 60s.
I think that's why we're all enamored of this show. It's visually retro but at heart, so timeless. It never fails to find that universal chord, and strike it.
Which is something that all good advertising should aspire to do, as well.
--Stefani
Last time I was the Betty cheerleader, and this time, I'm the Betty whah whah whah. Really? You can't leave your marriage without jumping into another one immediately? Even for the early 60s, that's kind of pathetic. That guy might be tall and handsome, but he's so vapid I can't stand to hear him talk. And when he does, I don't listen to a word he says. Henry Francis? The fact that his name sounds like a Cabbage Patch doll's should have been your first clue honey.
As for Don, I'm going to do another 180 turn. While I hated him last we spoke, now I want to join his renegade agency. (Just please don't call it SCD&P) Because while there's nothing that turns me off more than arrogance, there's nothing more appealing to me than a man who can feel that comfortable while eating so many large helpings of humble pie.
He walked into room upon room in last night's episode and basically said, "You're right. I'm an ass. Everyone knows it. I'm the last to find out. But now I get it. I'm sorry. Let's move on."
That took a lot of courage. You have to respect that.
Speaking of courage, let's talk about Peggy. In 2009, after being a female copywriter in the minority for 16 years, I would still find it difficult to tell a male superior that he was taking me for granted. I might have said the same thing that she did, and I would have been just as nervous, but to say it in 1963 was almost unheard of. She is so far ahead of her time it's bordering on brilliance. No, she is brilliant. And then when Roger asks her to get him some coffee, and she doesn't hesitate for a second to say No, it was the best line to me by far. One word. Two letters. But packed with the power of a song.
But aside from the great character development, dialogue and art direction that plops us so perfectly into the past, there was a spirit to last night's episode that is universally appealing, for it captured the feeling of starting over, and what a liberating feeling that is.
Who doesn't want to chuck it all and start over sometimes? Who isn't longing for the opportunity to admit that things are not right for us, have not been right for us for some time, that we've been living a lie and trying to fit into a mold that doesn't jibe with our true selves? How great does it feel to realize we don't have to conform to another's ideals anymore?
Yes, divorce is hard. The scene with the children was difficult for me to watch. And leaving a comfortable job with benefits takes an equally terrifying leap of faith. So it was a show about risk. It was about not knowing what lies ahead but diving into it anyway.
Last night's show had that entrepreneurial spirit that was so perfect for our time, even while it was set in the early 60s.
I think that's why we're all enamored of this show. It's visually retro but at heart, so timeless. It never fails to find that universal chord, and strike it.
Which is something that all good advertising should aspire to do, as well.
--Stefani
Monday, October 19, 2009
Season Three, Episode Where Am I?
I have no idea what episode last night's was, I've been so remiss at my reviews that I've lost count.
Based on scenes from next week that show Betty packing her suitcase, I can’t help but wonder if she’s going to leave him?
God, I hope so.
I mean, what’s up with the hard-core philandering? You have a newborn baby! I don’t care how hot you are, you’re an asshole to your wife. And quite frankly, she’s hotter than you are. Have you seen her on the cover of GQ this month? Hello, new Queen of Lesbo Shag Island, take your seat next to Angelina and Jennifer. Actually, between them would be best.
Anyway, let’s get back to the discussion of advertising: a more noble pursuit than cheating on your wife, though just barely.
I have to say, I think the campaigns they discuss on the show are quite good. They may seem a tad familiar to those of us in advertising, because they’re indicative of ideas that have “been done.” Or do they just sound like ideas we’ve tried to sell and haven’t had the luck of an appreciative client? I can't put my finger on it, but wherever the sensation of familiarity is coming from, I have to thank the writers of the show for showing the smart side of advertising to the general public. Maybe there are ad writers on the staff? Does anyone know if that’s true?
Last week’s Hilton campaign was nice. How do you say comfort in Chinese? Hilton. How do you say breakfast in French? Hilton. I’m not sure those were the exact headlines, but that was the idea. And the tagline: Hilton. It’s the same in every language. It’s a clever way to say “get the predictable comforts of home no matter where you are.” Although the strategy is showing, it’s showing in a conversational way that nobody but an ad geek like myself could see.
Then last night’s idea session showed us what a good creative director does. A good creative director, in my humble opinion, can tell you that your idea isn’t a great one, while turning it into one that is. Which is exactly what Don did when Peggy and Paul presented their Western Union idea. On paper, it was crap. But the discussion went after the thought process that Peggy had used to get there, and Don expounded on it to arrive at a profound thought. “You can’t frame a phone call.”
It’s actually such a great line, it passes my “would you wear that on a t-shirt?" test of what makes a great tagline or not because, yes, I would.
Come to think of it, Don Draper is really hot. Because he’s really good at what he does. And Peggy is probably more smitten sitting in that chair across his desk than she would ever let on.
Which kinda reminds me of a certain creative director I used to work for, who will go unnamed.
--Stefani
Based on scenes from next week that show Betty packing her suitcase, I can’t help but wonder if she’s going to leave him?
God, I hope so.
I mean, what’s up with the hard-core philandering? You have a newborn baby! I don’t care how hot you are, you’re an asshole to your wife. And quite frankly, she’s hotter than you are. Have you seen her on the cover of GQ this month? Hello, new Queen of Lesbo Shag Island, take your seat next to Angelina and Jennifer. Actually, between them would be best.
Anyway, let’s get back to the discussion of advertising: a more noble pursuit than cheating on your wife, though just barely.
I have to say, I think the campaigns they discuss on the show are quite good. They may seem a tad familiar to those of us in advertising, because they’re indicative of ideas that have “been done.” Or do they just sound like ideas we’ve tried to sell and haven’t had the luck of an appreciative client? I can't put my finger on it, but wherever the sensation of familiarity is coming from, I have to thank the writers of the show for showing the smart side of advertising to the general public. Maybe there are ad writers on the staff? Does anyone know if that’s true?
Last week’s Hilton campaign was nice. How do you say comfort in Chinese? Hilton. How do you say breakfast in French? Hilton. I’m not sure those were the exact headlines, but that was the idea. And the tagline: Hilton. It’s the same in every language. It’s a clever way to say “get the predictable comforts of home no matter where you are.” Although the strategy is showing, it’s showing in a conversational way that nobody but an ad geek like myself could see.
Then last night’s idea session showed us what a good creative director does. A good creative director, in my humble opinion, can tell you that your idea isn’t a great one, while turning it into one that is. Which is exactly what Don did when Peggy and Paul presented their Western Union idea. On paper, it was crap. But the discussion went after the thought process that Peggy had used to get there, and Don expounded on it to arrive at a profound thought. “You can’t frame a phone call.”
It’s actually such a great line, it passes my “would you wear that on a t-shirt?" test of what makes a great tagline or not because, yes, I would.
Come to think of it, Don Draper is really hot. Because he’s really good at what he does. And Peggy is probably more smitten sitting in that chair across his desk than she would ever let on.
Which kinda reminds me of a certain creative director I used to work for, who will go unnamed.
--Stefani
Monday, August 31, 2009
Season Three, Episode Three
When I watch doctor shows, I always wonder if doctors watch them too looking for things that don’t measure up to reality. That’s not really how I watch Mad Men, but it’s one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. It’s the subtle nuances in the dialogue that tell me somebody on Mathew Weiner’s writing staff actually worked on Madison Avenue. Things like “He wants to see copy on Monday and art on Tuesday. Sorry you’ll have to work the weekend.” And what about getting so desperate for ideas that you end up calling the pot guy and clogging the door with your Mohair sweater while you turn your office into Spicolli’s van?
Yes, that really happens.
But I have to say that while I am enjoying the show’s true-to-lifeness about the ad biz, I’m getting bored with the lack of soap opera drama that would carry the plot from episode to episode. Like, what is Sal doing to repair those closet door hinges? Why isn’t Don’s past looming over him anymore, or his infidelities? Where did Pete’s fight go? He was pissed when he found out he had to share Head of Accounts duties with Kenny, and suddenly they’re going to the Hampton’s together on the weekends?
It seems the character to despise on Mad Men is turning out to be Roger Sterling. What an ass he is. Black face? Really?
But the real disappointment last night was the ending. When Roger’s drunk wife says something stupid to Don and Betty about getting back together, shining a bright light on their recent problems, it would have been the perfect time for Betty to confront him. Instead, the show ended with a romantic moonlit hug shared by Mr. and Mrs. Draper.
Then again, maybe she was thinking about that handsome man with salt and pepper hair who hit on her by the bathroom earlier in the evening. Is Betty silently plotting her own revenge?
If this plot continues in a disjointed, Lost-like fashion, we may never know.
Yes, that really happens.
But I have to say that while I am enjoying the show’s true-to-lifeness about the ad biz, I’m getting bored with the lack of soap opera drama that would carry the plot from episode to episode. Like, what is Sal doing to repair those closet door hinges? Why isn’t Don’s past looming over him anymore, or his infidelities? Where did Pete’s fight go? He was pissed when he found out he had to share Head of Accounts duties with Kenny, and suddenly they’re going to the Hampton’s together on the weekends?
It seems the character to despise on Mad Men is turning out to be Roger Sterling. What an ass he is. Black face? Really?
But the real disappointment last night was the ending. When Roger’s drunk wife says something stupid to Don and Betty about getting back together, shining a bright light on their recent problems, it would have been the perfect time for Betty to confront him. Instead, the show ended with a romantic moonlit hug shared by Mr. and Mrs. Draper.
Then again, maybe she was thinking about that handsome man with salt and pepper hair who hit on her by the bathroom earlier in the evening. Is Betty silently plotting her own revenge?
If this plot continues in a disjointed, Lost-like fashion, we may never know.
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