I got a Bitcoin blackmail letter in the mail on Saturday. They did a much better job than those Nigerian prince scams you get by email. Here’s the text of the letter: JOSHUA BERNOFF [my address] Hello Joshua, I’m going to cut to the chase. My name is RedDust~10 and I know about the secret…
IBM is using good-looking women to get you interested in their business-to-business services. Are you cool with that? I was reading an article on MSNBC about Donald Trump having an imaginary phone call with the North Koreans when I saw this ad panel at the bottom of it: I was immediately intrigued. Cognitive capabilities in…
KFC ran out of chicken in the UK. They had to close their restaurants, and then explain themselves. They decided to poke fun at themselves . . . which is great, so long as nobody gets hurt. KFC suffered a distribution problem, which meant, basically, no chicken. Their first decision — to close the restaurants…
When writers send me pieces to edit, they all seem to come with an apology. Your apology is meaningless to me. “I’m sorry this is so long.” “I’m sorry this isn’t better organized.” “I’m sorry this seems to wander around a bit.” I have one client who doesn’t apologize, but submits every piece with a…
Yesterday, we learned about two promotional stunts, one executed and one planned. Elon Musk launched a Tesla Roadster into solar orbit and word leaked that Donald Trump and the U.S. military were planning a massive military parade. These are both branding exercises. What do they say about the brands they reflect? Sports cars in space…
On the melodramatic NBC show “This Is Us,” a fire started by a slow-cooker burns the house down. This forced Crock-Pot, the iconic slow-cooker brand, to defend its reputation. Unlike most brands under attack, its response shows restraint. A little more wit would be even better. Crock-Pot defends its brand In the show, a second-hand…
“What am I going to write about?” That’s the content marketer’s constant challenge. In fact, the number of sources is endless. You just have to have the right mindset. Let’s remember what content marketing is. While there are any number of definitions out there, I think of it very simply: Content marketing is sharing something…
I thought I’d seen everything in sexual harassment apologies . . . until I saw one from celebrity chef Mario Batali that actually came with a recipe. Last week the Washington Post published an article about Batali that included a slew of documented instances of the chef making lewd suggestions to employees and others, and…
President Trump thinks the Russia investigation is pointless. If you have any doubt, look at the statements of his lawyer, Ty Cobb. No, not the content — the font. After Lt. General Michael Flynn pled guilty and became a cooperating witness, Trump’s lawyer Ty Cobb released this statement: Today, Michael Flynn, a former National Security…