Ever heard that before? That an ad is so bad that it's good?Usually the person making the statement is someone who's not responsible for creating, or paying for, advertising. (These are the same people who will also recite that the important thing is to "get your name...

Probably the best definition of selling I’ve ever heard came from Wizard of Ads© partner Steve Clark, who said: “Selling is the transference of confidence from the seller to the buyer.”Well, advertising is selling, isn’t it? Therefore, advertising should create...

In addition to a couple of readers disagreeing that remote controls for car radios are designed for, and marketed to immature men, I also got this comment following last week's essay on creating demand:"McKay, read your claim that advertising can't create a market....

Phineas Taylor Barnum’s most enduring quote is “There’s a sucker born every minute.” I suspect he was right. But then, Barnum never expected to see the same customer twice.Hucksterism can create a sale, but it can't create a market. Advertising can’t create a market,...

The oldest rule in investing is “buy low, sell high.” You can apply the same rule to marketing your company.Over the last 100 years there have been 20 recessions - ten since World War II. Simple arithmetic would indicate that we’re roughly two years away from the next...

WARNING: The following article contains bragging. (I’ll let you know when it’s going to get thick).I was first introduced to the concept of the Single Quarter Manager in 1994 over lunch with Ben Rast; Senior Vice President of Morgan Stanley’s office in Columbia, South...

Perhaps the biggest change in the last decade is the growth of interconnectivity. New technology has empowered people.Uh... let's re-word that: New technology has empowered customers.Whether you call it word of mouth or professional reputation, this personal...

I turned over some copy to a client. The client’s wife went to work improving it. She systematically removed all of the specific points I’d made and replaced them with clichés. She insisted that the phone number be included several times. Finally, she was emphatic...

Two years ago I got a different cell phone, with a new number. I had trouble remembering it until my wife pointed out that it's composed of the month and year that I turned twelve, the year I graduated high school, and the year I was born. Since then, I've never...