Tom Ruwitch
Before he became a famous and wealthy editor of Ladies’ Home Journal, Edward Bok was just another depression-era kid trying to scrape together some money for his ill mother. He was standing outside of a bakery, watching as the baker put cakes and cookies in the window display. The baker asked young Edward, “Don’t they look…
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Marketing Lessons from Apple + Jason Bateman and Will Arnett Smartless Podcast + Seth Godin’s Blog + TEDx Talk The Magical Science of Storytelling + Great Advice from Bing Crosby
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My dog, Moose, likes to spend most of his time standing still as a statue, staring at the treetops. That’s where the squirrels are. In the treetops. Moose stands in the backyard. Staring and staring and staring. Waiting for one squirrel, just one, to fall from a tree so he can pounce. I’ve never seen…
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In the 1920’s, a copywriter named Max Sackheim wrote an advertisement for a book entitled, “How to Master Good English in 15 Minutes a Day,” by Sherwin Cody. It was one of the most successful direct response advertisements ever written. The publisher hired other copywriters to try and outdo Sackheim’s. But every time they tested…
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Tyler Perry Rejects Hate + Daniel Levis “Interviews” John Caples + Carol Burnett Shares Her Favorites + A Call for Calls to Action + Marcus Auerlius on LIfe and Death
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Stephanie Michelle was hunting for a job, and she wanted an edge. So she dished out $29.95 for a 7.5 ml vial of “Liquid Trust.” The product description on Amazon says Liquid Trust “can help people gain the trust of others.” Great for sales people, job hunters, and anyone else who wants others to “feel…
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I’ve been thinking about revenge. A movie made me think it. A movie called “Promising Young Woman” that I saw last weekend. It tells the story of a 30-year-old Cassie, who exacts revenge on men who mistreat women. I won’t give away the details. I’ll say only that the movie made me cringe and laugh…
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Kevin Roose book “Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation” + Emotional Advertising Works Better + Dan Ariely Predictably Irrational
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Yesterday, I ran a group training for my Story Generator VIP members. I showed them how to boil down storytelling to a simple process of gathering the building blocks and then assembling them. “We don’t write copy,” I told the VIPs. “We assemble it.” When you learn the simple process (the gathering), the “hard part”…
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When I was a lovesick teenage boy, I listened to one song more than any other: “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” by the Animals. It usually worked like this: I had a crush on a girl. She didn’t have a crush on me. That made me sad. I’d come home from school, close my bedroom…
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