My earliest memories of advertising…
Make it stand out
Advertising has played a significant role in shaping my life, from the likes of the legendary Spuds MacKenzie, the Party Animal, to the iconic Super Bowl ads of the '80s and '90s. I'm talking about the fast-talking micro-machines commercial spokesman, Joe Cool, and everything in between. Even now, I still aspire to have a creative role in a Super Bowl ad that airs between kick-off and the confetti dropping.
My earliest memories of advertising trace back to receiving the Adverteasing Junior Board Game as a Christmas gift when I was a kid. I found it easy to recall TV commercial characters, taglines, corporate slogans, and jingles while racing down the roller coaster of Adverteasing-Land. Looking back, I realize that no one ever wanted to play that game with me.
Nobody wanted to play with the kid who thrived on stumping his friends by knowing the answer to "My Bologna Has a _______" and nearly every other fill-in-the-blank card in that game. It didn't take long after that Christmas for us to realize that hidden within "the kid who played to win" was an Ad Guy with a collection of original jingles meticulously handwritten in his beloved Moleskine journal with a fine-point Sharpie pen.
“
I make things or
make things happen.
”
Fast forward to my early stages of entrepreneurial endeavors such as baseball card trading, selling at lemonade stands, washing cars and working many, many garage sales, too many to count...along came the digital revolution --- THE INTERNET WAS BORN. Quickly, I began using this loud and slow to launch, dial-up internet to connect with like-minded others that lived outside of my hometown in Ferguson, MO. I sold products, I grew an online community into a network and rallied to promote the causes and businesses I believed in. And eventually my passion for the internet led to a transformation from having a hobby to being a full-time hustle…I was an Ebay Powerseller.
For me, advertising and marketing, isn’t only about selling, it’s about emotional connection and consumer behavior. It’s about planting a dose of desire into the hearts of your audience. To leave them yearning to turn the page, wanting to learn more about your idea and a familiar connection. Ultimately, it’s about creating memorable experiences through iconic imagery, the use of typography, mascots & characters, the sound of an unforgettable tune and most notably, it’s about thoughtful and strategic distribution…
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