An oldie for some. But, maybe new to you.

Most advertising sucks. (And that’s being generous)

There’s a four-letter word for most of these ads out there. SAFE. Yes, that's right, I just swore.

A safe ad is a bad ad. In fact, a safe ad isn’t an ad. It’s a waste of space. It’s an assault on every consumer’s intelligence. More importantly, it’s a waste of money. Vowels and consonants are utterly embarrassed to be in these kinds of ads. (I’m a writer, so we’re close. They tell me these things).

A good ad persuades you to read it again. Maybe even more than once. It should speak to you. No, it should SHOUT at you! And when you like it so much you might want to make copies of that ad and build a paper suit out of it and tell everyone you see, “HEY! Look at this ad! I’m wearing this ad as a paper suit! That’s how good it is!!!!”

What’s behind a great ad? A brand. A story. I believe in brands. I believe in Tide. Starbucks. Target. Saturn. Disney. I love brands. I am a brand fan. If they made brand fan sponge fingers, I’d duct tape that sucker to my hand and wave it around like I just don't care.

There’s a story behind every product and an audience ready and willing to drop some cash. Show me a brand and I’ll make people love it. And it won’t be safe. Cause safe sucks. And we should all want to wear paper suits.