The Daily Beard with Lee Clow’s Beard

Today we forgo tweet-based ramblings to discuss cops and logos.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we sign off for 2021 with just a touch of holiday ranting and, perhaps, good cheer.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the importance and power of copy without once uttering the words “slacks” or “moist.” Based on the tweet: While “it” and “something” can both be anything, “just do it” is everything “just do something” is not. See, copy does matter. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the cruelty of demanding the extraordinary when only the ordinary will do. Based on the tweet: Don't insist on greatness if you consistently approve the okayest. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss why the avoidance of risk is anathema to those who embrace their jobs.  Based on the tweet: Risk is the natural expression of sound fundamentals. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss why the least you can do is less viable than you think. Based on the tweet: If most advertising is to be believed, the majority of brands are quite excited about meeting the bare minimum of customer expectations. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we invite those who really don't want to be here to not be here. Based on the tweet: A quick way to improve the ad industry would be to cull from its ranks the shockingly high number of people who seemingly hate advertising. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss yet another difference that separates great work from most work and use the word “bugaboo.” Based on the tweet: Great work whispers in the ear, delights the funny bone or tugs at the heart, yet too many ads act as if poking someone in the eye is the best way to make friends. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss why treating inputs as absolutes is destructive to both the work and those who create it. Based on the tweet: We welcome your insights and appreciate your input, but if you expect us to view them as instructions, neither one of us is doing our jobs. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss why the story that makes the most impact should be the one most people actually see. If your work requires the audience to know the backstory of its creation or creators for them to appreciate it, your work has failed.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we remind all involved that if it's said by a brand, it's an ad. And that's okay. Based on the tweet: Great ads never have to hide the fact that they're ads.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

 Today we discuss why some charged with simplifying the complex prefer to keeps things opaque. Based on the tweet: In marketing, the main function of most complex plans and processes is to make the insipid appear insightful and the inept seem indispensable. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the need for self-healing among those often known for grumbling. Yes, copywriters. Based on the tweet: If you feel limited in what you can say, blame legal. If you feel limited in how you can say it, blame yourself. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss a problem that is more often symptomatic of a larger, deadlier issue. Based on the tweet: The problem isn't so much that you could put a competitor's logo on an ad and no one would notice, as it is no competitor would want you to. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we remind all involved that what we consider adequate, the public often considers overwhelming. Based on the tweet: No consumer ever wondered why a brand didn't run more ads, send another email, or publish more content. Inundation is not inspiration. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the sad reality of the media buy and the creative work sabotaging each other. Based on the tweet: It doesn't matter how precise your media placement is if your message still feels like a pest. And vice versa. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss one of the skills that separates great copywriters from the copy-and-pasters. Based on the tweet: A great writer knows the difference between saying little and not saying much. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss why a touch of familiarity breeds attention. Producing something people haven't seen before should always be secondary to producing something people will want to see again. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the importance of just getting on with doing what we know we should and can do. Based on the tweet: There are no secrets to producing great advertising – only things we too often forget or more often fail to fight for. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the fallacy of overly specialized expertise and its detrimental effects on staffing. Based on the tweet: A medium can be taught – an instinct, only honed. Hire accordingly.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we invite all involved to slow our collective roll and create things that are good instead of merely gratuitous. Based on the tweet: Expediency is the bane of big ideas.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

 Today we discuss why the first step cannot be the final goal. Based on the tweet: The magic lies not in getting attention, but in keeping it. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss respecting the work enough to give it a chance to actually work. Based on the tweet: The fact that commercial art isn't fine art is no reason to slap a snipe on anything. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss being attractive by having a nice personality. Based on the tweet: When your personality is ownable, your message doesn't have to be.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss why doing what everyone else is doing isn't always the smart thing to do. Go figure. Based on the tweet: Actually, you don't have to have a Facebook page. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss one of the best compliments you will probably never receive. Based on the tweet: “I like the way you think” is a great compliment. “I like the way your work makes me think” is greater still. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the futility of dealing with those who can only comprehend one, unconnected dot at a time. Based on the tweet: A literal mind is a terrible thing to waste time with.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss why, in the service of advertising, only the strong should survive.  Based on the tweet: Good strategies expose weak ideas. But let's not forget the opposite is equally true. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we issue an important warning for would-be clients and agency employees. Based on the tweet: Never trust an agency that can't figure out its own brand.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

 Today we discuss why you can always be better, which automatically makes you different. Based on the tweet: Being better is the best way to be different.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the phenomenon of squandering more money by spending less. Based on the tweet: Dearest Client, In the end, cheap work costs you plenty. Love, LCBSupport the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

 Today we invoke a bit of superstition in hopes of swaying folks to show less and sell more. Creepiness ensues. Based on the tweet: Bad things come in threes. Remember that the next time you present concepts. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we make disparaging remarks about Google Docs. Based on the tweet: Never send a client an editable file. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the futility that is working for a certain type of client and a disturbing metaphor is made. Based on the tweet: Dear Client, If you already know what you're looking for, why do you need us to find it? Love, LCB Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we forgo our usual ramblings and instead channel our inner Edgar Allan Poe. "The Graven" a satirical parody based on the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss why copying the superficial attributes of the successful is a sucker's game. Based on the tweet: A lot of mediocre shops have open floor plans, too. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we ponder why the proverbial better mousetrap still requires a practical marketing plan. Based on the tweet: Warehouses are full of products that practically sell themselves.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we remind all involved that it is better to wow a client than to hope they wise up. Based on the tweet: Let us not become so immersed in educating our clients that we forget our real job is to inspire them. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss why the whys are the most important whats every ad must address. Based on the tweet: Telling people when to act is a poor substitute for why.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we offer some unsolicited advice about saving some unstructured time for yourself. Based on the tweet: Few things offer the opportunity to get more done than scheduling a conference call with yourself. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we embrace the streamlining, efficacious effects of saying no. Based on the tweet: Stretching a budget requires the client to say no to their desire to say no, and the agency to say no when they can't. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss prioritizing ultimate effectiveness over ease of measurement and wantonly use the word “chicanery.” Based on the tweet: Before boasting about the number of impressions your ad made, consider how many were fleeting. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the difficulties of convincing a client your perspectives are worthwhile when they consider your work unworthy of appropriate remuneration. Based on the tweet: You can tell how much someone truly values your input by how much they're willing to pay for your output. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the truth about attention spans they (the hacks) don't want you to know. Based on the tweet: It doesn't matter that the human attention span is down to eight seconds if your work can't even hold it for one. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the importance of listening to those who themselves often prefer to just  listen. Based on the tweet: Ideas that speak volumes often come from people who do not.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the importance of judiciously dropping the People's Elbow on client pushback. Based on the tweet: Don't ask people to wrestle with an idea until it's great if you're unwilling to wrestle with the client until it's approved.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss why being just a little more thin-skinned can spur you to better work. Based on the tweet: Don't be too thick-skinned. Much inspiration began as irritation. Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we attempt to inculcate one and all against accepting the innocuous.  Based on the tweet: Harmless work isn't.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the crazy notion entertaining our peers is not the same as persuading our audience. Based on the tweet: Work that only goes viral with ad people hasn't gone very far.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the importance of selling the thing you're supposed to be selling. Yet another observation that should be obvious, but apparently is not. Based on the tweet: You do not sell a dream by discussing the process of falling asleep.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)

Today we discuss the shrinkage-inducing effect of copy-cat creative. Based on the tweet: Nothing diminishes like being derivative.Support the show (https://leeclowsbeard.locals.com)