Legends

Okay, so where am I?

I'm up so so late brainstorming on a new Smokey the Bear campaign for our friends at the USDA Forest Service and I was thinking about my former Tarzana neighbor, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (née Meghan Markle), would be struggling to stay awake if I were the Queen of England and Meghan wanted to retire to bed. Apparently the Queen and I would get along very well at Buckingham Palace whipping out ad copy to late night champagne toasts. A boy can dream, right?

Queen Elizabeth II, legend.

(Uhhh, you do know who Smokey the Bear is, right?* If you don't scroll to the bottom and read up. Read, read, read.)

These late nights get me thinking about dedication and perseverance. I work in a profession where many of my colleagues show up every day, do what's asked and go home. Day in and day out. You would be surprised at the resistance you get you ask for a certain level of dedication. The labored response is something like this:

"Oh you want a press release written?"
"You want the framework of that media buy flushed out this week?"
"I can go hard hard this week if you need me to."

Yeah, not that many in the advertising workforce are working hard. In fact, maybe 2% of our industry are working at top speed. I'm talking the total, absolute commitment where you take it home with you...

...Live it...
...Dream it...
...Master it.

Pop-Tarts, legend.

Most everyone just gives you the minimum required. These people are the reason I've had to listen to motivation speeches from the account managers over the years.

You know the Man upstairs hands out the DNA, but if you get lucky and you have the gift that's not enough. Once you mix in the complete obsessive, compulsive behavior, then you're onto something special. But then the commitment to maintain this greatness might actually be harder that becoming great.

Every morning I wake up and read the trades and watch what the greats are doing. Hone your craft through research, mind exercises, and an relenting passion to keep climbing. Read, read, read. It's okay to be the modern day Sisyphus and let the rock roll back over you. Get up again and keep pushing.

(Uhhh, you do know who Sisyphus is, right?** If you don't scroll to the bottom and read up. Read, read, read.)

It's that extra effort that makes you great. That thing you read today will be a tiny seed that germinates into that big idea one day. The extra work is the one thing that will separate you from the pack. I know this to be fact, you should too.

The greats (and by no means am I calling myself "great") have a sickness. The sickness is called compulsion. If you're punching a clock, you'll be good, but never great. You have to be obsessed with it all. It's that simple.

You know what get's a bad rap?

"OBSESSIVE."

Jerry Seinfeld, legend.

When you say "obsessive", people say, "WHOA! That guy is obsessive." Obsessive, my friends is the difference between great and legendary.

I was on the New York Times website this morning (yes, read, read, read) and saw that Jerry Seinfeld was asked how long does it take for him to create a 90-minute comedy set. He said, "I don't know. I go to bed thinking about jokes. I wake up thinking about jokes. When I walk my dog I think about constructing jokes. There is not concept of time there."

(Uhhh, you do know who Jerry Seinfeld is, right?** Jerry Seinfeld is not some regular comic, he's a legend. $600 million net worth. Co-creator of a Top 10 television show of all time. Arguable the best stand-up act ever. There's a thousand of slap-happy comedians at the local stand-up place with a great set trying to make rent, but Seinfeld is legend. Yet I digress...)

In the New York Times article, he talks about writing a joke about a Pop-Tart. It took him two yearsto get is right. He talks about every comma and every syllable, and how he's never thrown away a joke. He keeps them written on yellow pads. Here's a quick excerpt about his Pop-Tart process:

"Two years is a long time to spend on something that means absolutely nothing. But that's what I do. In comedy you think of something that you think is funny and then you go from there. It's a fun thing to say...Pop...Tart. I like the first line to be funny right away. Then I talk about shredded wheat that's like wrapping your mouth around a wood chipper. You have breakfast and then you take two days off for the scars to heal so you speak again. Then I had to figure out how to end the thing and that's the hardest part if you have a long bit, the funniest part has to be at the end. It has to be. It can't be in the middle or in the end. 'It can't go stale, because it was never fresh," that took a long time. I know it sounds like nothing, and it is..."

But is was something, it was a joke: His craft.

And, he was obsessive about it.

Now, I'll go back to being obsessed with finding the next big idea for a legendary bear...

* - About Smokey the Bear:

For those of you not aware, created in 1944, the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign is the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history, educating generations of

Smokey the Bear, legend.

Americans about their role in preventing wildfires. As one of the world's most recognizable characters, Smokey's image is protected by U.S. federal law and is administered by the USDA Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters and the Ad Council. Despite the campaign's success over the years, wildfire prevention remains one of the most critical issues affecting our country. Smokey's message is as relevant and urgent today as it was in 1944.

Smokey’s original catchphrase was "Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires." In 1947, it became "Remember... Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires." In 2001, it was again updated to its current version of "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires" in response to a massive outbreak of wildfires in natural areas other than forests and to clarify that Smokey is promoting the prevention of unwanted and unplanned outdoor fires versus prescribed fires.

** - Who is Sisyphus?

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus, the cunning king of Corinth, was punished in Hades by having repeatedly to roll a huge stone up a hill only to have it roll down again as soon as he had brought it to

Sisyphus, legend.

the summit. This fate is related in Homer’s Odyssey, Book XI. In Homer’s Iliad, Book VI, Sisyphus, living at Ephyre (later Corinth), was the son of Aeolus (eponymous ancestor of the Aeolians) and the father of Glaucus. In post-Homeric times he was called the father of Odysseus through his seduction of Anticleia; cunning obviously provided the link between them. Sisyphus was the reputed founder of the Isthmian Games. Later legend related that when Death came to fetch him, Sisyphus chained him up so that no one died until Ares came to aid Death, and Sisyphus had to submit. In the meantime, Sisyphus had told his wife, Merope, not to perform the usual sacrifices and to leave his body unburied. Thus, when he reached the underworld he was permitted to return to punish her for the omission. Once back at home, he continued to live to a ripe old age before dying a second time.

Seinfeld's Pop-Tart Joke

The Summer of Superheroes and Margrét, My New Favorite Amazon Model

I know the world is a lunatic cesspool full of bad people, but why do we need so many superheroes? When I was a kid, even until 1989, we got by with the Big Two: Batman and Superman. Now, I am getting all geeked up for Ant-Man and The Wasp (a sequel no less to the original Ant-Man that made Paul Rudd a superhero)...yes Paul Rudd.

Yet I digress...

Things were a lot easier when the Big Two were battling the same super villains over and over again. Now every superhero is a superstar. Take Thor from the planet of Asgard. He wanders around with a mini sledgehammer and was the the ace in the hole in the latest Avengers movie. We all know what happened to him (right?). Batman or Superman would never let that happen.

Blank Panther made a big splash at the box office recently. Until I was dragged to the theater I thought it was a biopic about Bobby Seale or Huey Newton. Everywhere I look there are super heroes getting their own movies, Silver Surfer, Aquaman, The Thing, The Green Lantern. Speaking of the Green Lantern, his power is in his ring, yet the ring is hooked to a battery. I mean, you cannot make this stuff up.

(I guess you quite literally can.)

Serious question: Are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles super heroes? It's almost like asking if a hot dog or a wrap is a sandwich. You might get a 50-50 split, yes or no, if you asked 100 people Family Feud-style.

Really, the only super heroes you ever really need is Batman or Superman. And, if you live in the real world, Margrét, My New Favorite Amazon Model is all you need.

Okay, so where am I?

I'm meeting Margrét in South Central Los Angeles, helping her out with a western hat ad comp she's trying to get off the ground. I mean, who am I to say no?

(For those of you wondering why she's a big deal in The Media Guy lore, scroll to the bottom and take the primer and read the three previous columns, including the first one from 2014 which still remains the top post of all time.) And, for regular readers, catch up with the queen of the birthday suit.

Media Guy: I heard a bunch of stories about your showdown with Betty Rage, how did that go down?

Margrét, My New Favorite Amazon Model: You may recall that last time I mud-rassled, I accidentally ingested some of the chocolate pudding “mud,” and was afflicted with terrible stomach flu afterward. Well, this time I knew better, so made sure to keep my lips shut, and to shower off thoroughly afterward. This rassling experience was better all-around than my last time, which you might recall was slightly scarring since I only got a $40 bid to be my towel boy — well, this time, some poor drunk guy bid $60 on me, and paid up….but he was so wasted that they had to escort him out of the bar before he had a chance to get in the ring with me. So they auctioned me off a second time, and this awesome British dude bid another $60 on me — and he was cool. He helped me defeat my first opponent, Kombat Kitty…but then I faced off against Betty Rage, and she beat me silly. Oh well, you can’t win ’em all!

MG: What a wacky gig! Surely there are better ways to drum up modeling gigs...

MMNFM: In this #MeToo #TimesUp culture, nude modeling has taken a real hit, which is a true shame. One is that historically, with a few exceptions, the nude is mainly a phenomenon of Western art. The other is that from very early on, the nude male and the nude female are treated quite differently and have different roles to play. The male nude body in Greek sculpture was used both for portrayals of ideal heroes - gods and idealized portraits of real heroes, notably the champions at the Olympic games. This brings up another basic aspect of the nude in art, its sometimes uneasy relationship to sexual desire. The entrenched homo-eroticism of ancient Greek society clearly has a good deal to do with the pre-eminence of the heroic male nude. In fact, around the 4th century BC, Praxitales and other sculptors did begin depicting nude females, notably the goddess of love, Aphrodite. But it remained indecorous for female portraits to depict nudity. More generally, a double standard where male and female nudity was concerned, persisted through the period of Roman sculpture and, indeed, right up to modern times, though its terms of reference frequently changed.

MG: So wacky gigs are the way to go?

MMNFM: One final wacky gig I did lately was act as concierge for this group of rowdy drunken Canadian guys who come out every year to play golf and cat around: I caddied for them last year, and they were so taken with me that this year they hired me to arrange everything. The first day, I set up a nude photo shoot with me and my fellow Goddess Collective members up at Red Rock Canyon — we drove the guys out there and posed for female-on-female art shots for a couple hours, and a great time was had by all. Then the next day, we all met up at a local golf course and proceeded to booze our way around the course, taking all manner of salacious photos and engaging in all kinds of naughty shenanigans involving strategically-placed golf tees and lots of puns involving the word “balls.” The final day, we were all supposed to get a cabana at one of the big pool parties, but the weather had turned shitty so we ended up just getting wasted at their hotel Jacuzzi, then going to the nightclub and getting messed up til all hours of the night.


Now, I haven’t set foot in a nightclub since the days when I was working at one…and guess what? It was just as abhorrent an experience as I recalled! This particular place was especially lame and unremarkable — they actually had the gall to hire that tired moron from Jersey Shore, Pauly D, as DJ! Even worse, all the star-struck, farm girls in the crowd were absolutely stoked, holding up their cell phones to capture footage of this momentous occasion. JEEZ!

Still, I’m not sure what happened but I ended up having a fantastic time — I was dressed really sloppily, in leggings and flip-flops (remember, we were boozing at the pool all day), but something happened and I went bat shit dancing, burning about 1,000,000 calories and having a really good time, despite the horrible DJ and lame-ass environment…so I guess it wasn’t all bad! The only downside was, after all that I felt like I’d been hit by a giant alcoholic Canuck bus — I mean, I was exhausted when those guys left! I don’t know how they did it.

MG: You used to be the belle of the ball, working every party which leads to me wondering if there have been any good parties lately.

MMNFM: The best party I went to lately was this amazing Burning-Man-themed bicycle pub crawl organized by one of my neighbors, called Blinking Man. Twice a year, about 300-400 wackos in costumes ride bikes covered in blinking lights all over downtown Vegas, stopping at four or five bars along the way for drinks and fun. This one group carts around a full DJ setup, and we basically have raves in all the parking lots we stop at along the way –

– it’s a RIOT! I went with some of my neighbors and friends, and even my roommate made an appearance, Rollerblading around half-naked in an Indian headdress and a G-string. NICE! All in all I was out til about 2am, pedaling furiously about the streets of downtown Vegas, dancing and drinking and getting merry like Christmas. NO WONDER I’M TIRED — that was my day off!!!

----

Previous Margrét, My New Favorite Amazon Model Columns:

NSFW: At the Baghdad Cafe with Margrét>>October 16, 2017

Catching up with Margrét>>March 9, 2015

Nude Modeling>>February 2, 2014

BURGER KING: You Should Have Called The Media Guy!

Okay, so where am I?

I'm waiting by the phone hoping Axel Schwan, the Global Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Burger King, dials me up so we can discuss their latest brain fumble. I mean, the FIFA World Cup is a great event to center an advertising and marketing campaign that will inevitably get their message out to the whole world. The World Cup is by far the most widely viewed sporting event on Earth -- with an audience reach of 3.5 billion -- and with that Burger King in Russia saw this as a prime opportunity to come up with a cheeky promotion, that maybe, just maaaaybe they didn’t think through all the way.

Burger King was trying to have it their way but trying to build up Russia's future in soccer by investing now by giving women a lifetime supply of Whoopers. But how would women be able to do that?

Above is the now delete post that translates like this:

"Burger King within the framework of social responsibility has appointed a rewards for girls who get pregnant from the stars of the world fútbol. 

Each will receive 3,000,000 rubles and a lifelong supply of Whoppers. For these girls, it will be possible to get the best fútbol genes and will lay down the success of the Russian National Team for several generations ahead. 

Forward. We believe in you."

Mr. Schwan, as much as I rack my brain, there is no real positive in this stunt. I mean, didn't you watch the Oscars? Or all the Harvey Weinstein news?

#TimesUp bro!

Seriously.

No matter, the bosses stepped up and apologies were issued blah blah blah. Which spurred on an interesting conspiracy theory: what is brands are putting out this stuff on purpose?

As a bunch, us ad folks are pretty self aware to what works and what doesn't. Most of us are fairly skilled and in many cases, have big budgets, and are under heavy pressure to raise their client's brand profile. In a crowded marketplace, these modern Mad Men need to do something (anything) to get their voices heard and seen.

Passionate Soccer Fans at the FIFA World Cup.

The ad industry is deliberately being provocative and it's trying to get the headlines. But, ultimately this is going to be much more damaging for brands than what they actually realize.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK's advertising watchdog, has received 2400+ racism complaints from 956 different ads since 2013. Of those, 12 cases were formally investigated and 10 of those had the complaint upheld.

The power to ban adverts it thinks breaches its standards, but that usually isn't necessary because brands usually remove the offensive ads once the bad publicity starts.

Experience tells me that despite adverts being looked at by many many eyeballs before they make it to the public, a "lack of diversity" in advertising agencies means things can be missed. This is why marketing executives like Axel Schwan should be calling me. As I have ranted and raved in six previous articles and nearly daily in my own office, a simple pre-release phone call to the Media Guy can save you millions of dollars in bad publicity and wasted media buys. Reach out, I'll be there.

So did Burger King do this on purpose?

It's hard to say considering their track record. Burger King Russia division has a history of horrific publicity-baiting stunts. Last year it made fun of a teenage rape victim in an online marketing campaign, using the likeness of Diana Shurygina, who was raped when she was 16 at a house party, as part of a buy one get one free burger offer.

Ugh!

And it’s not just Russia...Burger King has a global track record of misogynistic advertising. In Singapore the company advertised a seven-inch burger with overtly sexual imagery and a tagline saying “It’ll blow your mind away.” The model featured in the 2009 advertising campaign later came forward to say she had no idea her image was going to be used in that way.

Double Ugh!

On the other hand, they come forth with a clever ad to commemorate that it's legal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia with free Whoppers (no pregnancy required).

For a entire month (June 24 to July 24), Burger King Saudi Arabia is giving its signature burger free to any woman in the driver's seat who pulls up to its drive-thru windows. The burgers will come wrapped in special paper, renaming the sandwich "WhoppHer."

So, will Burger King or Alex call the Media Guy? Remember this: one call to me will save could you a bunch of migraines and a boatload of cash...I advise you to strongly consider these words.

Previous "You Should Have Called the Media Guy" Columns:

H&M
The American Red Cross
Pepsi
Kellogg's
Anaheim Ducks
T-Mobile, Dove, and McDonald's

Creativity as Told by Pixar

Okay, so where am I?

I'm preparing for the annual father's day trek to the new Pixar release. Only a couple of days away and I'm wondering if this will be the annual pilgrimage of sibling fighting that I have to referee or if my kids (now adults) will stop bickering long enough to make me feel like I did a good enough job as a dad raising them to get me to the next holiday. Like I say, media bonds the family and all you have to do is put in the time. I'm putting the odds at 50-50. Yet, I am already digressing.

Aside from the greatness that Pixar movies provide from an entertainment point of view, they go much deeper for the Media Guy. They seem to focus on the genesis of creativity and collaboration. It's hard to fathom that Pixar has drawn some of its finest inspiration from napkin sketches. The democratic collaboration methods that Pixar has chosen to adopt.

Design thinking enthusiast John Spencer has penned down 10 lessons from Pixar that touch on creativity and collaborating with other professionals.

Creativity Isn’t A Solitary Effort

via GIPHY

People often romanticize creative people as loner types feverishly scratching papers each time they get an ‘aha’ moment. However, Spencer believes that the greatest creative ideas root from entire teams.

Pixar empowers its people to offer their input. Its non-hierarchical structure, “from the meetings to the decision-making to the fact that nobody gets a special parking spot,” is possibly one of the reasons why its ideas flow so smoothly but vividly.

Critique Doesn’t Have to Wreck Creativity

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Spencer describes that when you have trust and transparency, constructive feedback can inspire creative thinking. This is in line with what Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull famously said: “We believe that ideas—and thus, films—only become great when they are challenged and tested.”

There is Power in Pivoting

via GIPHY

Pixar first started as a technology firm before branching out to filmmaking. It’s characteristic for the company to focus on a concept, and then pivot out to new ideas until the overall result works.

“I loved seeing how movies like Monsters, Inc. evolved over the years of planning,” remarks Spencer, “…pivoting doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means you are being flexible and willing to improve.”

Play is Important

via GIPHY

Pixar isn’t an all-work-and-no-play enterprise—celebrations, parties, and retreats, are integral to its culture. The company even encourages employees to decorate their desks with little trinkets.

Some of Pixar’s greatest accomplishments are derived from producing short films. These shorts are typically avenues for testing out new ideas, as well as a means to having small teams pick up a wide range of new skills.

“If you’re working on a long project, you will get tired,” Spencer admits. “It will become a grind. But play allows you to find energy, reconnect with your group and ultimately hit creative breakthroughs.”


Trust the Process

via GIPHY

Pixar might work pretty flexibly, but it also comes with its own structures and rules. Without these, creativity becomes an overwhelming process.

Spencer highlights a quote from Catmull: “People who take on complicated creative projects become lost at some point in the process.”

You Can’t Value Risk-Taking and Unless You Allow for Mistakes

via GIPHY

This theme popped up often but in a way that was much more meaningful than the typical “embrace your mistakes” mantras that you see on social media. It’s the idea of having a growth mindset and knowing that experimentation means mistakes will occur. This is such a sharp contrast to a story in the book where Steve Jobs fires an Apple employee in front of the entire company. By contrast, Catmull wanted Pixar’s employees to feel the freedom to make mistakes and grow as a result.

Art and Science are Complimentary

via GIPHY

This was one of the earliest themes. I’ve seen STEM folks who bemoan the A added in STEAM. However, I am struck by the fact that there is artistry in science and so much science in the art of storytelling. A similar thought is that you can create something innovative and timeless at the same time. So, as students engage in creativity, we need to explore how your collaborative processes honor both art and science.

We Need Mental Models to Battle Fear

via GIPHY

Creativity is scary. I have had moments in creative work when I felt terrified. I worried about what people would think. I worried about entering the unknown without any assurance that I would create what I wanted to create. What I loved about this book is the reminder that the fear never goes away. If anything, it intensifies with success. There’s a section in this book where they explore the fear that the directors face and the mental models they use to make sense of everything. This is important for creative collaboration because an entire group can get stuck and grow risk-averse in their creativity.
The goal of creative collaboration isn’t creativity. With Pixar, the goal is always storytelling and, I would argue, highly emotional myth-making. Creativity isn’t what drives the storytelling. Rather, storytelling drives the creativity. This, by the way, is why I rarely talk about creativity with students. I don’t assess it. I don’t place it on a rubric. I don’t tell students, “Go out and be creative.” Instead, I encourage groups to focus on the purpose and the audience and to feel the freedom to take creative risks.

People are More Important Than Ideas 

via GIPHY

There was a great quote here, “Ideas come from people. Therefore, people are more important than ideas . . . too many of us think of ideas as being singular, as if they float in the ether, fully formed and independent of the people who wrestle with them. Ideas, though, are not singular. They are forged through tens of thousands of decisions, often made by dozens of people.” This has a few big implications for creative collaboration. First, it means trust and relationships are more important than the products we make. Second, it means we need to be okay to abandon ideas without taking things personally. Finally, it means our success in generating ideas does not define who we are as people. Ultimately, the success of a group isn’t the product they create so much as the way that they relate to one another.

First World Problems: Wearing Jeans with a Sport Coat

Okay, so where am I?

I'm standing in front of my closet pretending to be choosing what to wear when I am really wondering why Roseanne Barr didn't call me ahead of her Ambien tweet that got her rebooted hit TV show booted off of ABC.

I mean...saying you didn't know someone "was black" is no excuse for racism. Letting The Media Guy handle your social media could have saved you losing a giant platform that was booking $40 million in ad space, not to mention the upcoming added syndication, and now all of the lost jobs.

All of this on the day Starbucks is closing early for diversity training day. Sheesh! Who know Starbucks had such good timing?

I might be up late waiting for Ms. Barr to call. How will I do it without an afternoon Venti? Will Coffee Bean do the trick? Will I have to resort to 7-11 or gas station coffee? Oh man, first world problems!

Speaking of first world problems, I laughed as I was standing in front of the closet because I wear the same thing every day: uncollared black shirt from Nordstrom, Michael Kors jeans, Armani or bespoke sport coat with a silk pocket square, and expensive shoes. That's been my look for a long time and I can get away with it being in the advertising field.

As a younger Media Guy, I wore a dress shirt and tie every work day...and hated every minute. Now it's en vogue not to wear a tie. The decline of the necktie as a mandatory accessory in the corporate workplace is in full effect to the point there is debate about weather Wall Street guys should skip it too. Stay tuned.

Let's be clear about one thing: this style works in my industry and you can get away with it it you are an engineer in Silicon Valley or if you’re a start-up wunderkind just learning to shave. However if you’re an a big wig in regular corporate American, expecting the support of the Bigger Cheeses, then respect the code of propriety and wear a tie.

Robert Redford was a style trailblazer in 1975's Three Days of the Condor.

If you want to be casual in a suit, remove the jacket, not the tie, and roll up the shirt sleeves if you must (but only mid-way between wrist and elbow, never higher … unless you’re a vet).

With a tip of the chapeau to Brett and Kate McKay of the Art of Manliness, I ran across a guide on how to wear a sport coat with jeans. For those of you looking to launch a high-end casual look, this seminal guide is a must read...

The sports jacket is one of the best, most versatile items a man can have in his wardrobe. The benefits of this piece of clothing are myriad. First, it enhances your silhouette, broadening and heightening your shoulders, slimming your midsection, and giving you a more masculine appearance overall. Second, it offers a good number of pockets, so you can lighten the load on your trousers and have what you need ready at hand. And third, it affords you an opportunity to be a gentleman; should a lady friend become cold, you can remove your jacket and lend her its warmth.

Thus, any way to extend the times and places in which a sports coat may be worn is a win by me. And one such way is to pair one’s jacket with jeans.

Too formal top + too casual bottom = business mullet.

Wearing jeans and a sports coat is a somewhat controversial move; it has been called “the business mullet” (formal up top, casual on the bottom) by its critics. And it’s true that done wrong, the look can come off quite poorly.

But executed well, pairing a sports coat and jeans results in a sharp, casual look that will easily become your go-to getup for a variety of situations. The key to pulling it off is simply to choose the right jeans, the right jacket, and the right accessories. How to do that is what we’ll be covering today.

The Overarching Principle for Successfully Pairing a Sports Jacket With Jeans

The main reason the sports coat and jeans look fails is that the two pieces are too jarringly matched. Generally, the jeans are too casual, and the jacket is too formal. And often both pieces are too baggy. The solution of course is to make sure that top and bottom complement each other well — that your jeans are a little more formal, your jacket is a little more casual, and everything fits well. Remember, fit is the foundation of style!

Choose Your Jeans

This is the easiest part of the equation: choose clean, dark, well-fitted, trouser-esque denim. Avoid ripped, baggy, faded, and distressed jeans. Lighter denim can sometimes work, especially if you’re Robert Redford circa 1975. But to keep it simple, go with a nice, deep indigo.

(In the photo) Baggy, over-casual jeans (left), look incongruous paired with a sports jacket, while jeans with a more tailored look (right), complement the jacket nicely.

Choose Your Sports Jacket

This is the area where you’ll have to exercise more discretion.

The first question that often arises is whether one’s coat has to be of the sports variety, or whether one can pair jeans with a suit jacket or blazer.

When it comes to wearing a suit jacket and jeans, the answer is, with very few exceptions, decidedly no. A suit jacket is more structured, spare in details, smooth in fabric, and formal in appearance; thus, paired with the casualness of jeans, the resulting look is simply too discordant and jarring.

The blazer jacket sits in-between the formality levels of the suit jacket and the sports jacket. It can work with jeans, especially if it is made of a thicker, more textured fabric like flannel or serge, rather than the fine worsted wool common to suit jackets. But it can still come off as too formal to pair well with denim.

When it comes to style, most men are better off adhering to fairly simple rules, rather than delving into nuances and exceptions, so when it comes to donning a jacket with your jeans, I recommend sticking solely with the sports coat. It’s hard to go wrong with it. The sports jacket was created in the 19th century for gentlemen who needed a more rugged, utilitarian garment for active pursuits like shooting, hunting, riding, and golf. The jacket was thus constructed of thicker fabrics and adorned with patch pockets for cartridges, elbow patches for durability, and slits in the back for mobility. These rustic, casual style details are what make the sports jacket a quite fitting companion for the rustic, casualness of denim. In fact, the more casual the jacket, the better it will complement your jeans.

A jacket in a color that contrasts with your jeans (right), generally looks better than a jacket in a similar color (left)

Here are a few things to generally look for in a sports jacket that will pair particularly well with jeans:

• Unstructured and soft-shouldered.
• Casual, textured fabric. Linen or cotton in warmer months; tweed, corduroy, etc. for colder weather.
• Casual style details like patch pockets and elbow patches.
• Two buttons over three.
• Thin notch lapels over peak lapels.
• Well-fitted. Sports coats are cut roomier than suit jackets and blazers in order to allow for layering underneath. But you don’t want the fit to be too baggy.
• High color contrast with jeans. Sports coats, unlike suit jackets, aren’t supposed to match your pants, and in fact look best when they form a sharp contrast with them. Thus a light-colored sports coat generally looks best with dark denim.

The Accessories

The other pieces you pair with your sports coat and jeans will go a long way towards ensuring your getup works. You can choose to go with a slightly dressier look, or a more casual one.

Examples of layering possibilities

Sweater/vest. A layered look goes great with jeans, so don’t hesitate to pull a v-neck sweater or casual vest over your dress shirt, and under your jacket....or, if you're a Marvel anti-hero / married to Blake Lively, then your waist coat can be your jacket...:

Shoes. When dressing up the look, choose a brown pair of brogues or oxfords. For a step down from there, go with leather loafers or double monk strap shoes. More casual still, would be to don dress/work boots (like my personal favorite, the Wolverine 1,000 mile) or chukkas. And of course cowboy boots with jeans and a sports coat is a classic look that transcends categories and works well in certain regions of the country.

Pocket Square. Another sharp addition if you’re going for a snazzier ensemble. Just like with ties, choose a thicker, more rustic fabric rather than silk, and it’s usually best to go with a simple, low-profile fold rather than a puffy, flowing one.

In incorporating all of these elements, stick with a consistent theme; that is, if you’re going for a slightly dressier look, rock brogues, a crisp oxford, and a pocket square. If you’re going for a more casual look, pair leather dress/work boots with a chambray shirt and no tie.

When to Wear a Sports Coat and Jeans

One good time to wear a sports jacket and jeans is when you’re running from the FBI, who mistakenly believes you’ve killed your wife. These are the only circumstances under which you’re allowed to wear black sneakers with your getup as well.

A sports coat paired with jeans is not a formal or semi-formal look. It’s inherently casual in nature. That being said, it’s an extremely versatile outfit that’s particularly perfect when the dress code is a little squiggy — events where you know things aren’t going to be very dressy, but you don’t think it’s going to be super casual either. Sports coat + jeans bridges the gap between causal and dressy, town and country, and is thus a highly adaptable outfit that will allow you to seem neither too dressed up nor too dressed down in a variety of situations, including:

First date. A handsome look a lady friend is sure to appreciate. The sports jacket provides plenty of pockets to hold the essential items in a man’s first date arsenal, and you can offer your coat to your gal should she get cold. Plus, as ladies often wear dressed-up denim out on the town, this getup will allow you to look sharp without outdressing your date (something a gentleman strives to avoid).

Casual/creative job interview. When you’re applying for a job in a very casual workplace, where employees wear t-shirts and hoodies to work, the sports coat/jeans combo can be just the right sharp, but not-too uptight look for an interview.

A job that straddles field and office. If you work a job where you’re sometimes in an office, and sometimes out in the field (at a construction site, for example) the combination of durability, functionality, and put-togetherness of a sports jacket + jeans will allow you to move comfortably between different sites and roles.

Traveling. The sports jacket’s pockets come in handy when you’re traveling, while the jeans will keep you comfortable. Together the look ensures you’ll arrive to your destination in style.

Other situations where a sports coat and jeans would fit right in include casual business functions, casual church services, dinner at a steakhouse with friends, parent/teacher conferences, etc. Tinker with the formality of the accessories listed above to arrive at a look that’ll best fit the particular situation.

Jin Rockford...another trailblazer.

Pimping Out Atlanta

Okay, so where am I?

I’m out on vacation from my 60 hour a week marketing gig working my other media job that I can only do when I’m on vacation. Good thing my 60 hour a week career has a liberal time-off policy akin to the countries of France and Brazil. Ah, the things I do to make commercials and extra scratch for the folks in Japan!

So, I’m at Atlanta and I made the mistake of letting my office handle the arrangements and I wound up in the bad part of Atlanta…called Atlanta. Take a look in the header of this blog and picture this friendly, All-American face wondering in Atlanta and gasp, “Ohhhhhhhhhhh Noooooooooooo!”

Not great, Bob!

I don’t know if you’ve ever been driving around a sketchy neighborhood and you do what I do and tell yourself, “It’s me.” Yep, it’s me judging the neighborhood inappropriately.

I do it a lot and I cannot lie.

My inner dialogue went something like this:

“Stop it…it’s fine…it’s different and I like it…thank you! What a vibrant community to let my rental Mercedes idle at these loooooooooooooooooong, long lights. Nope! No danger here….24 hour check cashing places? What a wonderful service. Yes, those should be on every corner!…Oh ‘Cash for Gold’ you say? Yes! Thank you very much, let me scribble a note down just in case.”

I knew it was a bad area because I saw a pimp strolling around. How do I know it was a pimp? Close your eyes and picture a pimp. Yep, that’s him. Do not, I repeat, do not alter your first draft of mental pimp in the least. A man in a Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat suit, a furry fedora, a glass cane, platform shoes, and a pinky ring.

Indeed, I saw a pimp.

Listen, I’m not babe in the woods but seeing a pimp outside of the movies (*) in 2018 where all such activities are reserved for the world wide web is a clear indicator that I was in the wrong part of town.

A mile away I arrived at my hotel and, I don’t know if you’re still playing the picture game, but it wasn’t looking like a Four Seasons. It was more like an abandoned building here someone spray painted the word “Hotel” on the side of it. So there I am checking in behind 20 inches of bulletproof Plexiglas and imagining what a delightful stay this is going to be while asking what the Wi-Fi password is but not being able to hear though the muffled sound of an apathetic front desk clerk.

It was then when it hit me. It doesn’t have anything to do with me or or my perception of the area. This is just a messed up area and I need to get the hell out of here. So there I am in the middle of the transaction, wallet in one hand, roller bag in the other, I was like: “Never mind all of this!” as I kept rolling back out hoping my Mercedes wasn’t on blocks at this point.

I roll out to the parking lot and this whole thing is playing out like a Jeff Foxworthy standup routine and jump into the my car with my bag on my lap pretending to be Snake Plissken,  but really more like George Costanza facing a fire.  All I knew is I need to get somewhere more bougie.

With my handle trembling towards my GPS system I proceeded to search for the most bougie place I could think of in Atlanta: Barnes and Noble. (**)

(**) I feel many of you reading this are wondering if you can laugh at this one, while others are you are quietly filing this away mentally to use at a later time when you find yourself in the wrong part of town. Other businesses that will work for this get out of sketchy scenario include: Panera and the Apple Store. 

Whatever you think of this strategy, just know that in 22 minutes I had a scone and an espresso while getting a foot massage at The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead. (***)

(***) - AD OF THE WEEK/MONTH/WHATEVER
Glico
Agency: Me, The Media Guy, Michael Lloyd

Here’s the work that came from the Atlanta meetings and that scone:

(*) - Top Ten Movie Pimps:

Workspaces: My Office

Okay, so where am I?

Where else would I be but at the office, where I spend 60 hours of every non-vacation week. I am trying to get that inspiration for, not only that new campaign that's due on Friday, but also that mysterious new commercial campaign for Smokey the Bear. My cluttered office and desk isn't helping my forward thrust...

...or is it...?

From NBC's The Office:

Michael: "They say a cluttered desk means a cluttered mind. Well I say that an empty desk means a..." 

Dwight: "Empty mind." 

Michael: "No, that's not... no, that's not what I was going to say."

On any given day, my office might be described as "antique store chic." On a bad one? A garage sale from the sixties.

The words, concepts and occasional dumpster fire springing from this laptop follow a similar pattern. This isn't Mad Men with their fancy set dressers with unlimited budgets, and there's no grandiose or calculated master decor scheme. Just a bunch of things that I like and some I have earned.

I have no interest in protracted exposure to junk that I can't stand, especially in the modern era where you you can bring in inspirational inducing items at the click of a button. I'm all about immersing myself around karma voodoo in the form of good luck juju and the eclectic aura of neat things. It's my hope that surrounding myself with these things that I'm subconsciously fostering work that will rub off on my team as well.

The Mercedes of Candy Jars
One of these mid-century marvels sits tall and proud on the corner of my desk on the fifth floor (easily the best collection of creative minds this side of those fancy boutique agencies up north in Silicon Valley). In lieu of constantly begging co-workers and staff to stay for meetings, this is the next best thing. The bait of sitting through another of my long-winded stories and analysis, I set out this bait in the form of Hershey's Kisses. My 14K gold rimmed jar holds a full gallon of these babies. Amazon loves my frequent orders (I talk a lot.)

Go
No office should ever be without some hockey stuff, so here's a kitschy bobblehead featuring Los Angeles Kings mascot Bailey with a simple handheld sign saying: "Go". Not only is the king of the jungle encouraging you to climb every mountain, but also he could be saying "get the hell out of my office, resulting in a true win-win.

The Book Pyramid
Reading is the backbone of knowledge. Sometimes when the creativity is blocked I read a paragraph or two to get it all following again. Think: Mental Ex-Lax. Also book #1, $7, and #9 were written by me and that's pretty cool when someone wants to challenge writing styles...so that's pretty cool.

Dear Mike:
Jeff Katzenberg missed me one day and (actually) penned a note to prove it. I feel like Sally Field* every time I read this. And, yes, that's an autographed 8x10 from Uncle Miltie.

National Order of the Cedar
Getting an award from a foreign government is never easy. But the work to earn one can be a fun one. In the mid- to late-2000s, I convinced the (some of the) world that the Middle East was a great place for American tourists (before the W., the Arab Spring and Hillary ruined it all) to visit on vacation. In true Lebanese hospitality, the municipality of Beirut awarded me this fancy medal as a thank you in 2006. Oh, I have stories...just pull up a chair and grab some Hershey's Kisses.

Vlad, The Russian Ghost
I tell people the Russian Ghost is there to talk to the real ghosts in my office. Truth be told, the ghost is a prop from the Disney Story when that had rad displays that harkened back to the New York City Windows of yesterday. The chapeau that sits atop Vlad is an authentic Soviet Officer's handcrafted at the end of the Communist era in my great grandparent's hometown of Odessa. Robert Mueller never called to investigate if Vlad was involved in the election hacking, so it didn't go as poorly as it could have. Either way, he's probably safer here channeling to the spirits that visit after dusk.

Nuts
Everyone wants to be a good dad and this jar of roasted and salted peanuts was a Father's Day gift, circa 2004. I try to trick myself into believing the label was typed by my son. I do know, however, that the peanuts on top were painted by him. Don't eat my nuts, they are at least 14 years old now.

The Oscar of Advertising
I saw a Clio Award on eBay for $149 for the opening bid. Mine was much more expensive: it cost me my first marriage.

Vintage Photography
I fancy myself as a photographer. To prove it, I have my original Kodak Instamatic and Brownie cameras.

The Voice of the Proletariat 
Even when you are part of management you have to connect with the people. I mean, everyone wants their voice heard. I picked up this Solidarity flag on a trip to Poland so the informed in the office know I believe in the people. It hangs in front of my Bourgeois first place golf trophy I won at some country club in 1999.

Judging Fish
This quotation alludes to a long-standing allegorical framework. It is inappropriate to judge an animal by focusing on a skill which the creature does not possess. A fish is specialized to swim superbly, and its ability to climb a tree is non-existent or rudimentary. In the workplace, I believe that you find what someone is good at and keep them in that lane until they want, and can handle more. The result? I've had the same team for nearly five years. Work happiness equals real happiness.

-----------

* - Sally Field

See her speech for winning the Oscar® for Best Actress for her performance in "Places in the Heart" at the 57th Academy Awards® in 1985...skip to the 03:34 mark to the money quote.