Everyone's a critic

"Oh...Oh...Oh...Ozampec, you know, never believe it's not so."

Come on, sing it with me, you know you want to. I don't have an insulin problem and I'm not pre-diabetic, though part of me wishes I were just so I could take part in the Ozampec phenomena. That my friends is the power of advertising.

By the way, that little ear worm will be with you for a good part of the morning.

Speaking of the power of advertising, many of you know that my partner and I have been running a series of self promo ads on social media. Never let anyone, including the esteemed Bob Hoffman, the Ad Contrarian, tell you social media doesn't work.

It does. And somebody should write a jingle for it.

In any case, since the ads broke, Jean Robaire and I have both been booked. I just got extended another week. I can't remember the last time a gig lasted more than three weeks. These days clients and agencies expect you to right the brand ship in 36 hours. 48, if the planners change their minds.

"Sorry for the incredibly quick turnaround, there's plenty of Le Croix in the fridge. Drink as many as you'd like."

Moreover, I've fielded a few new inquiries. And one of my former partners who is now in-house at a big tech firm is threatening to dump work on me.

In other words, the ads are working. But despite the positive response from people writing out checks and requesting signed NDAs, there are still some detractors.

They showed up in droves on FISHBOWL, the app for disgruntled ad folks who can no longer leave anonymous comments on AgencySpy.

"Too much copy. No one is going to read that stuff."

"The design seems dated. Maybe, as a bunch of old guys, that was your point." 

"I've always been a fan of your work, but I give these a C+."

Color me  amused.

Not only are Robaire and I preternaturally thick, we're also thick skinned. So these quaint little barbs mean nothing to us. Besides none can hold a candle to the one aggrieved ACD who found our work offensive, sexist and tone deaf to the trying times we live in.

"Ew. Naturally this sexist and/or transphobic piece of commerce assumes it's speaking to men, using the nut metaphor."

If I could I would buy this woman a car or a house or a boat. I don't know how else to repay her for the laughs she has inspired.

Girl, you made my day.

Here is the complete series. They may not win us awards, and this may come as a surprise to some of you young people, it's not about awards. It is, for two veteran freelancers, about being at the top of list when jobs get awarded.