Simply put, a mnemonic is a device to help people remember something.  But sometimes, advertisers can get carried away. I was watching TV the other night when a spot came on with the intrusive sound of S.O.S. (Do do doot, da do do, do do doot!)   Scenes kept changing and the S.O.S. kept repeating, [...]

Apparently, the golden era of advertising wasn’t always so golden. This Alka Seltzer story is told by Evan Stark, writer of the famous “Mama Mia, that’s a spicy meatball” commercial.  It’s about another Alka Seltzer spot that he wrote with his art director partner, the legendary Roy Grace. EVAN:  Roy and I were asked to [...]

I have ads in my head that I’ve loved for decades, but nobody has ever seen them.  They are the ghosts of creativity past.  Ads that I wrote on my own, or with great partners, that never saw the light of day. But now, thanks to the miracle of blogging, I’d like to share one [...]