POV Archives

Bogusky and me: a deep conversation by the shallow end

By Steffan Postaer Aug 6, 2018

Making work, really good work, was more important than drinking champagne and toasting about it Some years ago, I had the pleasure of conversing with Alex Bogusky bef...

A tale of two ecosystems: reef tank and ad agency

By Steffan Postaer Jul 27, 2018

The biological hierarchies of a reef ecosystem share much in common with the social intricacies of an ad agency I maintain a 180-gallon reef aquarium in my home. Try to...

Creative athletes remain relevant and stay in the game

By Steffan Postaer Jul 19, 2018

If a creative director isn’t banging away on every other brief at the agency, he or she begins the not-very-slow fade into irrelevance. My last post was about �...

Creative philosophy is all about passion, responsibility

By Steffan Postaer Jul 11, 2018

It all comes down to the brain - creativity done well is a balance between passion and responsibility “With great passion comes great responsibility.” Recentl...

Save the Farms: Adland creativity epidemic

By Steffan Postaer Jul 2, 2018

Adland agencies moving at the speed of business isn’t justification for creating a sweatshop Many farms in Adland are still fruitful places for creativity to...

Thoughts on Annapolis

By Barbara Roche Jun 29, 2018

Reel Chicago Publisher Barbara Roche reflects on the tragedy in Maryland As the publisher of Reel360.com, I feel moved to comment on yesterday’s tragedy...

Debating 101: brilliant lessons for a future in Adland

By Steffan Postaer Jun 4, 2018

Arguing for the other side in a college debating class was a valuable and infuriating way to prepare for a career in advertising The other night I got to thi...

Why are so many clients (still) afraid of new creative?

By Steffan Postaer May 25, 2018

After months of revisions, concepts either die in meetings or become compromised to a state of impotence Those of us in the creative department have asked the ques...

The Obama’s Netflix deal is great news for viewers

By Daniel Patton May 22, 2018

"President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have entered into a multi-year agreement to produce films and series for Netflix" Twitter, 9:00 AM - 21 May 2018 Accordi...

Have slick talkers turned Adland into their bitch?

By Steffan Postaer May 15, 2018

Award-winning ECD Steffan Postaer laments the pandemic of verbal diarrhea in the advertising industry Recently, I read an essay from an anonymous copywriter ...

Network interference: a necessary evil in Adland

By Steffan Postaer May 7, 2018

"Much of The Simpsons success can be traced to two main sources: an independence from network interference and a complete dedication to the writing…” — John O...

Is it a creative department or “Romper Room”?

By Steffan Postaer May 2, 2018

Award-winning ECD Steffan Postaer explains how to connect with the inner-fantastic A while back, a guest writer on AdAge, Lauren Warner, took some heat for an essay she wrote...

Today’s Festival Of Hypocrisy

By Bob Hoffman Apr 17, 2018

The following essay originally appeared in Bob Hoffman’s blog, "The Ad Contrarian." Grab some popcorn and a nice comfy chair and get ready for a three-ring clown show. T...

Creative thinking stops at age 50? Think again.

By Bob Hoffman Apr 10, 2018

The following essay originally appeared in Bob Hoffman’s blog, "The Ad Contrarian." Walk into any ad agency in the world and in ten seconds something will become obvious. E...

How to fight sexism in the film industry

By Laura Day Dec 11, 2017

About one month ago, I wrote an editorial in response to the Weinstein scandal. I wrote about my personal experiences working in the film industry — and those of my peers — ...

Why Italian Lingerie Makes Me Nervous

By Dennis Ryan Oct 16, 2017

A while back, my wife wanted to replace some underwear she liked that she bought out of town. I found it on the web and placed the order. Good news? Problem solved. Odd news? No...

Order the Sancerre & Other Advice

by Ashley Geisheker Sep 26, 2017

POV is a regular column by individuals who work in Chicago's film and advertising community. It can take the form of anything that the author wishes to share, be it inspiration,...

Why the IFO’S $499 mm film income should be higher

By Ruth L Ratny Jan 23, 2017

Last Friday the IFO / DCEO released its year-end summary of revenues from 2016 statewide film productions, stating they were $499 million, from 345 projects.Becoming half-billio...

Understanding the real world through VR experiences

By Sabrina Medora of Tom, Dick & Harry Jan 19, 2017

Empathy is a powerful emotion that advertising often taps into. With the rise of reality experiences — virtual reality, augmented reality, and 360-immersive videos — brands ...

Agency CCO provides his 10 Tips to Improve Productivity

By Bob Dion, Davis Harrison and Dion Jan 9, 2017

Introducing a new column series penned by some of Chicago advertising’s most innovative thinkers, starting with Bob Dion, partner, CCO of Davis Harrison and Dion, giving “...