Vindication Comes in Many Forms
This column is sparked by some big news…a culmination of forty passionate years towards the media and sports…and two decades of living with a past failure. You could call today the craziest day in my NHL history. You would definitely be right if not for that 2012 Stanley Cup win by the Los Angeles Kings […]
An Open Letter to the NHL
This from ESPN’s Craig Constance last night: “In the fall of 2017, when we celebrate the 100th birthday of the NHL, we will do so as a League of 31 teams,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “We are pleased to welcome Bill Foley and the city of Las Vegas to the League […]
Playoff Ratings – The Tale of Two Bays
Okay, so where am I? I just finished refereeing the kids in our belated Father’s Day trip to see Finding Dory. Better than the first installment (Finding Nemo), the family movie was just the trick to soften stubbornness and unite the already close clan we are. Media bonds the family. All you have to do […]
Movies Have Lost That Loving Feeling
Okay, so where am I? I can tell you that I’m not in federal court with one of those cantankerous Californians filing lawsuits against Starbucks, hell-bent on taking down the the java king over underfilling their lattes. I mean, geez, cozy up to the barista and get a little more milk poured in. Last time […]
The Tellys and (yes!) More Sexist Advertising…
Hello, my name is Michael. And I’m an awards junkie. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I like to win. Not Charlie Sheen #winning*, but real winning. Recognized-by-my-peers winning. Owning-the-advertising-world-for-three-minutes winning. Winning. So first, the big news… The Media Guy strikes again. Two Silver Council winners and three bronze trophies in the 2016&nbs
Selena, Annie, and More Stupid Advertising from Across the Pond
Okay, so where am I? (More on that in a minute). In between my regular job (well, it’s not so regular, it’s actually invigorating), working with the team to prepare the campaign overview for the Clio submission (it’s hard to condense so much genius into a two-minute video) and re-writing scripts for my Japanese television […]
The Royal Wrap-up
My Los Angeles Kings* flamed out on their way to the Stanley Cup, so I’m a little down and out recovering from the fool’s good that was once the 2015-16 National Hockey League season. Nothing left to cheer for except every team playing the loathsome Anaheim Ducks. Prince is dead, long live the king. So […]
The Process
I used to imagine that film directing was a fun job, until I found out that it was 95% agonizing over scripts, worrying about money and spending one’s life hunched over an editing table. You can dream of being the auteur of the best movies in the world, but unless you actually like re-writing scripts […]
Enjoli: A 30-Second Capsule of Sexist Advertising
Okay, so where am I? I’m still hunkered down, North Korean-style*, working with the team to produce our Clio submission. We want to make the April 21st deadline and save the $25 late fee. We shall see. I can tell you that I was inspired by this article about North Korea’s Loyalty campaign where, “North […]
Innovation*: Failure is the catalyst to success
I can’t believe it’s been over nine months since I was trying to finish my 2015 submission for the Clio Awards. The big agencies have entire staffs cutting up footage and storyboarding narratives into two minute vignettes designed to win at beautiful, sleek statuette termed, “The Oscars of the Advertising World.” Me? I was doing […]
