The Messiah Complex

By FrancisCULTURE, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized

(ANOTHER FABULOUS DAVID BROOKS EDITORIAL) Every age produces its own sort of fables, and our age seems to have produced The White Messiah fable.This is the oft-repeated story about a manly young adventurer who goes into the wilderness in search of thrills and profit. But, once there, he meets the native people and finds that … Read More

QUOTATIONS #2

By FrancisFUN, Quotations, Uncategorized

“An idealogical system in conflict with the facts generally finds it prudent to defer to itself.”—David Berlinski “I’ve gone into hundreds of fortune-teller’s parlors, and I’ve been told thousands of things. But nobody ever told me I was a policewoman getting ready to arrest them.” —New York City Detective “Write a wise saying and your … Read More

Darwin Was Right!

By FrancisCULTURE, Faith, Uncategorized

Flipping through channels the other day, I stopped briefly at PBS’s latest ode to Darwin. After a couple minutes, it hit me: That whole hypothesis about adaptive behavior and natural selection is so true! Witness, for example, how adeptly a biologist camouflages his conclusions against that vast body of fact which utterly undermines the theory … Read More

I Love This Ad For So Many Reasons.

By FrancisBUSINESS, Communications, Uncategorized

I’m on a horse – – If you haven’t already seen the latest Old Spice body-wash ad, stop reading and click on this link immediately: http://bit.ly/smell-like-me First, I love the creative strategy: Don’t sell this product directly to men. Sell it to women—who make the majority of those purchasing decisions. Next, find a guy who’s … Read More

WORK NOTE #1

By FrancisTHE AGENCY, Uncategorized, Work

Small Site Scores Big. We recently launched a nice website on a shoestring budget for a buddy of ours—who manufactures the world’s greatest supplemental game feeder. Unbeknownst to us, Hindsight Management (led by Birmingham ad legend Jim Riley) evaluated the site’s effectiveness using The Riley Persuasion Index. Jim reports that it earned the highest score … Read More

Nonconformity Is Skin Deep

By FrancisCULTURE, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized

NOTE: Sadly, The Birmingham News has dropped my favorite Editorial Page columnist, David Brooks. Below is a condensed version of a column of his I saved years ago. We now have to work under the assumption that every American has a tattoo. Whether we are at a formal dinner, at a professional luncheon, at a … Read More

Put That Kid In Timeout. Permanently.

By FrancisBUSINESS, Communications, Uncategorized

(Original post, 2.2.10 — Tuesday before the Super Bowl) If you haven’t seen the latest e-Trade ad, they’ve replaced the sweet-but-worldly-wise baby (who’s loved, at latest count, by everyone who’s ever seen him) with an insufferable, sarcasm-spouting smartass. And while I’m not privy to e-Trade’s research (which would have to indicate that this change of … Read More