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Big Orange Slide

Thursday, May 24th, 2012

The case against testing commercials

January 25, 2010 by Ian Mackenzie

Illustration by Brian Ross

We’ve added some awesome blogs to the Big Orange Slide’s blog roll. Here’s what and why:

15 ideas
Ignore the “About” page writeup. Kevin Lynch’s 15 ideas blog has nothing to do with “rock drills, jackhammers, and rock drilling accessories.” It’s actually a miscellany of pithy insights on advertising and visual communication. For example, “. . . if there’s one thing we in marketing are good at, it’s patting ourselves on the back and handing each other trophies.” And, “one of the things I love most about traveling is, you can wear the same clothes you did the day before without anyone knowing.” This is also your gateway to Lynch’s @fifteenideas Twitter feed, where you’ll get up-to-the-second news of his year-long quest to find the missing glove.

Makin’ Ads
This one’s “For students of advertising, portfolio school hopefuls, and anyone else putting their book together. Please remember: Everything written here may be wrong.” Modesty aside, there’s lots to love about this blog and its regular updates by U.S.-based copywriter Jim Bosiljevac and Geneva-based writer Greg Christensen. The recent Not Closing the Loop post, for example, offers a persuasive case against testing commercials.

bannerblog
“Where banners click.” A constantly updated collection of some of the world’s best online ads. The archives have hundreds of banners going back to 2005, many of them with the requisite “thinking outside the big box.” Of the banners shown recently, I like Barnardos for its innovative use of video.

Ads of the World blog
Ads of the World is an online archive and community that showcases campaigns from around the world. Recent highlights on their blog include 21 suggestions for a successful advertising career: “#17 Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong. Timing is everything in advertising.” And The next generation of truly transparent ads: “What would it be like if with every ad you saw online, you knew exactly how and why it found its way to your screen?”

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