Breaking and Entering Media  has done something rare in the advertising world: it respects time. In an industry capable of turning a two-sentence insight into a 60-slide deck, their “industry news in 60 seconds” format feels almost revolutionary.  One minute, a few headlines, no throat-clearing, no panel discussion about “what it all means.” Just the facts, the wink, and you’re back to your day. It’s the espresso shot of ad-industry content. Which is why their temptation and moreover lean...

Among other things, I watch advertising agencies pitch for a living. And what’s evident is that these agencies are in the curious position of being the world’s most fluent storytellers but too often the least convincing protagonists.  They urge brands to “zig when others zag” while presenting themselves in a blur of identical language, interchangeable case studies, and purpose statements that sound cloned from the same master brief. Every agency promises transformation, is “platform-agnostic”...

What I see in tougher competitive landscapes, especially in retail, are that too many brands are walking around clutching “best practices” like they’re the Ten Commandments.  “Thou shalt optimize. Thou shalt discount. Thou shalt post at 9:17 a.m.” Who decided 9:17? Was 9:16 busy? Here’s the thing: there’s no such thing as a universal best practice. There’s only a practice that worked for one company, in one category, during one oddly specific quarter… and now everybody’s acting like it’s...