Call To Action

They say you should leave an audience wanting more, but sod that, as this week we are giving you a huge double helping of more, as it is part 2 of our chat with George Tannenbaum.    One of the most highly awarded, revered and talented copywriters and creative directors on the planet, George is a freelancer who was previously Executive Creative Director and Copy Chief at Ogilvy for over 10 years, and has worked with huge brands like IBM, Boeing, PayPal and General Motors.   Allow your ears to be bent by George’s blissful yet biting NY tones, as he talks on subjects such as the state of copywriting, what he would do if he was Joe Biden, rediscovering his love for advertising, what he would banish from the industry, his time at Ogilvy including his last assignment working on the Boeing account, clickbait and how to write a good headline and more. Go tune in, you lucky, lucky people.   Oh. And that’s not to mention a perfectly timed comedic cameo from his wife. ///// Follow George and Le Agency Holding Company CEO on LinkedIn George is on Twitter Here is his Ad Aged Blog And his Website Here are the AdHouse Classes  George’s book recommendations: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson Caste by Isabel Wilkerson  /////

We’ve pulled a network agency worm out of the Big Apple and used it as topic-bait to catch one of advertising’s biggest fish this week; the one and only George Tannenbaum. One of the most highly awarded, revered and talented copywriters and creative directors on the planet, George is a freelancer who was previously Executive Creative Director and Copy Chief at Ogilvy for over 10 years. George has worked with huge brands like IBM, Boeing, PayPal, and General Motors, writes a hugely influential marketing blog called Ad Aged, and has a charming if alarmingly deluded French alter ego called ‘Le Agency Holding Company CEO’ who holds up a satirical mirror to the holding company era. Listen to George chat and vent eloquent fire on a variety of subjects such as his family’s settlement in the U.S, his early career, working and learning from Ron Rosenfeld and Len Sirowitz, the NY agency scene in the 80s and 90s, what the industry has become, ageism, his time at Ogilvy, why he hates the Yankees, and tonnes more. So much more, that this is the first of a two-parter. And the whole thing kicks off with an unmissable cameo from Le Agency Holding Company CEO. So what you waiting for? Go listen./////Follow George and Le Agency Holding Company CEO on LinkedIn George is on Twitter Here is his Ad Aged Blog And his Website   George’s book recommendations: The Saddest Words by Michael GorraAnd the rest will be in Part 2, so be sure to listen in 😉/////

This week we’ve trawled and traversed all 50 US states in a 27-foot-long hot dog to catch former male cheerleader, Assistant Tour Manager to Britney Spears, mentee of Magic Johnson & ad land’s most diverse and disruptive Diversity Officer; Doug Melville.  Another chapter of his remarkable CV tells us that as the first-ever Chief Diversity Officer of TBWA\North America, Doug has driven TBWA’s supplier diversity efforts to over $250 million in spend with female and diversely owned-and-operated businesses in the creative space…and still found time to interview Snoop Dogg.   He talks to us on that giant wiener (!!), studying at the University of Magic Johnson, touring with the Princess of Pop, nailing your diversity strategy, valuing progress over PR, how brands can take a stance on social issues, and loads more. Anyone who simply wants their company or agency to produce better, more diverse work should bend their ear hither now.///// Follow Doug on Twitter, LinkedIn & Instagram Check out his diversity platform One Sandbox  And delve into any of his 3 brilliant TEDx Talks: Improving your diversity IQ Being A Male Cheerleader Changed My Relationships with Women Digital Breadcrumbs - 12 steps to online success And why not? Here’s Britney’s ...Baby One More Time  Doug’s book recommendation is: Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill  /////

This week, armed with a first-aid kit and copy of Bushcraft 101 we head through the hinterlands of Gloucestershire to catch Sarah Townsend for a chinwag.  As a freelance copywriter, Sarah has over 20 years’ experience traversing the tumultuous territory of self-employment and now she’s written the book on it. Boasting over 100 5-star Amazon reviews, Survival Skills for Freelancers provides practical advice on the nuts and bolts of freelance work.  She chats to us on a load of topics, including the struggles of freelancing before (and after) social media, how to avoid isolation, burnout, the dreaded ‘comparisonitis’, the importance of boundaries, tips for working from home and tonnes more. Plus, there’s talk of copywriters who charge by the word and how a tomato could be your secret productivity weapon. Pause Man vs Wild, fire up the Trangia and enjoy./////Follow Sarah on Twitter And LinkedIn Here’s her book Survival Skills for Freelancers Pick up a copy on Amazon Check out Sarah's copywriting website and sign up for her newsletter   Sarah’s book recommendation is: On Writing by Stephen King /////

This episode is a Call to Action first as we’ve landed a supersized bumper catch; the power couple Alex Jamieson & Bob Gower.Alex was one of the co-creators and co-stars of the Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me, and is also the best-selling author of 5 books, a highly-sought-after wellness expert and success mentor, and has also been interviewed by Oprah. Bob is the amazing author of Agile Business: A Leader’s Guide to Harnessing Complexity, as well as an in-demand speaker and consultant, working with leaders at huge multinationals like Chanel, Ericsson, and Ford. They talk to us on their early careers, how they met, their new book Radical Alignment, what it was like to work together, the writing process, behavioural change work with people and organisations, their All-In Method, and more./////Check out Alex & Bob’s book Radical Alignment (out August 11th)And the Radical Alignment website Here’s Alex's website, LinkedIn and Instagram And Bob's website & LinkedIn Read more on John Gottman's Four Horsemen And don't miss AOC's speech on sexism in CongressAlex and Bob's book recommendations are: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss Systemantics by John Gall Thinking in Systems by Donella H. Meadows/////

We’ve lurked stage left disguised as a Victorian wench to nab musical theatre fan and exceptionally talented writer gem Higgins this week.  A creative problem solver and a strong mental health advocate, gem rules ‘The Twitters’ with her unrivaled gift of creating the perfect GIF for any moment. She can also read an entire book in one bath soak (one can only imagine how wrinkly she would get if she took War & Peace into the tub). She talks to us on the inspiration behind her hugely popular ‘Sit Fucking Still’ donation to the ISOLATED Talks fundraising campaign, paper cutting as an artistic medium, Twitter as a community, her mental health and dealing with exceptionally tough times, the writing process, papier-mâché turds, how shit Slack is and so much more. So run a nice hot bath, listen, get wrinkly, and enjoy. ///// Follow gem on LinkedIn On the Twitters And Instagram Here is her Medium profile  And her ISOLATED Talk Check out her website Where you can specifically see how she likes to stick googly eyes on things   gem’s book recommendations are: Consider This by Chuck Palahniuk Unleash the Power of Puerility by Mark Denton The Cost of Living & Hot Milk, both by Deborah Levy  The Lonely City by Olivia Laing Once More We Saw Stars by Jayson Greene  Rootbound by Alice Vincent  Coming Undone by Terri White  gem is a voracious reader, and you can see all the books she has read in recent months here /////

We’ve lurked in the wings of the Café De Paris, Piccadilly to catch the hugely successful entrepreneur and former burlesque dancer Paulina Tenner this week.  Paulina is the founder of Grant Tree, an open culture company that pioneered an open salary scheme to help tech start-ups navigate the complex world of government funding. She talks to us on her ‘vomit edit’ writing process for her new book; ‘What the Business Leader Learnt From the Stripper’, Open Culture and Holacracy, how she got into burlesque and what it brought to her business chops, why today’s leaders need to be more of a C.U.N.T., blagging a position as a company director when barely out of UCL and tonnes more. Put your fishnets on, boys and girls, and have a listen./////Follow Paulina on LinkedInOn TwitterAnd she’s also on InstagramHere is her website & bookAnd her ISOLATED TalkWatch Freddie Mercury and Queen perform The Show Must Go OnPaulina’s book recommendations are: Reinventing Organisations by Frederic LalouxIn Over Our Heads by Robert Kegan/////

We’ve laid down lures of cool Friday drinks to catch the ‘Pharrell Williams’ of statistics; happiness expert Nic Marks. Nic is the CEO and Founder of Friday Pulse, helping organisations understand employee wellbeing, as well as being a leading statistician and TED speaker, and is arguably best known for his work in creating The Happy Planet Index; the first global measure of sustainable well-being. He’s worked with The British Government and The Kingdom of Bhutan and has been featured in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and Wired.He talks to us on the drivers of happiness, how businesses can measure and monitor happiness, Aristotle, shining toilet brass, tips for managing teams during the pandemic, how to have a good Zoom call, neuroscience and loads more. It’s packed like a pandemic second date picnic hamper (too soon?) so go consume until your ears are content./////Follow Nic on LinkedIn And on Twitter Check out his personal website And the website for Friday Pulse which helps companies measure happiness, and is free for all organisations with under 1000 employees during the COVID-19 crisis.Nic’s book recommendations are:  21 Letters on Life and its Challenges by Charles Handy  Becoming Myself & Love’s Executioner by Irvin D. Yalom   The Strange Order of Things  by Antonio Damasio Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts   Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell /////

We’ve cast a net off the coast of Adelaide this week to catch one of the globe’s greatest researchers and Sci-Fi fans, Jenni Romaniuk. Jenni is Research Professor and Associate Director (International) at that conveyor belt of marketing stars, the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, where she has advised many of the world’s biggest brands.She is the author of two must-read books; Building Distinctive Brand Assets and How Brands Grow Part 2, co-authoring the latter with industry legend Professor Byron Sharp, as well as being an engaging and entertaining keynote speaker at global industry conferences.She chinwags to us on her first job as a talented mixologist in a football club bar making fruit cups, her two books, how to build mental availability, best practices for managing and measuring distinctive brand assets, and tonnes more. You’d be a fool not to fill your ear canals up./////Follow Jenni on LinkedIn.Check out her books: Building Distinctive Brand Assets and How Brands Grow Part 2.Here is the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute’s website.Book Recommendation:   A Scandalous Life by Mary S. Lovell /////

An internationally acclaimed copywriter and author who is partial to some wolf nipple chips (who isn’t?), Ryan Wallman is Creative Director and Head of Copy for Wellmark, a Melbourne-based creative agency specialising in healthcare. He has written for numerous industry publications, including Marketing Week, and is a co-author of the bestselling marketing book Eat Your Greens. More recently, Ryan smashed out his own masterpiece; The Drum Roses award-winning satirical scalpel that is Delusions of Brandeur; a hilarious, piss-taking how-not-to-guide for getting on in the marketing industry. Praise for the book has been knockout:  “I love this book. Anything I spend my time on, I either have to learn something or be entertained, with this book I get both.” – Dave Trott  “Not only is this a marvellous book – but no one but Dr. Wallman could have written it.” – Rory Sutherland Ryan chirps to us on the origins of Delusions of Brandeur, rumours of a sequel, what the world of medicine can teach marketing, the work of the Wellmark agency and the vital role Twitter played in his career change. His claims of being a world-class whistler are also put firmly to the test. Get your ears out and listen./////Follow Ryan on LinkedIn.And on Twitter.Here is his agency Wellmark’s website.Check out his book, Delusions of Brandeur, including some top merch and a Monty Python inspired video of supreme silliness.The ISOLATED Talk from Gem Higgins. Book Recommendations:Alchemy by Rory Sutherland  The Choice Factory by Richard Shotton /////