Creative

Super Bowl Spot Awards

By: Dr. James McFarland, People Scientist After months of anticipation, Super Bowl LVII has come and gone. With the watercooler discussions of the big game’s highlights (or low points) starting to fade, now is the perfect time to bring up what everyone has secretly been wondering: which of the Super Bowl commercials this year were … Continued Read more →

CMO Minute: Avoiding the Uncanny Valley

By: Dr. James McFarland, People Scientist When it comes to “humanness,” it turns out there is a fine line between appealing and appalling. Although rather than a line, research suggests the border separating the two feelings may be more of a valley. Typically, assigning human characteristics (e.g., body structure, expressions, emotions) to animals or non-living … Continued Read more →

Make ‘Em Laugh

It’s often said that laughter is the best medicine. But with the continuous onslaught of bad news and stress over the last two years, is now really the time for brands to incorporate humor in their advertising? Read more →

Do Competing Ads Cancel Each Other Out?

While watching Super Bowl LVI, you probably noticed a common theme this year among car brands: electric vehicles. In fact, there were seven commercials from six different manufacturers featuring EVs. Read more →

Why we stick with our beliefs

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to justify why we do the things we do? It seems that once we take action, we find it really easy to come up with reasons for why we did what we did. Read more →

Don’t Forget about Music in Marketing!

We often talk about how people rarely pay full attention to advertisements and that they often forget the advertisements that they do see. For example in the book How Brands Grow, Byron Sharp points out that only 16% of ads are remembered and correctly attributed. Read more →

Building Brand by Creating Memories

If we were to go and ask people about their thoughts on the largest brands in the world, many would be able to report about their experiences and memories that they have with that brand. Read more →