...Gasp!

What's your single biggest non-negotiable in business? Mine's easy: are they sound? Me and Ben McKinney were buzzing to have secured the part-time services of Linkedin superstar / copywriter extraordinaire / award-winning tone-of-voicer Mel Barfield last week. I could bang on for hours about how Mel’s ideas are going to bring so much good to Copy Or Die. But her ideas are only part of it. We wanted Mel to work with us because she is sound. Ben is a brilliant writer. And brings decades of business leadership to our agency. But I went into business with him in the first place for one reason: he is sound. We regularly work with freelance copywriters like Jonathan Wilcock – freelance brand voice copywriter and Amy Hawthorne and Tom Albrighton (among others) because they are at the top of their game. But we would not have chosen to work with them if they were not sound. I’ve freelanced for Giles Edwards at ...Gasp! for 4 years because he is sound. And he only employs sound people. It's no surprise that doing so makes them the most creative of creative marketing agencies around. If you’re wondering what the hell sound means in this context, (because it’s admittedly a bit of a Scouse word), it’s basically people who: ◾ Are easy to get on with ◾ Have a sense of humour ◾ Can have a laugh at themselves ◾ And crucially, have their own thoughts and opinions on stuff Sound people tend to be unpretentious, have lots of pride in their work, and (my favourite) they’re honest about the things that aren’t working, but can tell you in a positive way. Oh, and most of the sound people I know are healthily sceptical about the automated shatbot hellscape surrounding us too. A little Brucey bonus, that one. I surround myself with as many sound people as I can. And I block out knobheads and moaners. Try it. It makes life, and business, so much better. #Copywriting #CopyOrDie #DelightedToAnnounceMelBarfield

Proud that our agency people are, on average, 10 years b̶e̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ older than WPP's. _ Follow me, I'm old. Or ...Gasp! #marketing #ageism

"...the marketing scientists will tell you there’s no such thing as brand love, of course. And then you read that one of the reasons that David Lynch agreed to appear at the end of The Fabelmans was because they promised to put a bag of Cheetos in his dressing room after every take on set, and you think ‘Well, maybe the data isn’t telling the whole picture here…’" I loved this opening line from Adam Morgan on Strands of Genius so much, I read the whole piece quicker than my brain could process the words. Which is why I had to start again from scratch. Get it in your noggin here: https://lnkd.in/gYDrSUnj and subscribe to everything and anything involving adland's Bonnie and Clyde, Rosie (Siman) Yakob and Faris Yakob. _ #marketing #creativity

Finally, a marketing podcast I can pop into my EYES, not just my ears. Some lucky peeps on this spinning rock flying through space will be fortunate enough to snag a copy of "10 1/2 Proper Marketing Principles as Told by Our Leading Podcast, Call to Action." As a self-professed fan of Call to Action® and happy supporter of my pal Giles Edwards and the brilliant team at ...Gasp!, I binged on the delicious art direction, recalling some of my favorite guests and memorable stories. The pièce de résistance? Each story has a QR code connecting to its corresponding pod episode. Ugh. Brilliant. Thanks for the inspiration and for setting the bar high, Giles. (Rolls up sleeves and gets back to work) Support your friends! And let's all keep working hard to raise the bar for our profession. #brand #marketing

There's rEpUrPoSiNg CoNtEnT and then there's this. A great piece for work from the team at ...Gasp!

This week we released #AI from the punishment cupboard in which we’ve been keeping it in order to win the approval of author, marketing super-brain and AI believer Paul Dervan. Having guided the marketing efforts of everyone from O2 to the Irish National Lottery, Paul is now putting his remarkable marketing brain to excellent use at Miro (and, in doing so, has surely become a target for potential reprisals from the sticky note industry). Over his career Paul has earned the reputation for being one of the industry’s bulkiest brains when it comes to marketing effectiveness, and has even scooped up the title of Ireland’s Marketer of the Year in 2022. He is a strong advocate for the role of AI in our business and his book, 'Run with Foxes' is an entertaining, and reassuring, exploration of marketing, decision making and our unhealthy attitude to mistakes in the industry. In a chat that ducks, delves and dives like a man trying to escape a platoon of angry Post-It notes, we cover… • How Paul’s early jobs in the care industry shaped him, personally and professionally  • The influence on young Paul of advertising, and especially David Ogilvy • Why decision-making, and not outcomes, is the thing we should all care more about • The current, and future, role of AI as a co-worker in our world • Some practical ways AI is already changing the way we work • Confessions of a campaign calamity and what it taught him • How he hopes his book will help young marketers dodge the dangers he didn't  • Why a culture of transparency, and owning your mistakes, will make marketing better, and so much more. 📣 Hear, here: https://lnkd.in/e-nVRakt ❤️ Paul dedicates the episode to the brilliant Peter Field (with pod nods and kind words to previous CTA guests Phil Barden and Paul Feldwick along the way). Thank you Paul :) _ Feel better about #marketing with Call to Action® | A ...Gasp! PODCAST hosted by me #CTAPod

We’re VERY excited to announce the latest winner of The Chutes: The Very Group and TikTok for their digital campaign, which earned a 5 Star Rating 🦩 Want to know the secret formula behind this winning collaboration? Tune in to the latest episode of The Chutes Podcast with Joe Glover from The Marketing Meetup and Giles Edwards from ...Gasp! 🎧 Listen now: https://hubs.ly/Q038KK_l0 #TheChutes #TheWorkThatWorks #Digital #Advertising #Marketing #Creativity

After stumbling on this wonderful Chevrolet ad (thanks Andrew Boulton), 'We even made the mirrors roomier' and going on a frenzied search, I hit the jackpot. And found its brothers and sisters. A real feast for your eyes and brain, courtesy of Kathy and Rich who worked on the account for decades. Top work. Credit (1994) Creatives: Kathy Speck and Rich Weinert Agency: Campbell-Ewald _ #marketing #advertising #gold

I'm so absurdly happy to post this image, in what is our 3rd season sponsoring Chesham United Women. This club sponsor pairing seems slightly off balance though ;) ...Gasp! & Taskmaster. That's a bit like pairing Gary Doherty with Franco Baresi ;) _ Tagging some footy friends who might enjoy it too (feel free to offer up any other pairings, Chiricheș and Vidic?) Chris Paouros Theo Delaney Andrew Spurrier-Dawes Jack Latchford Mitun P. Tanju Yavuz Kevin Farley Kate Bowers Andy Westlake Dave Wakeman Phillip Oakley Nick Asbury Andrew Tenzer Jonny McGrath-Smith Alastair Thomson Gary Flavell Suzy Barnes Dave Harland Andrew Boulton Beth Marchant Stuart Slavicky Elliot Connolly #marketing

"As AI removes friction and makes content easier and cheaper to produce, people will place more value on work that signals human thought, care, irreverence, creativity and (he says hopingly) stupidity." - Giles Here's a nice collaboration article from some industry writers on what content and copywriters should be mindful of in 2025. It's worth a read for anyone creating ads and content. And not just because Giles Edwards contributed. #marketing