Doing work that never sees the light of day
Brand strategy in public and in private Some bits of brand strategy work are allowed out in public. Vision and mission statements I’ve written appear on...
The night wanderings of an amorous cat
A wordy ramble A ramble about words. In the writing and in the editing I’ve tried to hold it back from becoming (too much of) a wordy rant. Words matter in...
A masterclass in owning your mistakes
A post that shows how choosing just one word over another doesn’t just speak volumes, it changes everything. Wit and principles are a potent brew Meet...
The irresistible truth of Rogue Heroes
An appetiser not a spoiler This post includes some dialogue from Series 2: Episode 2 of SAS Rogue Heroes. The dialogue reveals the irresistible truth of the...
The irresistible truth of Jesse Armstrong
Jesse Armstrong’s writing credits include Peep Show, The Thick Of It, Black Mirror, Veep, and Succession. This post is about his irresistible truth as a...
Cleaning the toilet
This is less a newsletter and more an old-school blog post, riffing on the thinking of another blogger. It started on Bluesky, where old-school things are...
Stitching it together
A post about where creative consistency comes from in advertising. What’s the point of creative consistency? I’m of an age where I’m happy to ask apparently...
Pubs, postage, and propaganda
A post about the limited power of advertising and the immense power of wanting something really badly. The propaganda school of advertising I’ve only worked...
Boxing clever
A post about putting people and brands in boxes. The perils of being a hapless boxee.Subtext and subjectivity.Malicious boxing and cardboard ceilings.Marking...
Irreverence. Justified.
A post about the irresistible truths of Nike and the Sex Pistols. Perfection? This isn’t my favourite ad. I’m not sure it’s even a great ad. But it’s a near-...
Heal thyself
I had a conversation with my coach. It went something like this. PHIL: You know, after four and half years, I think I’ve worked out who I am as a consultant....
Strategy as a foreign language
A winning pitch makes sense. It makes sense to, and it makes sense of. A winning pitch makes sense to its audience. They get it. More importantly, a winning...
Jobs’ worth
What I gained, apart from money, from various student jobs.
How the work really gets done
Stuck in reverse I’ve been stuck in reverse for much of my career. That’s because creative work, and I include strategy work in that, involves a lot of...
Mixtaping my metaphors
Mixtaping my metaphors I’ve made you a mixtape. It’s a mixtape of metaphors and thoughts about metaphors (mine and other people’s). Of course, calling a...
Is this what success looks like?
My career peaked early The graph below tells a true story of my career. It peaked early and it was all downhill after that. It’s a graph of how many hours I...
Words have feelings
It helps if you know what you’re talking about. Shame is a great teacher. If you want a stomach-churning aversion to making the same mistake twice, give...
Practising ambivalence
Ambivalence as a superpower My approach to selling was turned on its head by my coach. He coaches ethical selling, which has little in common with selling in...
There's got to be a better way
Workshops, huh! What are they good for? There are Two Tribes when it comes to workshops. Those who swear by them, and those who swear at them. Judging by how...
Boffins and battle scars
Archetypes are the ogre of brand strategy. Archetype is a trigger word. Be ready for the mob and the pitchforks if you mention archetypes on a professional...