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The Old Fashioned Story

By Dave Willhite In my job as a bartender, people often ask for an Old Fashioned. But what exactly is an Old Fashioned Cocktail? And why is it branded as being old fashioned? To really answer these questions we need to go back to near the time of the birth of our nation and the … Continued

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Gen X Strategists in the Age of Snapchat

This is about social media. It’s also about Gen Xers. And it’s about what-in-the-world it means to be a strategist. It all started when I was perusing Facebook while riding the El home after work. As usual, the “People You Might Know” feature popped up, and there, staring at me, was a person I don’t … Continued

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How Waiting Tables Prepared Me for Agency Life

In the summer of 2009, I was a young(er) designer working at my first full-time gig at a small (five-person) agency. Unfortunately, in the wake of the recession, our client roster dwindled and subsequently, as the most recent hire, I had to be let go. A couple of days later, still reeling from the fact … Continued

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Why You Should Consider a Post-grad Internship

By Olivia Thomson When you hear the word “intern,” you might imagine the trope of a college kid fetching coffee, running errands and doing all the menial tasks no one else in the office wants to do. Internships have long been considered something you usually do as a student to either complete a requirement or … Continued

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How Singing Lessons Made Me a Better Designer

I’m a quiet introvert. That’s been pretty evident since my early childhood, when I often passed up playing outside with the neighborhood kids for staying in to watch my favorite talk shows. So a couple years ago, when I saw an ad for adult singing lessons “for those who would like to improve their projection … Continued

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Psychology and Advertising

By Kristen Coconis As an undergrad at the University of North Carolina, my goal was to become a clinical psychologist. I did everything one has to do to get into a great Ph.D. program: doing research for years, becoming a teaching assistant, taking the GRE (twice, ugh), etc. But as my senior year drew to … Continued

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On Keeping a Notebook

I purchased my first 3-pack of Moleskine Cahiers in September 2013. Prior to this purchase, sketches went in sketchbooks, to-do lists went in calendars and thoughts went on whatever scrap I could find at the time. Keeping a notebook merged all of these things onto 64 sheets of paper bound together, and I am currently … Continued

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Manning vs. Newton: On the Field and in Advertising

America’s most important Sunday is upon us. Not only is this year’s Super Bowl the matchup of the AFC champion Denver Broncos and the NFC champion Carolina Panthers, it is also a matchup of two marketing MVPs, the Broncos Peyton Manning and Cam Newton of the Panthers. According to the 2015 version of Forbes’ list … Continued

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Marketing the Outlier – Goodman Theatre and “2666”

In 2014, Roy Cockrum, a Chicago stage actor turned Episcopal monk living in Tennessee, hit that state’s Powerball and donated vast sums of his $153 million lump sum to arts programs across the United States, including one major demand: that Chicago’s Goodman Theatre adapt and stage a version of Roberto Bola√±o’s 2666, a novel long … Continued

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Burritos and Brand Crisis Management

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: I enjoy Chipotle. There are few things in life better than a steak burrito complete with all the fixings and, of course, let’s not forget the guac. Chipotle is a brand that has built its name with a reliance on fresh, often locally sourced ingredients. It … Continued