When my father was drafted during World War II and dumped in Belgium just in time for the Battle of the Bulge, my mother and his first two kids (I wasn’t a glimmer in his eye yet) waited days for even a hint of news about the war… and waited months for letters from Pop […]
Back when I started out in advertising… and even in the first year or so of my freelance career… I had to concentrate to remember exactly what “direct response” meant in the term “direct response advertising”.
Because a lot of the clients and agencies I worked with were oblivious. They understood the concept of advertising […]
I have a lot of glaring faults, and very few advantages in life… but the one advantage that has helped me the most in my career has been my memory.
I’m no savant. I often forget why I came into a room… the names of even close friends often disappear from my mind like smoke […]
I have now lived long enough, survived enough adventures, and observed enough other clueless people get a clue… that I can safely say everyone has a handful of moments in their life that shape who you are and how successful you will be.
Most of these life-changing moments involve some sort of crisis or problem. […]
There are marketing lessons everywhere you look.
In the (hopefully) final chapter of my unpleasant encounter with the cable company, I was reminded that a “tier” system is almost always in place when you’re dealing with businesses that have a product or service you want.
This mostly-hidden world of power is what fuels conspiracy theories […]
Ah, the plot thickens.
Here’s something I didn’t make clear in my prior post: If you have my private email address — the one I’ve been using for years with Insiders, friends and colleagues — then please continue to use it to contact me.
You know who you are.
Otherwise, you can reach a member […]
I sent out an email to everyone on my list today, from my brand spankin’ new address of john@johncarltonemail.com.
This confused a few folks, and it was my fault — I neglected to tell anybody I even HAD a new email address.
This new address was necessary because my former email address — john@marketing-rebel.com — […]
I’m still under the gun here, on deadline… but I had a thought I’d like to share here.
Just a quick post.
Last night, after working diligently all day, I took a break and settled into the couch with my honey (and my dogs) to watch a pay-per-view movie. You know — kick back […]
(I hate spam, too! I will never share your email address with anyone. Period.)
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