From the obituary of Congressman John Lewis: “He once described an incident when, as a young man, he was beaten bloody by members of the Ku Klux Klan after attempting to enter a ‘white waiting room.’” “Many years later, in February of ’09, one of the men that had beaten us came to my Capitol […]

From the obituary of Congressman John Lewis:“He once described an incident when, as a young man, he was beaten bloody by members of the Ku Klux Klan after attempting to enter a ‘white waiting room.’” “Many years later, in February of ’09, one of the men that had beaten us came to my Capitol Hill […]

The Thing About Us Okies… I lived in Muskogee, Oklahoma for 3 years before Merle Haggard released his hit song, “I’m Proud to be an Okie from Muskogee.” Even though I was only 12 at the time, I realized Brother Haggard’s song contained more corn than the whole state of Iowa.  I laugh about being […]

“As I age, I think I grow smarter about who I choose to spend time with. If I could go back in time, I believe I would chase after folks who could mentor me on getting wiser and kinder each day. Those people were all around me, but I think they scared me off. I […]

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Read “Good Strategy for Sheep, Bad for Business”

If you haven’t already done it, here’s a second chance to review Jon’s book.

Connecting the Dots of Data Every Wall Street investor walks tip-toe on the ice above an ocean of data. Some of them will tell you they are ice-skating on that data, but don’t let them fool you. Misinterpretation of the data is the ever-present danger facing investors AND marketers. Every business owner is a marketer. […]

“Everything about Liechtenstein is ridiculous. For a start it is ridiculously small – barely 1/250th the size of Switzerland, which is itself ridiculously small. Liechtenstein is the last remaining fragment of the Holy Roman Empire, and so obscure that its ruling family didn’t bother to come and see it for 150 years… Liechtenstein’s last military […]

Today is the day to review Jon Spoelstra’s book!

“We’re Part French, You Know“ Having traveled to 33 countries, someone was bound to ask which trip was my favorite. My answer, “My accidental trip to Paris”. Before I moved to Spain, my sister and I traveled to Europe every year for many years. Each year we chose a different European city to fly to; […]

When Harold Met the Schoolboy’s Momma Harold was an Irish bullyWho always got his way,Until he met the Schoolboy’s MommaAnd she blew his ass away. Schoolboy didn’t have a Dad.He worked every day after schoolIn a welding shop full of bitter menWho had broken every rule. Life is hard when you don’t have a name.You […]

The Day I Learned What I Didn’t Know I’m a high-top oilfield rigger,Riskin’ my life for pay,And there ain’t no evenin’ bigger,Than the darkness on pay day. I’m makin’ America Great Again,With black gold from underground,Being proud ain’t a sin,When you know you’re lost, and found. I’m a high-top oilfield rigger,Riskin’ my life for pay,And […]

Broken Hearts and Broken People I’ve seen some good ol’ times,Fueled by beer and halter tops,Jukeboxes with cheap rhymes,And the other shoe when it drops. Thank God for May-o-nnaise,White bread and the KKK,We’ll all see happier days,If we see another day. He was raised on daytime TV,The only sitter she could afford.He looks a lot […]

Once Upon a Time I was freshly married to Pennie and barely old enough to see over the dash of a car but I wanted to show her the magical places of my childhood, so we saved up enough money for 3 tanks of gas and made the 200-mile drive from Broken Arrow to Ardmore, […]

How to Make Paper Cigars When it is time to write an ad, and there is no felt need in the heart of the customer to which you can speak, make a paper cigar. Teddy Roosevelt was a man of improvisation. He knew his paper cigars. This allowed him to explain the process of making […]

This is the rabbit hole that Ski and I were discussing.

The Lives of Others

My Dad died 3 years ago. He worked hard in construction – seven days, most weeks – to feed his 6 kids. And he played ‘drums’ every waking hour. Everything was a song and a rhythm inside his head.  Dad didn’t give direct advice. He was a “show, don’t tell” guy. I asked him for […]

January 8, 1941 – Citizen Kane and William Randolph Hearst

Read about Wizard of Ads Partner, Ryan Chute

You’ve heard the wizard talk about the importance of “the origin story.” This is Elmer’s in a 60-sec radio ad.

MAMA WASN’T PERFECT BUT SHE WAS MY MAMA. I didn’t have very many years with Mama before she had her first episode of Bipolar Disorder. It was called Manic Depression back then and medication to treat it was not discovered until after Mama had committed suicide. At the time of Mama’s first episode I was […]

All my life my Father has told me, “Manley, just remember we have a lot of class… but it’s all low.” So I knew when I had the opportunity to go big potty on a $7000 terlet…“I was born for such a time as this.”  Upon entering the bathroom, the first thing I notice is […]

Riding the White Elephant The generation of male Okies to which I belong has the inexplicable tradition of mercilessly teasing their friends. It’s a dumb tradition, I know, but these are the rules: We tease only our closest friends. To say to strangers the sorts of things that we say to our friends would be […]

The short answer to how I got my first job is that I begged. The long answer follows: Two days after Williams asked for a divorce and left, I knew it was crucial that I get a job. It was a scary time. I had never had a job. Even though I had wanted to […]

I think this GIF needed to exist. from r/WhiskeyTribe

The Author’s Analysis of the Structure of What Happened to the American Press? by Roy H. Williams Framing: The “First Mental Image” given to the reader is the First Amendment to our Constitution framed between two of our most famous Founding Fathers. This patriotic reference aligns my perspective to each side of our polarized society. (Read the First […]

You’re prob’ly going to need to use one of those services for sending big files (or just post it on YouTube and send me the link) to Indy@WizardOfAds.com

What Happened to the American Press? When James Madison drafted the First Amendment, his reference to “the press” referred to the newspapers of our nation, such as the Pennsylvania Gazette owned by Benjamin Franklin, the most popular paper in the 13 colonies. Things rocked along swimmingly for about 200 years, then one day we walked outside […]

I agree with what you said about relationships and about remembering the power of words “because there are people on the other end.” I am obliged to disagree, however, with the following passage of your writing: “What I have in common with a 60 something African-American man who’s married and has kids is likely more aligned than what I have in common […]