Friday Fun Fest

People - 38,765, Comments - 0
Adweek publishes a pretty good blog called AdFreak. I read it sometimes. I was reading an interesting post there the other day and I noticed something.

There were 38,765 people who "liked" the blog on Facebook. And not a single comment on the post. 

Can someone please explain this "engagement" thing to me again?

This Week's Fun Couple
Yesterday, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stated that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, who died on Tuesday, would be resurrected along with Jesus.

Also this week, Kim Jong Un's foreign minister said North Korea was planning a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the U.S.

I'm starting to think these guys are a little kooky.

Where Are The Guitar Picks?
I buy them by the dozen and lose them by the score.

In my life I have lost at least a thousand. I figure I am about average stupid. If there are a million guitar players like me in the world (it seems there at least a million just on YouTube), that means there are a billion guitar picks that have gone missing.

Where are they? They have to be somewhere. How do you hide a billion guitar picks?

I want answers.

Interview With A Quitter
I've been asked a lot of questions since I announced I would be leaving my agency last week. To avoid having to answer them too many more times, here are the most common questions I've been asked and my answers. 

Q: Why are you leaving the agency?
A: I'm bored. After a while, a large part of being a ceo becomes ceremonial. I'm not good at it or interested in it.

Q: What are you going to do?
A: Don't know. I'll definitely continue writing and speaking about advertising. There's about a 50% chance I'll do something new and small in the ad/marketing world. Another 25% likelihood I'll try some other business. And about a 25% chance I'll retire. I have some options and I'm in no rush to decide.

Q: When did you decide to leave?
A: Five years ago. I started selling my interest in the company to my partners in 2007. The plan was for me to leave at the beginning of 2012, but business was lousy and I didn't feel comfortable doing it. Our business is excellent now and I feel a lot better about leaving.

Q: What's the hardest part about leaving?
A: Don't know. I'm sure I will find out over time. Right now I am excited, which is a nice new feeling for a cranky guy. Boredom is for young people. I'm too old to be bored. 

Q: Are you available for consulting and, if so, how can we reach you?
A: Yes, after April 1. You can contact me now at adcontrarian@gmail.com 

Q: What's the biggest problem in the ad business?
A: By far, the biggest problem is consolidation. We used to be an industry of mainly small businesses run by craftspeople and entrepreneurs. We are now an industry of huge enterprises run by financial guys. It has changed everything, mostly for the worse.

Q: What are you most proud of?
A: I'm most proud that I was able to help create jobs and a little bit of prosperity for a group of nice people and their families. I am also proud of this blog and the books. And, of course, my Noble Prize.

Q: Are you going to keep writing the blog?
A: Yes.

Q: What advice do you have for people in the ad business?
A: Save your money.

And Finally...
Ad Contras are the best. I've received a lot of very nice emails from people over the past week. Thank you. It was unexpected and much appreciated. If I were a different kind of person I might even say I was touched. I am planning to respond to each personally. Please be patient. I am way behind but will try to get them all answered this weekend.