Coming Soon to Your Corner …

There’s a rising trend these days in viral location-based marketing. A lot of people have been talking about this clever campaign for TNT, these secret-agent Coke machines branded toward the latest Bond flick and this hilarious bus stop campaign from the folks at Qualcomm. What are the agencies behind these campaigns doing right? In a […]

Our Favorite TV Ads from Childhood: The Pens Weigh In

Now that The Hired Pens is four Pens strong, we thought it would be fun to do the occasional roundtable discussion. Our plan is to tackle all the important, life-transforming issues of the day. Like our favorite TV ads from our childhoods. Enjoy … The Energizer: It’s Going to Surprise You (Dan) It’s 1987, and […]

Our Own Karen Dempsey Published on NYTimes.com

Congrats to Hired Pen Karen Dempsey, whose essay, “Lockdown: Teaching Students to Hide From Guns, and Hide Their Fears,” went live on the NYTimes.com Motherlode blog yesterday.

The Mysterious Allure of the Hot Mess Sandwich

Another new product name has cracked us up this week: The Hot Mess, brought to you by everybody’s favorite Halloweentown nightmare, Jack in the Box. If you are unfamiliar with the Mess, here’s all you need to know: Gooey jack cheese, onion rings, jalapenos, beef. Not necessarily in that order. Okay, so it’s messy. But […]

Talk Dirty to Me (As Long As You Get the Grammar Right)

What if grammarians had a trashy magazine? This post made us chuckle when we found it on Facebook — and it got a lot funnier when Anna started adding her own suggestions. Which are your favorites? Can you top them? 1. Words he’s DYING to hear from you. 2. Its vs. It’s: Do you ditch […]

Holiday Card-Writing Tips from The Hired Scrooges

Dear Friends and Family (and the three other people who read our blog), Thinking about sending a holiday card? Good for you! Here are a few tips to up your game … and avoid embarrassment with those who are too lazy to write their own cards and just sit around critiquing yours (ahem). 1. Don’t […]

C’mon, Evil Phishing Guy, You’re Better Than This!

I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t blogged for about four months. I’d like to claim I have a good excuse, like I was writing wildly successful emails for the Obama campaign or fomenting revolution somewhere in South America (does anyone ever foment anything but revolution?). Sadly, those would be lies. I was just lazy. But […]

Brilliant Anti-marketing: Guy Fieri and The New York Times

Guy Fieri: Still laughing? Gosh, this NYT review of Guy Fieri’s restaurant in TimesSquare has been read, tweeted, emailed and blogged about to the four corners of the earth, so it’s hard to imagine you’ve missed it. Pete Wells writes a harsh, hilarious critique framed as a long series of questions directed at Guy Fieri […]

And THIS Is How You Write an Effective Apology to Your Customers

During Hurricane Sandy, Boloco made a huge mistake: They sent out an email bragging that they were open during the hurricane. The moment they hit SEND, the hate email (and Tweets, status updates, etc.) rained down. Within an hour, CEO John Pepper had issued the below apology. From: John Pepper (Boloco CEO & Co-Founder) Sent: […]

CVS: We put the needle in “flu shot”

Does this sign make you want to get a flu shot? No? Me neither. Here’s the thing, CVS. Maybe it’s true that your smaller needles make injections less painful. But seeing the word “needles” in your sign just gave me an immediate, vivid picture of something sharp piercing my skin. Not only did I avert […]