The Sequel

This blog has finished. To read the whole story, scroll to the bottom of the page and read upwards.

Here is the sequel:

English Copywriter

If you are looking for a freelance English copywriter click this link.

Fin

Around ten months ago I started this blog to help me find a full-time English copywriting position at a 4As agency in Hong Kong.

Now I am happy to say that my mission is over. I have reached Step Ten at last.

So yeah!

Today I begin my full-time contract at Ogilvy and Mather and I couldn’t ask for a better job at a better agency.

This blog documents what it is like trying to crack the big agencies here in Hong Kong.

To read about this rather bizarre mission from the beginning, click here.

This blog helped me enormously. Through it, I was able to reach the #1 spot in the world for both ‘Freelance English Copywriter’ and ‘English Copywriter’ on Google, and land on the radar of most of the Creative Directors in the city.

It has shown that a fairly untapped medium can act as an excellent (and free) advertising tool.

I don’t know what my next goal, or blog, will be. But to everyone that helped me along the way, thanks.

Swear Jar

Go Die Hoy

I need to make a trip to Macao this weekend.

When I return, I will have reached Step Ten!

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

I like this one.

The Luxury of Writers’ Block

There is a certain flow to ideas and writing.

Sometimes the ideas just come to you steadily. Sometimes you can sit down and just write and write.

It is all about practice. When you write five to ten ads a day, including letters, emails, posters, and scripts, the words just come to you out of nowhere. And you get rather tapped in.

This is a good thing, because copywriters don’t really have the luxury of writers’ block.

Cantonese 201

Deem ah – what do you want?

No ho sang yut gwa ju wahhn – You are not focusing on work

June sum deh – focus!

Joe gay doe-meh-yuen – work never ends

Dim sooon – What to do?

Sie see gan – Waste my time

Sie cheen – Waste money

Ho tow tong – Very head ache

Gow Cha – You make a mistake (what the heck?)

Mmm Gan Eeyou - It doesn’t matter

Do tsey Thank you for the ‘gift’

Mm Goi – Thanks for the service

Li Taaht – In trouble, in the tart

Sick fawn – Bon Apetit

Lie Bie – Weekend

Bye Bye - Goodbye

Teen hey ho – The weather is fine

Ho Die You – Raining Heavily

Hug Ma ma – Very black sky

Toy fung - Typhoon

Ho gow seeu – very funny

Joe Wong Jone Sum – Center building

Ho Leh – Great

Say seen – Deadline

Cho how – foul language

So ma fa – troublesome

Ho bow – I’m full

Say! – Snake

A sick toe mon yah! – You know Cantonese

Toe mon – Cantonese

Ho Ho Meh – Very very good

Mongoh - Mango

Um seh dat ley – I’ll be missing you

Noh Yet Sun Gan Fan-lie – I’ll be right back

Putting a Face to a Brand

As an individual, online networks like Facebook are a good place to build a brand.

But I don’t know of any major brands actively tapped into this phenomenon.

Ironically enough, as the world gets more and more digital, there has never been a better time to give a brand a human face.

Freelance Copywriter Pick of the Week

A great concept for an ad:

The World's Most Interesting Man

Your 24/7 Copywriter

Copywriting is not the kind of job that you can leave at the office. You are constantly thinking about ideas. As a problem-solving kinda guy, I like to have projects on the go, and being in a problem-solution industry – it’s a good match.

Either way, I’m constantly ‘on’.

This is okay for me, because I like what I do (it’s a good thing I’m not a mortician).

It is amazing how many ads I’ve come up with just as I wake up. Even in my dreams I’m working. Good job brain!

It does make it a bit hard to sleep though…

Confessions of an SEO Copywriter

I have a lot of people contact me about SEO (Seach Engine Optimization) copywriting.

In the two years that I have been writing blogs I have had quite a lot of success with SEO.

When I wanted to square off English Copywriter, I got that, Freelance English Copywriter, I nailed that too, and previously I wanted Sustainability Advertising…and BAM! You betcha.

Okay, truth be told I totally stumbled across the tricks of the trade by pretty much making every mistake in the book. I’ve been banned from Google, Adsense (twice), Yahoo and even our good friend Jeeves.

By making these mistakes I know a bit about what not to do, so that’s a start.

I go about SEO in what is known as the ‘white hat’ way. In other words, I provide content that search engines like. It’s not a bunch of garbage spewed out by outsourced man-machine-animals for $5 a page (or worse).

As I’ve said before, if you buy cheap SEO, it will only come back to haunt you sooner or later. Either you’ll get knocked off the rankings entirely, or you’ll damage your brand with that nonsense.

To be a full-on SEO guy you have to know how to program websites as well, which I don’t. What I do is strictly through blogs (and other things). It’s a very labour-intensive system (just look at this blog and you’ll see what I mean). But it makes you a resource in your field, and that’s cool.

I also have a few other tricks up my sleeve.

But the reality is, to stay at the top you need to put in a lot of work and if you want it done right, it will cost a pretty penny.

That said, am I looking for SEO clients?

Not really.

There’s money to be made doing this stuff, but right now, my heart is in advertising.

English Copywriting in Hong Kong – The Expat Experience

It is an interesting life being an expat.

Hong Kong is full of them, it is an excellent way to get a better perspective on why a culture does the strange things it does while accelerating your career like no one’s business. That is, if you are willing to work like a crazy animal.

But as something of a professional expat, HK has been but one stop along the road for me. But by far the most interesting.

When I started out on this rambling existence, I had my fair share of strange jobs.

I’ve demolished stuff in Montreal, moved furniture in Texas and attempted to teach English in Warsaw. I’ve dropped plates in New York, dug ditches in New Orleans, and served up shandys alongside foxy Swedes to pennywise locals in London.

I attempted to convey the finer points of public speaking to wild young Americans down under. I tortured recipes in Gibraltar and Sweden and seized pianos under the noses of drunken judges in Vancouver. I’ve even taken the caps off beer bottles on a brewery assembly line in Creston.

Then I realized that writing for a living was where it was at.

It’s a good mobile job, and what the hell, I write everyday anyway. My, what a wonderfully great gig!

But being a journalist is hard, being an editor is harder, and getting in as a copywriter – that’s the hardest there is. I guess the way it works that the greater the gig, the more people want to do it.

Curses, I should have thought of that earlier.

So a simple plan of writing to better go from place to place quickly turned into going from place to place to become a better writer.

Who would have ever guessed that I’d cut my teeth in Hong Kong, what with all those dental professionals I know back home?

Freelance Copywriter Pick of the Week

Nice idea.

Nothing to See Here

People have been asking me what I will do with this blog once I have reached my goal.

Hmm, I'm not really sure, but I do like the idea of it being used as a reference.

It can be an outline for others looking to break into this crazy world they call advertising.

If and when I reach Step Ten - I suppose I'll just start another.

Big News for Little Shops

It has been said that one of the main reasons to strive for awards is the 'power of the press release'.

So in the name of self-promotion - here's my latest.

Summit Creative Awards Celebrate the Little Guy

Freelance Copywriter Pick of the Week

This is my bet for a gold at the lions next month.

Vaseline - Sea of Skin

Although you can't really go wrong with a ferret with a chainsaw.

Diet Moutain Dew - Ferret

Status Report VIII

Things are going well. I’m still in HK, and soon I will be at Step Ten.

It’s been raining here a lot lately and I’ve been watching tons of movies with Maria and eating heaps of microwave popcorn.

Hmm, hopefully next month’s status report is a little more interesting.

Freelance Copywriter Pick of the Week

A viral campaign done very well. Over a million hits in the first week.

Ray Ban - Catch

My First Award

Diane just contacted me from Creative Wonders in Vancouver and it turns out we just won an award for a radio ad I wrote last year.

We won a Silver in the Radio Category at the International Summit Creative Awards.

The ad was Henry VIII for Simmons Mattress Gallery.

How about that? My first award.

Lions and Monkeys

With the Cannes Lions just around the corner, some great ads are beginning to pop up in time for the big show.

Here is one from Saatchi Stockholm that is so bizarre it's excellent.

Bananageddon

Step Nine

My brother reminded me that I forgot to state that I am now on Step Nine.

freelance copywriter link

My mission, and the point of this blog, is almost complete

Freelance Copywriter Pick of the Week

Alright, so it's my second this week, but this one is too good to pass up.

Wonderbra ad

English Teacher in Hong Kong Builds Brand Online

My latest article is out:

English Teacher in Hong Kong Uses Online Advertising for Competitive Edge.

Interested in private tutorials? To find out more click here. Native English Teacher link.

Freelance Copywriter Pick of the Week

An old one, a simple one, but it does the job nicely, in almost any language.

English Teacher In Hong Kong

Maria has finished her TESOL (Teaching English) course and is now looking for work here as an English Teacher, so as you may of guessed, owning English Teacher in Hong Kong on Google is the next on the agenda.

If you are a looking for an exceptional Native English Teacher, you can reach her at mariahruschak@yahoo.com.

Success la!

Ogilvy wants to hire me on full time!

Freelance Copywriter Pick of the Week

Dynamite Surfing

(courtesy of ihaveanidea.org and ifilm)

Limbo

No idea what’s going to happen now. My contract is up. But we’ll see what happens after the holiday (tomorrow). I’ll keep you posted.

Celebrities

Workwise, I have absolutely no idea what is going on in my life right now. Who knows what will happen next week...

In other news, Maria is here. She's going to live in HK with me now. But they have just offered her a part in a movie in China, so it looks like I'll be dating a moviestar. Cool.

Freelance Copywriter Pick of the Week

This one takes a little while to load.

Freelance Copywriter link

Remuneration and Amenities Are More Than Just Hard to Spell

Do you work so hard that your fingers no longer have bones, much like a fish’s?

Do you have a smile warm enough to grow tomatoes?

Have the words ‘Impossible!’ ‘Not a chance!’ and ‘Hmm, that seems unlikely’ never crossed your lips?

Then we have just the position for you.



My first stab at a recruitment ad – I love my job.

Earth AD

My latest column is out.

From Casinos to Plastic Bags - Voluntary Self-Exclusion

Your Friendly Neighbourhood Freelance Copywriter

About two months ago I decided that I would try to take on the challenge of getting #1 for freelance copywriter (see here) in the google rankings. In a weird twist of fate, I have managed to get #1 and #2 for freelance copywriter on yahoo and msn respectively, but I am still nonexistent on google for those words.

Status Report VII

Okay, how am I doing?

Well, I’m still here in Hong Kong. And I’m still at Ogilvy and Mather, the biggest agency around. So that’s coo. But I’m still freelance, still at Step 8 and still looking to complete my mission. Hmm.

I am beginning to think that by cornering the freelance English copywriter market I have created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Things were really hopping for two weeks as I was covering for the OgilvyOne writer on top of doing all the O&M stuff, but he's back now, so things have slowed down a bit. Not being swamped always makes me a bit edgy, as my contract is up at the end of the month...

Oh, nevermind, it looks like they're going to keep me for May as well. Excellent.

Extra Extra

My latest column is out.

Sustainability Advertising and its Vanguards

Within a few hours of it being published I received an email from a guy trying to set up a sustainable agriculture project in Leaf Rapids.

Shangri-La is in your Mind, But Your Buffalo is Not

With the Olympics in Beijing fast approaching, the Chinese government is looking to improve their level of English and put an end to their so-called ‘Chinglish’ signage.

English copywriter link

Sounds like a job for a Freelance English Copywriter in Asia does it not?

Wait A Minute, How Come I Never See Ads Like the Ones Below?

Creatives in advertising agencies are more often than not bound to briefs. These briefs are often very stringent in terms of how irreverently creative you can actually be (in the far-out sense of the ads below).

In an ideal world, if everyone in the agency and everyone on the client side are pulling together, the brief will be looking for a single piece of communication – just one message.

After all, it’s a piece of news.

Usually, this will be something like, hey, if you top up your account by x amount, we’ll make you an X member with no fees on your daily transactions, or, we have this new flavour of chip, you really should try it, or, this new gum blows the biggest bubbles there is, etc.

Then, there are the other variables.

It needs to speak in the same character as the brand. It needs to grab your attention in the right tone and manner to appeal to the target market. And it needs to be captivating, or form a relationship instantaneously with the consumer in one way or another, ie it is tactile, interactive, entertaining and/or thought provoking.

Then, you have to do something that appeals to the sensibilities of the client. Brand character or no, the lowest appetite for risk usually prevails – which is unfortunate but realistic considering people like to have jobs and it is generally easier to lose a job after taking a risk.

And let’s not forget who is paying for this ad in the first place.

But clients are not only ones who kill ideas – focus groups, partners, and more than anyone, the creatives themselves. I have to confess to killing millions of ideas over the years, please forgive me.

Either way, only when all of these elements are satisfied do you have a good ad.

This explains why there is such a huge gap between the ads you see in annuals and the ads you see on TV. A lot of the award-winning work creatives are exposed to doesn’t have to run this gauntlet.

The stuff that you see in mass production that has ducked, weaved, been stabbed at, trampled on and survived to break through at the end – that’s the truly great stuff, propped up by great teams. Believe me, it’s hard to get that many people in agreement, so when everything goes according to plan it truly is an achievement.

Example? Tetley Tea - Doctor's Office. This one of one Maria's favourites, and she's right in the target market.

Now just imagine what it must be like to get a movie made…


I’m lucky at Ogilvy, because right now I get to work on a client that believes in, and readily publishes, ads that are a testament to the power of clever creative. It’s a great opportunity for me.

Ok, back to thinking…

Freelance Copywriter Picks of the Week

A Purina Ad Waiting to Happen

The Year Was 2081, And Everyone Was Finally Equal

Strangely enough, I had a dream about Kurt Vonnegut last night. I dreamt that he had come up with the premise to Harrison Bergeron, my favourite short story, while working as a copywriter for an advertising agency.

The story is set in the future, and the law of the time has allowed everyone to be equal. To maintain the equality of the citizens, a Handicapper General keeps those with talent, or brains, or good looks down through means of weights and annoying noises and masks.

Anyway, Harrison is this great looking, strong, smart, talented dude and he is weighed down with all this stuff, including annoying noises that go through his head every few minutes to prevent him from formulating a solid thought (that would make him superior to the rest). Either way, he falls for this ballerina who is also uglified to an acceptable level by the Handicapper General.

He runs off with her, they tear off all their shackles to normalcy and float to the ceiling in a beautiful dance before being blown away by the Handicapper General, this time she’s wielding a shotgun, however.

It’s a great story. I haven’t read it since I was a kid, but it still sticks with me.

I figured that Kurt Vonnegut must have come up with the concept when he was attempting to craft beautiful copy against the chaotic backdrop of an advertising agency, where there are crazy noises and buzzing buzzing and new distractions every minute to try to throw off your concentration.

So long Kurt, R.I.P.


p.s. Checking it out now, I can't find the agency he worked for, but he did write press releases apparently.

Believing Your Own Hype

One of the strangest phenomenon about being a copywriter is when you start to become persuaded by your own writing.

I am halfway through writing about a product and all the while I am thinking, this is great, this product is fantastic! Here’s a company that really understands my needs, and they are speaking my language. Where can I get this thing?

And then I’m like, oh yeah, I wrote that, of course they understand me. Hmm.

Either way, I’m going to buy it.

A Holiday in Zhuhai

I just got back from five very relaxing days in China.

Zhuhai is deemed the ‘romance capital’ of China, and it is a beautiful place indeed, with a nice beach and plenty of green. The pollution there, however, was outrageous. A cloud of smog covered you from head to toe everywhere you went like an ominous mist. There was no sign of the sky at all, and if there was a sun, it was nowhere to be seen.

There were some amazing restaurants as well, which would have been perfect little crab shacks on the water, but when the rats ran by and no one seemed to care, we decided to move on.

At least I got to live large in a deluxe suite for about $20 CAD a night, which was great.

Now I'm back at work - as a new first, I'm writing for credit cards.

Homework

It's nice to have a five day weekend for Easter, however I have six ads for three clients due on Tuesday, which means I will be working over the weekend.

I like learning about new clients. To write for them you need to be well versed in what they are all about. I enjoy finding out the background on why they are communicating with their target market in the first place.

It's always fun to get briefed on a campaign, analyze its objectives, and think, yeah, that will definitely work.

Clients would be amazed to see firsthand how many clever people are working away at solving their problems.

Consumers would be absolutely shocked to know the mechanics behind the ads they flick through without a second thought...this is such a strange industry.

Happy Easter.

High Performance Copywriting

I wrote about ten ads today for three different clients. So busy! I am jumping back and forth between Ogilvy and OgilvyOne so I'm swamped.

There's a five day weekend coming up. Hong Kong may have long hours, but they know how to enjoy their holidays.

So Far So Good

I'm at Ogilvy now. I like it. I didn't have much to do for the first few hours so I just read up everything I could get my hands on about the brand I will be working on. I absorbed the website, its blogs, the template guidelines, old ads, current ads, everything I could find to get a feel for the voice of the brand character.

It is one cheerful character, that is for certain.

Suddenly, I was swamped with six assignments at once. OgilvyOne is in the same office, so the next thing I knew I had work coming at me from every direction, on very short deadlines.

Everyone here is very nice, and the creatives are mixed in with the suits. There are no partitions, the whole place is like a giant star and I have a great view of the city from where I'm sitting.

It's coo. I do miss the people at Publicis though.

Maria came to town last week (thus the lack of posts) and we had a great time at the Peak and Stanley and Repulse Bay. Now, she's in China taking her English teaching course. I think I'll try to visit her this weekend.

Moving On

Today is my last day at Publicis.

Next Stop: Ogilvy and Mather.

Air Pollution and Martinis

My latest column is out. It is something of a rant this week, but very topical.

Air Pollution and Martinis in Hong Kong

Cantonese 101

Meh Lih Gah – What’s that?
Lee goh – This one
Duk la – it’s good
Ho ah - good
Dim Seem – How’s that?
Tie Gwaila – too expensive!
No motcheen – I have no money
Lay doh – Here
Naw ho ko – I’m poor
Yee ga – Now
Leh – good
Lap sup - rubbish
Dim sun seen – How do you fix it?
Mmm Gee ah – I don’t know
Wu suei – refund
Ho Sauk mong – big disappointment
Lay wok ley – so you say
Ho sun fu – Work harder
Sue meh – what are you smiling about?
Yee. Gom fan gah – Trouble
Chew fa na – super trouble
Fie dee la – Faster!
Ho goy – very tired
Lay sun deem – What do you want?
Mm gwan aussie – Not my problem
Fun gow – sleeping
Lay ding cho min ho king go mong – your Cantonese is good, teach me
Choy soy – talk shit
Gung hei – of course
Heng gay – crashed
Die ga lychee – bless you (when you sneeze – you have to say it)
Ng Ho Yee Cee – sorry
Hung bo – horrible
Mo jay jo – Why? Nothing.
Yok soon - disgusting
Sow gong – go home
Gaht – get lost
Sow pay – don’t talk

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

For the Canadian Film Festival.

I think these are great.

Status Report VI

Ah, the monthly status report.

Where am I in terms of reaching that elusive goal?

I’m still freelance. Still in Hong Kong. Still at Publicis. The contract is up at the end of the month. So basically this status report is the same as the others. I was hoping for some better news, hey, that’s all I’ve got.

Alex, KC and I are going to run around doing a guerilla campaign on Sunday. Should be fun. It reminds me of Australia when Kristian and I shot on the street, out of shopping carts, with no permits. We had lights set up everywhere at 3 am, and I drove my car right up on the sidewalk. When the cops stopped us we would exclaim, ‘but we are filming an ad for Adidas!’ and they left us alone. Yes-ah.

Watch it here: Adidas spec 3

Writing vs. Copywriting

I had an interesting discussion today about the differences between writing and copywriting.

Is copywriting a series of compromises on your own unique voice? A submission of unique vision?

Is writing supposed to be an expression of the author itself? Impossible to mask if done purely from the core? A consistent pure voice that rings through no matter what character they choose to take on?

Is it individual style that makes each unique copywriter unique, and that is the talent that they bring to the table? Or is it the very opposite – their ability to mimic and speak from a voice not their own?

I suppose it depends on who is doing the hiring.

SEO Copywriting – Today and Tomorrow

I have had several offers from companies looking for SEO copywriting.

They have found me through this site.

At this moment in time, SEO copywriting is seen as filling page after page of words with little regard to content (or spelling or grammar) to essentially trick Google search engines.

It is fairly common to hire someone who will just rattle off copy without any regard to branding or content.

It’s effective in the short term, but it will only hurt a brand in the long run.

Proper SEO copywriting is best done by a professional copywriter. If the content is just keyword-loaded nonsense, it is bound to backfire sooner or later.

Professional copywriters cost a premium, but they are worth it.

News Flash!

My little mouse is coming to Hong Kong to see me.


Yaaay.

New Faces

David Szabo has come to Publicis from M+C Saatchi.

He’s one of the CDs I spoke with way back in August when I was first looking for a job here in Hong Kong. Actually he helped me at the time with a referral or two. He’s something of a legend here in HK.

He’s excellent to work with. We are putting together on a global incentive campaign at the moment.

And he can speak Cantonese like a local…

Falling In Love With Your Own Fingerprints

I was walking through the metro the other day when I saw a great ad.

It was a very effective ad for lozenges, and it stood out from all of the other subpar Hong Kong MTR advertising like a sore throat.

How pleasantly surprised I was when I realized it was from our shop.

Reflections of an English Copywriter in Hong Kong

I was looking through my portfolio the other day. It has improved tremendously since I have been in Hong Kong.

In my time at Publicis, I’ve written ads for the some of the world’s biggest banks, airlines, casinos and hotels.

I’ve had the chance to work on massive global accounts and some of the world’s most powerful brands.

If nothing else, these last seven months in Hong Kong have steeled me to work like a maniac on a massive workload against impossible deadlines. Aye-ah.

It has also taught me a handful of esoteric Cantonese phrases, like Joe Maya and Choy Soy.

But for what purpose (in the grand scheme of things)?

I have no idea.

I’m reminded of the auction house back in Vancouver.

My writing has improved. Undoubtedly. Commercial writing improves overall ability and being tapped in creatively as a profession only increases the frequency of ideas. I don’t care what people say about the threat of damaging your own creative style. Being tapped in is good. It keeps the synapses firing.

I’m on Chapter 53 of my book. I wanted to be at Chapter 100 by September, but it’s not easy to keep writing through the weekend. We are in Montreal right now.

In other rambling, I checked out Second Life. It’s a bit boring, but, yes, it’s true, I can see how it will be the wave of the future. People leaving their house, or even getting dressed before they go to work will be old news.

I’ve been going to a lot of client meetings lately. I enjoy presenting my ideas in person.

Okay, back at it.

The Man Asia Literary Prize

The Man Asia Literary Prize has been announced and local Hong Kong residents will have a chance to showcase their talents to the world by entering a recent novel, in English.

It is one thing to present a limply translated version of your work to judges and the international community.

It is quite another thing to unveil your passionate masterpiece, trans-created, to sound as potent in English as it did when you originally wrote it.

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

So simple it's good.

Copywriters From A Mixed Background

If you are in the market for a freelance copywriter, you might want a writer that has experience working for both large and small agencies.

Why?

A blended background provides a balance between the results-focused urgency of a small agency and creative perfectionism found in the larger shops:

1. You are getting the best of both worlds (see the two posts below)
2. You have a well-rounded professional with a dynamic understanding of your business needs (see below once again)
3. You will be working with a writer with a healthy dose of entrepreneurial spirit, offering an authentic, passionate voice to your product.

To find out more click here: English copywriter link or contact mike_catherall (at) yahoo (dot) ca.

Copywriters From Large Agencies

If you are in the market for a freelance copywriter, you might want a writer that has experience working for a multinational 4As agency.

Why?

Large agencies act as a filter. They only hire the best that there is, so the quality of the writer is assured. This will work to your advantage because:

1. Your project will be handled by a professional
2. You will have a writer that is familiar with the same tactics used by some of the world’s largest brands
3. Your writer will have a strong understanding of good creative

At a large agency, writers are also pushed to produce ideas that break from conventional solutions to produce creative work that can do the job of ten ads.

4. Innovative thinking

Copywriters at big agencies are also familiar with big clients. They have worked on global accounts, so they are familiar with the freedoms and restrictions of large brands with big budgets.

6. They get you

So if you are looking for a copywriter for a project with 4As agency experience under his belt - click here for my email address (off to the left) - English copywriter link

To find out more, click here: English copywriter link or contact mike_catherall (at) yahoo (dot) ca.

Copywriters From Small Agencies

If you are in the market for a freelance copywriter, you might want a writer that has experience working for a small agency.

Why?

At small agencies copywriters often handle more than just the writing. They have to wear many hats, including production, strategy and accounts. A bit of experience in these departments is nice because:

1. Your project will get finished on time and on budget
2. You will have creative that reinforces the strategy and not the other way around
3. Your writer will have a better understanding of what the client wants
4. Client-focus and reliability

At a small shop copywriters also have less luxury to be offbeat, so they focus more on concepts that will build business, immediately.

5. Results, results, results

Copywriters at small agencies are also familiar with small clients. The demands of a startup are much different than those of a multi-national, and their communications has to be as well.

6. They know where you are coming from

So if you are looking for a copywriter for a project, click here to send me an email (off to the left) English copywriter link or contact mike_catherall (at) yahoo (dot) ca.

Woofbags

This was one of my first freelance copywriting jobs in Hong Kong:

Woofbags.com

I wrote this website months ago, when I first arrived, Warren now has the site up - it looks good!

I personally like the customer service section.

English Copywriting in Asia

The difference between translation and trans-creation...

(courtesy of Engrish.com)

Extension IV

I’ve signed on for another month with Publicis.

English Copywriter Picks of the Week

Three spots with great music this week:

This is a beautiful spot - Crest – Catch

This is the latest Pepsi spot.

This will be another example, like with Bravia Balls, where the music becomes famous because of the ad.

Unusual Advertising This Week

Atheists and agnostics from the Freedom From Religion Foundation have initiated an online, print and talk radio advertising campaign to 'Keep God out of Government' in the States and to take on Bush and the religious right.

They could probably do some interesting guerilla stuff if they approached ad agencies for help...

In other news, Kobe Club in New York has taken out a full-page ad in the New York Times attacking their food critic's credentials over a lousy review.

Will this fight fire with fire tactic work? Or is it the wildest PR stunt of all time - you scratch up our backs, NYT, we'll scratch up yours...

English Copywriting in Hong Kong – Another Day in the Life

Today I spent the first half of the day agonizing over a single word.

It is a very specific word to be used in the headline that sums up everything in the visual. I have hundreds written down in front of me, but they are all either too obscure, too zen, too energy drink, or too corporate. Hmm.

Racking my brains and dictionary.com for a word so upbeat and spirited it can carry an entire campaign has expanded my positive vocabulary and lifted my mood. This would be a good exercise for depressed people.

The next thing I know I am pulled over to production to determine the accent of a voiceover, then on to edit an email, then a quick ad here, a quick proofread here, another ad, some body copy, a headline, some design rationales, an ‘on-hold’ script (I always wondered who wrote those things), then on to trans-create something and draw a picture and help the Chinese copywriters and conceptualize something and write this and that and all of a sudden I am …I’m all over the map.

Now it’s 9 pm, two ads have cleared, one new voiceover talent has been brought in, several headlines have been written, many emails have been sent, and we’ve been briefed on a new pitch coming up next week, not to mention there’s a pitch tomorrow we need to prepare for. In the meantime, my single word has died a horrible death.

No two days are ever the same. But they are always frantic and quite fun.

If you would like to know more about life as an English copywriter in Hong Kong click here.

Freelance Copywriter Pick of the Week

I like the concept behind this ad.

Levis - Dangerous Liaison

Chinese New Year Traditions

There are some endearing traditions in Hong Kong during Chinese New Year.

The whole celebration is based on a myth that once a year a beast named the Nian would come down from the mountains and eat people, so they would have to shoot off firecrackers and dress in red to scare it away.

And if frightening away a man-eating monster isn't a good enough reason for a fifteen-day party, I don't know what is.

Other traditions include cleaning, a bunch of strange sweeping rituals as well as alterntating good luck and bad luck days for totally random things. Feb 20th is a bad day for gardening, but Feb 15th is a good day to get a haircut and Feb 23rd is a good day for a long shower. So bizarre. It is also lucky to open windows (will let in good spirits), eat candy (for a sweet year), and wear red underwear (for gambling). It is bad luck to buy shoes, or pants (because the character is similar to the character for bitter, of course!), or wash your hair (washing away the good luck).

They also give out laisee fawn, or the red packet, which contains the most personal gift of all: warm, soft, cash - in even numbers.

I've been taking this time off to relax and check out some of the things CNY in HK has to offer. On Friday I went to the flower market in Victoria Park to move in an organized swarm of thousands of people and get yelled at by colourful strangers weilding inflatable nicknacks and balloons. Saturday I went to Macao to try my hand at Baccarat. Yesterday I went to see the parade in TST and watched the back of a thousand heads. Today is the fireworks I can check out from my apartment building and tomorrow is my chance to make peace with the Gods of Luck at the horseracing. It's an eventful holiday filled with the the two cornerstones of Chinese culture: family and luck.

Chinese New Year

Today the whole agency is going to see Borat.

Then it’s Chinese New Year.

Kung Hei Fat Choy.

Getting Organized

I am trying to make this site as Google-friendly as possible.

I am already #1 across the board for “freelance english copywriter” (msn, google, ask.com) and #2 and #3 for “english copywriter”, except for on Yahoo Search, which I’ve noticed has become strictly pay-to-play.

However, if I make it easy to navigate, I will have created a Wikipedia-worthy resource and thrown myself completely into the SEO arena…with “freelance copywriter” now in my sights.

This is going to be my project for Chinese New Year, seeing how we have four days off and it is impossible to catch a flight to the Philippines (which was my original plan).

Freelance Copywriting in Hong Kong

This blog was designed, in part, to be a reference.

Here are a few things you may be interested in if you're here from Wikipedia.

Freelance English copywriting - What is it like?

How can I get myself a job as a freelance copywriter?

What is your personal story as a freelance copywriter in Hong Kong?

SEO copywriting - What is it?

Freelance copywriting in Hong Kong - What is it like?

Status Report V

I’ve been in Hong Kong for over six months now and I have been at Publicis as a freelance copywriter for five and a half. My contract is up in two weeks.

My whole mission in Hong Kong has been to land a permanent spot at a 4A's agency. Go to the first post to see what I mean - freelance copywriter link

I’ve been documenting the whole process for a few reasons.

One was to put myself to the top of the search engines as a part of my initial marketing plan freelance copywriter marketing plan.

The second was to hone my SEO copywriting skills.

The third was to offer some insight into the industry on what it is like to be a freelance copywriter based on someone who was trying to crack the big agencies. There are whole websites and several books devoted to this very thing, so here is an insider’s up-to-the-minute account if any of you are interested.

I’m having a ball in Hong Kong. The hours here are long and the pace is very fast, it is an exciting city to say the least and I love the franticness of it.

I'm a bit edgy though, maybe it's the city, maybe it's because my contract expires March 1st.

I really like working here at Publicis and I would love a permanent job.

Castles Made of Foam Core

Advertising is an ephemeral business. You can spend hours and days and even months working on something only to have it instantaneously disappear without a trace.

Ideas are finnicky things.

There are many more out there. The trick is learning how to wrangle them out of the air.

Hand Painted Animals

Artist Guido Daniele paints these interesting creatures and advertising agencies buy them.

At One With the Target Market

I’ve made it a habit of checking out a new place in Hong Kong every Friday. This week it was the brand-new Yellow Devil (let’s see how long it takes to get picked up by Google on this link). Next week it will be M1NT, with live sharks swimming around in tanks in the walls.

In Hong Kong, new places are popping up constantly.

The war games were super fun. No injuries to report, just aching thighs from all the squatting and running in the bushes.

Fittingly enough, I am now writing ads for people who like to make the most of every minute, be the first to try new things, sample everything that life has to offer and work hard and play harder.

War Games

Tomorrow I am going to play war games in the woods. It's like paintball, but you use replica semi-automatic rifles that shoot plastic bullets.

Check it out Combat Games

Should be fun.

English Copywriting in Hong Kong – What It’s Like

Some days I am swamped with all of these little jobs. Every English ad comes through me at some point. Either I’m writing it to get trans-created into Mandarin, Cantonese or even Tagalog, or else I am trans-creating it from a translation (making it sound natural).

I also have to proofread, edit and solve some pretty strange English conundrums, such as the period placement in Washington DC, what letters to capitalize in title case, among vs amongst, the British/American spelling thing, hyphens, or whether flights should be pluralized if there is only one flight per day in the subhead ‘nonstop flights to New York daily.’

Did you know straightforward is one word, world-class is hyphenated yet fine dining is not? English can be bizarre. Anyway…

Every language has its weak points when translated into English that gives it away. Polish is excessively flowery, French has its endearing word substitutions (Do you want to listen to a movie? Get your hairs cut, etc.), Swedish uses d’s instead of th’s, Mandarin tends to leave out the article (the, a, etc) and with Cantonese, they have a hard time with plurals, so you will see things like ‘Conventions and Exhibitions Center’ or my personal favourite, ‘arrive at your door’s steps.’

They also like to use the possessive, ‘Las Vegas’ wonderful excitement’, or ‘singing operas’ gondoliers’. I come across these kinds of things all the time and the funny thing is, technically, they are not incorrect, there are many steps leading up to the door they’ve been built for, it’s true.

I’m sure when they see something that has been translated from English they can spot it a mile away too.

My phase of the day: Dim Sun Seen – “How to fix it?”

Corporate Branding and the First Day of School

Advertising is a lot like your first day at a new school, or job, or environment. People don’t know anything about you, so you are going to be immediately judged by your appearance, be it your clothes, or hair, or stature, or in this case, your headline, typeface, or placement.

I figure this is why there is so much banal advertising out there. Most people, and brands, are quite conservative, so they don’t want to do anything outrageous on the first day of school and get branded as something they might not have the mojo to maintain.

So they blend in. That’s the suit and tie of the business meeting, the jeans and sneakers of the schoolyard, or an ad that looks like an ad. Plain, emotionally flat, inoffensive and instantaneously forgettable.

But by not breaking through the clutter does this mean it’s a terrible branding ad? No, not really. It just means that they are making an appearance that is easy to maintain, because like at the first day of school, just showing up is half the battle. It’s absence that raises the eyebrows, and exclusion from the market.

But who wants to make friends with the most boring kid in school?

Branding is about presence. You don’t need to be outrageous or shocking to have presence. But you do have to have a certain charisma that brings people to you.

These last few posts have been general musings - you may or may not agree, my readers, but comment either way. Discussion is always good.

Appetite For Risk

It’s a financial term, but I like it. It has been floating around in my head quite a lot lately in regards to the creative process and relationships that exist within creative teams and between agencies and clients. To share the same appetite for risk as your client and team is a great thing.

Although it is a preconception that the client has the lowest appetite for risk (the most to lose), then the agency, and finally the consumer, I think sometimes agencies underestimate how far a client wants to push their brand. But most times I think we underestimate how much the consumer thirsts for something new. Something insightful, inspiring, informative or shocking. Something that requires some risk to produce.

However, the Snickers Spot with the mechanics kissing (and then tearing out their chest hair in an act of manliness) pushed a few buttons at the Superbowl amongst pride groups. Something about the innocuousness of it makes me think the whole thing is just a brilliant PR move though…

But He Has Bud Light....

My favourite of all the Superbowl ads.

Bud Light - But He Has Bud Light

Superbowl Ads

You can see all of the Superbowl ads from this year on this link.

superbowl ads

If you ask me, the best are the Bud Light ‘auctioneer’ and ‘slapping’ ads, but I’m also biased because I used to work at an auction.

The Careerbuilder ‘office jungle’ spots are funny and the Doritos Consumer Generated Ads are actually not bad.

Heaps of terrible ads though, especially the Pizza Hut spot, but it does have Jessica Simpson, so it gets a free pass.

Best Ad of the Superbowl - Viewer's Choice

The viewers have voted this ad as the best of the Superbowl.

Bud Light - Rock Paper Scissors

Superbowl XLI

The Colts have just won the Superbowl, which means I have lost yet another bet to my dad.

The Superbowl the biggest day of the year for advertisers in North America. This year, it was watched by 131.7 million viewers, making it the 5th most watched program in US television history. To buy a 30 second spot cost approximately $2.4 million.

Was it worth it?

Definitely.

Many watch the Superbowl for the ads alone and they are talked about just as much, if not more than the game afterward. If you look for the Superbowl in the Google News, it is easier to find discussions about the ads than the actual score.

In a previous post about Consumer Generated Ads I showed you the winning pitch for the NFL spot. Here it is, as it was shown today.

NFL Superbowl spot

Doritos and Chevy also jumped on the CGU bandwagon.

CBS has been leveraging the ads to get more viewers on its news programs and websites are getting hits through the roof after directing traffic immediately after the ad, most notably the GoDaddy.com and Budweiser sites.

The Consumption Shot

I watched an ad for 7-11 the other day and the whole time I was fixated on how the characters were drinking beer throughout the commercial.

For one thing, Hong Kong has it figured out in the sense that you can buy cold beer for about 80 cents Canadian at any convenience store, but what really blew my mind was the fact that they were drinking the beer.

In Canada, and I think the States as well, it is illegal to show a consumption shot in alcohol ads. If my memory serves me right, I think it is even forbidden to show someone with an open bottle.

In other briefs I have worked on for soft drink manufacturers, the consumption shot is always mandatory. And it makes sense. If something has proven effective enough to get it banned, then it must make a difference.

The same goes for cigarette advertising. It would be interesting to know how dramatically their sales were affected when they were forced to pull all of their TV advertising in the 80s.

Most recently, China has banned the use of pigs in any TV ads during this coming Year of the Pig, as to not offend any Muslims.

Sustainability Copywriting

My latest article is out.

Global Warming - Who can you trust?

One Track Mind

My copywriting style is changing.

I find I have started to abandon mercurial flow for a more subdued but single-minded focus. This is partially because Hong Kong necessitates such a transition.

When you know someone is going to translate your work into Chinese, you can’t hinge your concept on flow, because idioms or wordplay don't translate well across languages.

While I personally enjoy a lyrical style, in Hong Kong you have no choice but to be faithful to one core idea.

My next step, then, is to make my single-mindedness lyrical.

English Copywriting in Hong Kong

A big difference between Hong Kong and Canada is the speed at which people work here. I usually have between four and six briefs on the go at any given time and usually the deadlines are within a day, sometimes by the end of day, but most often a few hours. But it I like it, actually, when you are writing constantly you get pretty quick and incisive.

My word of the day: Fie Dee Lah.

Faster!

And in Health

In Hong Kong it’s not uncommon to see people walking around in surgical masks as if they were in a budget sci-fi movie or punk band. Obviously it’s to keep the spread of infection down in a place where people are packed in heel to nose like sardines.

So it’s a good idea. But something you would never see in Canada (unless you were in a punk band or budget sci-fi movie). But anyway, half the office is sick.

Or at least my section is. We’ve all got it and we are all sick as animals. Sneezing, coughing and grumbling.

I wasn’t the first, so I can’t take all the blame, but I wasn’t the last to get it either, so I’m certainly not blameless. I hate being sick. Grumble.

Brilliant Street Advertising

This guy is a chalk artist. His work is amazing.

Why Do People Go Into Advertising?

Read this:

Jingle Girl

Freelance Copywriter Picks of the Week

This ad is great.

AGF - Lens

I like this one too, it's sssssmart.

Invisible Man

These are some of the most creative concepts I have seen in a while.

Recruit Ireland - Beep

Recruit Ireland - Creak

More Ridiculous Pop Culture

The final scene of Star Wars, but done with hands.

Very amusing.

Star Wars Hands

This is pretty funny too.

Spock Cribs

The Readers Have Spoken

As I keep on carrying on here at Publicis, the blog has become a little less focused on my mission and more on my random day-to-day musings.

The readers have spoken and it appears that they want more ads to look at until I have updates on my goal to get a permanent job here in Hong Kong.

So, fine, here are a few. (sent in courtesy of a reader)

The rest of you can always leave comments you know…

USA Today - Tomorrow the World

The experiment has been a success

Kristian asked if I could get him to #1 in the world for Oslo Webdesign.

It took about a week, but BAM! there he is, right on top.

The Power of a Symbol

Red Cross is in the process of phasing out its distinctive red cross insignia in favour of something more universally neutral (than Switzerland).

Here is the Western version, the Arabic version, and now, the Red Crystal.

Old Man and the Birds

Today is my birthday, I'm going to go for HotPot tonight to celebrate.

Freelance English Copywriter Pick(s) of the Week

Two fun ads this week.

Courtesy of 'How Advertising Spoiled Me'

Make You Famous

My friend Kristian has his own website design company in Oslo called Stream Digital Communications. He has found it impossible to get himself listed on Google, so I told him I'd try to shoot him to the top of the category for 'Oslo webdesign'.

Stream Digital Communications has just released their first press release.

Oslo Webdesign Company Stream Digital Communications Goes Green.

He's already #1 for Oslo webdesign in the Google News.

He hasn't seen any of this yet, either...

English Copywriter Pick of the Week

It's an older one. But I love this ad. It's for a gym.

7 out of 10 Ain’t Bad

I started this blog up 5 months ago to get online dominance on Google for ‘freelance english copywriter’ in hopes it would land me a job. It has worked better than I expected. Now I have 7 out of the top 10 on google, including the top 4 spots.

It looks like even the China Daily has scooped one of my english copywriter ads and is running it in their magazine! How bizarre. I thought people had to pay to advertise in newspapers these days…

The Beat Goes On

It’s Tuesday night, well it’s actually 7 am and it is another all-nighter here at Publicis. Same pitch. More scrambling. I ended up working a 26-hour shift on Sunday, slept a bit, then I was back at it today, and so far it is shaping up to be a 24 hours shift as well.

It is insane.

This has been the most frantic two weeks of my life.

Can The Work You Do Build A Better World?

Here is an article that talks about the ability of advertising to be used for the greater good.

One Exhausted English Copywriter

Good god, I am one tired cat.

It’s 7:30 am and I am still at work. We (the writers) are just finishing up now. The poor studio guys will probably have to push through until the pitch at 3 pm.

I’ve prided myself in the past on working some ridiculous hours, but never anything like this. We put in about a 70-hour week, plus 14 hours yesterday and 21 hours today. So that is well over 100 hours on this pitch. Madness. Basically every second of my life this week was work.

Banksy

Anonymous underground anarchist(s) that run around spray painting their own ads through stencils and hanging their own art in galleries, like the Louvre. You’ve got to love it.

The James Earl Jones Effect

When Sesame Street first came out, every episode was focus-grouped to death.

They would conduct meticulous experiments on the children watching to see if they were more interested in the live characters or the puppets and in which situations they actually learned more.

As it turned out, they loved the puppets, but were not learning much from them.

There was an exception, however, and this was when it came to puppets voiced by James Earl Jones (most famously known as the voice as Darth Vader). When JEJ spoke, kids listened. And they absorbed.

James Earl Jones' kids must be some of the most attentive kids out there.

Either way, the power of the commentator should never be overlooked in an advertising campaign.

Here is a great one:

Allstate - Odds

Consumer Generated Ads

This is a trend that has started to pop up in the ad world. Essentially, it involves companies looking to their consumers to come up with ad concepts for them.

The logic is that it makes more sense to ask your target market directly what they want to see/think is funny than pass it through layers of advertising folk who are apparently totally detached from the emotion of the brand, and who water down the ad at every turn with their own bias.

Also it’s free.

So it’s not a terrible idea.

However advertising copywriters aren’t really too concerned about being displaced anytime soon.

Consumer generated ads have had mixed results. While there is a lot to be said about truck drivers making ads for truck drivers, the main problem is that writing ads isn’t as easy as it looks. Most of the stuff consumers come up usually fails to address the mechanics of advertising communications in a strategic way, such as maintaining brand consistency, tone, voice and manner, or creating an original concept which highlights the unique product feature, or conceptualizing in a way that can be integrated across several mediums.

Not that there is anything wrong with ads that depend purely on talk power. In my opinion, for startups and new products, talk power is the way to go.

Either way, the NFL has recently jumped on the bandwagon – and here is the result.

NFL winning ad

(the grapevine has been suggesting that the concept came out of an ad agency anyway)

Status Report IV

Well, I have been in Hong Kong for just over five months now. In this time I have managed to land a job here at Publicis, on contract anyway. I’ve been here just over four months, and so far it is going great. I have been working on huge global brands and getting the chance to do TV, as well as national branding campaigns.

I am still living in my little shoebox out in Causeway Bay. I have another six weeks on this contract and I am hoping to renew it. I really like Hong Kong and despite offers to go elsewhere, I am thinking I might stay here for a while (if I keep getting work that is).

I still haven’t completed my mission, and the point of this blog, that being securing full-time work at a 4As agency here in Hong Kong. But I’m close. At least I am in a position to pay off my debts now.

In other news, it's taken a bit of work, but I have managed to restake my claim as the #1 freelance english copywriter in the world (according to google that is).

How to Become A Freelance English Copywriter

If you’ve come here from Wikipedia, as I know many of you have, the first thing I would suggest is to learn spelling and grammar.

I know this may sound boring, but if I were an employer, I would never hire a copywriter who couldn’t spell or put together a sentence.

Sure there is plenty of ATL (above the line) work out there, and I am lucky enough to get to do a lot of it, but if you don’t have the bread and butter writing skills on top of the big ideas, you will always be in a precarious position.

There will always be banks and banks will always be the biggest clients of advertising agencies. So use it as an in. If you can write a DM piece or bill insert for something as dry as a credit card upgrade, I would say that is lesson one in learning the craft.

From there, jump to this link to learn more: Busting in as a freelance copywriter

New Years

Here’s a picture of Maria the Mouse and myself on New Years.

Sustainability Trends

My latest article is out.

Check it out at:

Sustainability Trends in 2007

Freelance English Copywriter in Hong Kong

It's good to be back in Hong Kong. I've rented out a new apartment, still in Causeway Bay, but I have some windows this time. I'm on the 14th floor, so the sunlight floods in, which is spectacular.

It's small though, probably less than 200 square feet and at $6000HK a month, it is a bit of a rip off.

Either way, I love living in the best part of town.

Back At It

The blog has been down for the last two weeks for 'maintenance'. Now I'm back at it.

I'm in Hong Kong. I'm at Publicis. There are great ads to write. And a ways to go until I am back at #1 for 'freelance english copywriter'- this two week hiatus has taken a beating on my ranking.

But fear not, I'll be back on top within the month.

BC Lions

Seeing how I am going to Vancouver for Christmas, here are some ads from the homeland.

Candles

Fabric Softener

But I like the old one too, it's one of my favourites.

Vending Machine

Down for the Holidays

This blog will be closed for maintenance between December 22nd and January 3rd.

Now is the time to leave any comments/suggestions that you may have.

Let me know who some of you are, it would be nice to meet some of my regular readers.

Truth is Stranger than Fiction

You can't dream up headlines this bizarre.

World’s' tallest man rescues dolphins in China

The Hong Kong Work Ethic

What a crazy week. It’s 10 am Thursday morning. We were working until 4 last night and now I’m back at it. Actually Alex, Kin, Charles and the illustrators are still here, they’ve been going all night. I don’t know if KC slept at all. This is the third time this week we’ve had less than 7 hours to run home, sleep, and come back.

What a frantic city.

Leaping the Corpus Callosum

One tendency that is prevalent amongst all of the creatives I have met in advertising agencies is the ability to control focus.

It is an essential skill to go from ‘big picture’ right-brain thinking, where the mind is open to ideas from any direction, to incisive, focused, left-brain detail-orientation, where you strain over ever single word, and become intensely self-judgmental about the validity and effectiveness of what’s before you.

And this change in focus must happen instantaneously.

Often while throwing around ideas, you can see this come into play. The ability to catch onto an idea and collectively, systematically, put it through rapid-fire scrutiny, and simultaneously seek possible avenues for embellishment. It's in their eyes as they dart from one hemisphere to the next. It is an interesting phenomenon.

Copywriter Pick of the Week (again)

Some readers (like my mom!) tell me the best thing about this blog is the ads I post. Hmm. Well, fine. Here's a great one.

Clio - Slow

Tiger Beer

Here's a bizarre spot for Tiger Beer

Sustainable Advertising

My latest column about sustainable advertising has been published.

The Weather In Hong Kong

Okay, this is a mundane topic, but I have to say, Hong Kong has the best weather of anywhere I have ever been in my life. It’s early December and it’s 22 degrees, the stuff of shorts and t-shirts (although I am the only one I see in a t-shirt).

It’s bright and clear and sunny too. It only rains here about once a month, which is a treat, especially coming from Vancouver where they are having one of the worst winters in something like 100 years. When I arrived in the summer it was hot, but nothing like Tokyo or Shanghai or Montreal.

I can see why seven million people have crowded onto this little jungle covered rock jutting out of the sea.

Freelance Copywriting Blog

Now that I have signed on with Publicis for the next three months, the usefulness of this blog has changed.

I had a link in Wikipedia entitled ‘How to Get a Job As a Copywriter’ but yesterday they pulled it. It’s too bad, really, because I think that this blog is actually a legitimate resource to help those trying to break in from a sweat and guts perspective.

Just go to the first entry, you’ll see what I mean.

The link was generating a lot of traffic, but traffic isn’t really all that essential, as I don’t have any advertising on this site anyway.

Either way, the mission is still on, and it never hurts to be at the top of the listings.

Freelance Copywriter Pick of the Week

Here are two ads that Nissan will run as college football teams compete for the Heisman trophy. To compare with the action of the games themselves, these ads are high-energy, and compelling, as the mascots compete with one another.

Chase for the Heisman Part One

The second one is better:

The Chase for the Heisman Part Two

Small Victory

I started this blog to help me find a permanent job at a 4As agency in Hong Kong. After freelancing for the last three months with Publicis, I have just signed a contract, for another three months. So it isn’t a permanent position, but it’s a close.

Advertisements Must Improve or Perish

I read an article this morning about how Disney Media Networks Co-Chairman Anne Sweeney at ABC is looking to revamp the way that Nielsen measures ratings to determine ad revenue.

This is in response to TiVo, YouTube, podcasts and the like. Essentially, consumers nowadays simply refuse to watch bad ads, and the Sleep Country water-torture method of 70s is on the way out.

It won’t be long before stations like ABC ban annoying ads altogether, as it only hurts their overall ratings. This puts the onus on clients and agencies alike to demand innovative and engaging work from their creatives: something we couldn’t be happier to provide.

There is a great excerpt about this very phenomenon in the Infinite Jest, where a migraine medicine company has such effective ads that they create migraines in those watching (the ads are a series of impressionist paintings by those suffering from intense migraine pain). Viewers can’t stand to watch the ads anymore so they keep changing channels. But the migraine company has made so much money that they can afford to buy the whole channel themselves and run their ads 24/7. The only response is for the station to run an ‘All Ads All the Time’ channel, which generates amazing ratings.

This very blog has finally reached #1 across the board for freelance english copywriter, on yahoo, msn, and google.

Ethics In Action Award

Creative Wonders, where I worked right before coming to Publicis, has just won the Ethics In Action Award for its social and environmentally focussed work.

Congratulations to Diane and the rest of the Creative Wonders team.

Getting A Job In Advertising

For those logging onto this site looking for the secret on how to become a copywriter, please go to the first entry at the bottom of the page and work backwards up to here. It's a combination of hard work, single-mindedness and luck. But there is no secret.

Outrageous Pop Culture

Here’s a perfectly choreographed dance routine on treadmills. It is ridiculous, yet brilliant at the same time.

Ok Go

Project Juice

The latest from Nike, slow motion explosions with high speed golf balls.

Project Juice

Swamped!

Apologies to those who have been calling me about freelance writing this week.

I am overloaded with work right now.

At Publicis we are working on a TV campaign, a new product launch, a global print campaign and getting our work ready to be submitted for awards shows, not to mention all the other day to day stuff, so it is a busy time.

In other news, I’m back to the top in the Google Rankings

I’m the #1 in google for Freelance English Copywriter, and #2 freelance copywriter on msn.

Freelance Copywriter Pick of the Week

Here's a great idea to sell bird feed. I wouldn't want to park too close though.

Copywriting

Good copywriting has a concept behind it, a central theme that runs through the entire piece. Ideally, an insight. Something about the product that is unique and useful.

It is quite common to see ads held together by words or phrases or obvious metaphors.

These ads are quite easy to ignore.

When an ad taps into a universal truth (ie. we get frustrated when things don't work the way they should, or, I believe I see the world in a different way than others, or I wish I could be young forever) or a psychological insight about the target market (I am short of time, if you are not very direct with me I will see you as unprofessional), then you are really onto something.

Being tuned in to these insights is what makes a good copywriter.

A Freelance English Copywriter in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is an exciting city to live in. I'm based out of Causeway Bay, which is right in the middle of all the action. My shoebox apartment is one block from Times Square, which is twice as bustling as its counterpart in New York. I think my neighborhood is one of the most densely populated in the world. It is quite intense to go from a town of 4500 people to a city of 7 million. I like the contrast.

Christmas

Excellent. Publicis has let me take some time off over Christmas so I can come home for the break. It will be great to see my friends and family again, as well as the Maria.

I went for a great run this weekend. From Causeway Bay to Repulse Bay, it took me two hours. Repulse Bay (despite the name) is an incredible beach. It is like something you would find in Mexico. Wearing shorts and a t-shirt in November is amazing. Right now it is flooding so badly in Vancouver the tap water is brown.

Advertising and Public Health

My latest article ‘Sustainability Advertising and Public Health’ has been published. I need to talk to the editor though, for some reason the quotations and symbols get twisted when I transfer the files.

Holy Crab!

That's one hairy crab. Sure, it doesn’t sound all that great, but it’s superfine. The whole agency just went out for hairy crab, apparently they are in season right now.

Die Zap High.

Words

Spending all day thinking about different ways to say that something is extraordinary, extravagant, and irresistibly fantastic can warp your mind. There is something to be said about the power of positive thinking. Maybe this is why creatives at agencies always look so young. Hmm, maybe my perception of reality is just getting a bit distorted from lack of sleep and crab.

Freelance Copywriter Pick of the Week

Two smart ads this week.

Johnny Walker - Android

Where I'm At

I’m in a bit of an ironic situation with this blog. I started it to help me find a job, as well as to document my progress for those reading it. However, as I have been with Publicis for 2 1/2 months now, it has gone from a ‘getting a job’ blog to ‘a day in the life’ one. Not quite as interesting, I know.

But the mission is still on. I really want a permanent job. That was the whole point.

I want to go home for Christmas. I was promised a three-month contract, but people are busy, swamped really, so I haven’t had a chance to sign anything yet. I do need at least some guarantee that if I buy a return ticket I will have a job when I get back, however.

Azuma's Last Day

Well, Azuma is off to Taiwan to go back to his wife.

Too bad, he was great guy to work with. Since I've been in advertising I have never had an art director as a partner. Azuma, who sat next to me, was the closest thing. It makes a big difference to have another creative mind to bounce ideas off. Now he's going away.

He's a smart, talented guy though, so I'm sure he will be successful in anything he chooses to do. Good luck with your future toy empire Azuma.

Insomnia

It is one thing to consistently work 70-80 hour weeks and pretty much every weekend and holiday. That's just hard work and par for the course in this crazy city. It's another thing to not be able to sleep when coming off a 16 hour day. I've had seven hours of sleep in the last two days. It's killing me.

I've had insomnia my whole life. My mom tells me its a mindset. I think my physiology is backwards. I get burst of energy when the sun sets and another one at 2 am. Maybe my ciccadian rhythms are set for some other country I've yet to live in. Who knows?

Why Advertising?

Advertising is a funny industry.

Since I have been doing it I have met some incredibly bright and creative people. It is a job that seems to attract some sharp minds, despite being known as the greatest waste of human intelligence since chess. But why would someone be interested in this reputedly diabolical profession in the first place?

I think a lot of them are out to change that very perception.

I didn’t get into advertising to make bad ads. I don’t think that anyone does. From those I've met, they are in this profession to make something better than what is out there now. To provide a form of insight that is at least engaging and rewarding to the viewer, and to take something that is pretty much universally despised, and make it better. That is our job.

I have a bias, because my media diet is entirely online, so I only see good ads that I choose to watch. But for those who watch TV, and are constantly interrupted by crap, I can understand that hearing that anyone would actually want to be involved in this industry would warrant a raised eyebrow.

For me, I saw this ad, and thought, I want to make more ads like that. Hopefully one day I’ll get a chance to work with Spike Jonze.

One thing I really like about Publicis is how we see bad ads as lost battles. It is a great attitude to have, and it keeps us motivated to produce good work. It’s not easy though. It seems like I never sleep anymore.

Journalism, Copywriting and Cantonese

I just got a call from the editor of the Cathay Pacific Inflight magazine and it looks like they are going to pick up one of my stories. Cool beans. This takes me back to when I first arrived in Hong Kong and Dave put me in touch with all those editors.

In other news, I am slowly learning Cantonese. I try to learn something new every day. Today I learned how to order my favourite food. – lemon chicken.

The Perks of Being a Copywriter

I like how I get to wear whatever I want. It is nice to be able to dress to amuse yourself as opposed to look contained. Today, for instance, I am in my black Banksy shirt and Blackspots over Che Guevara socks and under designer pants with purposeful fraying. Yesterday I was in my black shirt with French cuffs and silver links and shiny Cappellas.

I don’t have to wake up at an ungodly hour. It is much better to work until the wee hours of the morning than it is to get up at that time.

I get paid to sit around and think and write. I enjoy these things, so really, I don’t actually work.

The downside of being a freelance copywriter is having absolutely no semblance of job security.

I had another call from a 4As agency here in Hong Kong yesterday. My online presence is saving me. I am all over the Internet now, #1 for freelance english copywriter in every search engine. I’m happy at Publicis, but it would be nice to sign a proper contract.

Another one of the perks of being a freelace copywriter is that you are constantly producing creative work. It is my philosophy that everything creative is worthwhile.

KC has mentioned that it could be in the cards very soon.

Kate sent me some wedding photos. Here are her feet.

Eat Like Snake

The latest from Burger King. It is so bizarre it has to be posted.

Burger King - Eat Like Snake

What Does an Expat English Copywriter Do Anyway?

When I talk to my parents about being a copywriter, often they just look at me and say, "We have no idea what you do." I tell them that I come up with ideas and write, but seeing how most of the ads I produce are about three words each, they find this concept very bizarre.

Today, for instance, my job was catching sparks. Basically, this involves sitting around and waiting for an idea to come to me. I’ve been on a roll. I have six TV scripts written for Friday. Sometimes the sparks don’t come and it’s a bit frustrating. But the reality is, I am paid to come up with ideas that are original, interesting, compelling, persuasive, on topic, attention-catching and most importantly sellable. So they had better be good. If a client doesn’t buy it, it is nothing but a nice idea.

Some people are paid for their projects upon completion. Advertising is a like an idea factory, so you are commissioned for your brain up front.

Dressing up an idea to be sexy is another part of my job, and working on the pitch for it. Ideally, an idea has to be good to get anywhere, it needs a solid concept, because it has to be pitched through endless layers. But you still need to know how to present it for it to get off the ground.

Usually it works like this: I tell the idea to Azuma, the art director sitting next to me, if it gets the creative thumbs up, I need to sell it to KC, the executive creative director. He is looking to see if it satisfies the components above (it’s on strategy, original, creative enough etc). When he is confident that it is, he will go to bat to sell it to strategy. If it resonates with them, and they can provide the hard facts to help sell it as objectively as possible, we bring in the accounts team and give them the ammunition they need to sell it to the client. If the client likes it, they will then see how it works on their friends, colleagues, spouses etc. And then, on focus groups. If the focus groups buy it, it’s put out into the world.

But the true test is after you see it. As a consumer, do you turn to another consumer and explain it the way I did to Azuma. Do you even bother? Is the idea still there? If it is, I’ve made a good ad.

In a nutshell, that’s my job.

As the English writer, I also do a lot of proofreading, editing, as well as writing for the bread and butter English ads, long copy stuff. So I do it all.

It’s an interesting job. I like it. But I can see how my parents find it bizarre.

The point?

Working in an idea factory keeps the mind sharp and proves potential. Putting words and ideas to work can be profitable, but it can also be instrumental for change. However, I still have a lot to prove to myself, and learn, before I step back into that arena full-hearted.

If you would like to know about a day in the life of a English copywriter in Hong Kong, click here.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Copywriting

Search engine algorithms are becoming increasingly proficient at weeding out those who are trying to trick them. What they are now looking for are pages that have fresh, authentic copy written on a useful topic.

I found an interesting website where you can find out your rankings on msn, google and yahoo Google Rankings. Surprisingly, I am #1 in every search related to freelance, english and copywriter. So, it appears that I have picked up on the art of SEO, without even knowing what it is.

Actually, checking back later, I've dropped to second, these rankings are rather fickle.

I’ve learned a fair bit along the way. I have been banned from both AdSense and Google at one point. I’ve made my amends, however, and now I at least know what NOT to do. The secret, it seems, is to be prolific and informative and not to be too clever misspelling words and the like (Sorry). Although, I must admit I did start this blog to help me land a job, it has worked much better than I expected.

However, let’s not lose track of the fact that I am still only freelance. We are getting way ahead of ourselves here. I still haven’t accomplished my goal quite yet. I am still at step 8...

Soon I found I had quite a knack for SEO copywriting click here to see some of my early success.

The lack of pictures on this site is depressing - here is a picture of Shaun's backyard.

Freelance English Copywriter Pick of the Week

This ad is awesome. (Give it a minute to load up)

MTV - Music is For Life

Perseverance

I think you can accomplish anything you put your mind to with enough grit, hope, endurance and determination.

One of my favourite bands of all time is the Jesus Lizard.

We used to see them as much as possible in the mid 90s in Vancouver. They put on the best live shows I have ever seen. I stumbled across this clip the other day of a show in Texas where David Yow gets hit by a bottle that smashes on the back of his head.

He gets up and keeps going.

It's pretty intense. (Tons of rednecks swearing though, just to warn you.)

The Jesus Lizard at the Orbit Room

Extension III

I've been extended again and KC is looking into getting me on full-time.

A Fun Ad

Fresh Up - Revival Guy

The Quest

Getting a job in advertising is hard.

Getting a permanent job at a 4As agency in Hong Kong with a junior book, a little money and not knowing anyone, or any Cantonese at all is a crazy challenge.

So far, I’m close. I think. I’m up for renewal on Monday and I have been getting calls from headhunters with offers that make my head spin. I am glad I have documented this. I hope it will give people who are interested in working in advertising some perspective of the work involved and the rewards as well.

I have several people writing me asking for advice on what to do when you are first getting started. I have decided I need to write a book about this one day (once I'm actually successful that is).

There is a saying that goes ‘It is smart to learn from your mistakes, and even smarter to learn from other people’s mistakes.’

When I was first getting started, I thought a great way to put a reel together would be by starting my own agency. When Kristian and I started PDP in Australia we made every mistake in the book, but it only took us nine months to make six ads and by the end of it we were shooting on 16mm film out of speedboats with a media buy across every TV Channel on the Coast. Our last ad helped the Runaway Bay Marina get so filled on the day of the Expo we had to park half a mile down the road and walk through hundreds of parked cars to check it out. Things were going very well. But then, we lost one pitch and it was the end of the world, and we gave up. If only I knew then what I do now.

I went back to Vancouver. We saved the ads online as .wmv files and I gave out business cards as a portfolio. It took me two years to realize that you can’t watch a .wmv file on a mac, which is what every creative director in the city used.

Ah, the things you learn in this crazy business.

Self Promotion

This is a great ad for a photographer.

Randy Fitzsimmons

The Hives are a fantastic band. Raw energy. Great lyrics (ten dead no pun?). Swank outfits. They rock. But they wouldn’t be where they are today without Randy Fitzsimmons. It’s a great story, often shrouded in mystery. Essentially, Randy Fitzsimmons ‘discovered’ The Hives when they were a bunch of maniac kids in a small town in Sweden playing in little clubs at a mile a minute and professing to the crowds how they were the greatest band on earth. Mr. Fitzsimmons, who some believe was just The Hives themselves, or perhaps their drummer, or their bassist, sent them a mysterious letter each telling them to be at a certain place at a certain time. Once there he told them their destiny (that they truly would be the greatest band on earth, and world domination was to be theirs). He brought them to an isolated place in the middle of Sweden and set them loose to record. Randy Fitzsimmons is not merely a producer though. He manages them, shapes them, helps them write and basically, is the sixth member. That is, if he exists at all. After that album, The Hives disappeared for a while, and they even sparked false rumours that they had died. But really, they were busy writing in isolation, and the album they produced next truly was the greatest album of all time.

Condition Lather Rinse Repeat

You can condition your body. With practice and familiarity, you can get used to little sleep (right now I have crazy insomnia and I am getting 3-4 hours a night). You can condition your body to eat less food and survive without caffeine and to accustom itself to discomfort. You can even condition your body to run and exercise on little or no sleep. It’s a pretty versatile machine.

But you can also condition your brain. The longer I work in advertising, the faster ideas come to me. It is like my brain has reprogrammed the synapses so that they fire more frequently in a creative/problem-solving area (and less frequently in other, more practical areas). Same goes for writing. If you are writing constantly, it’s just a matter of sitting down and picking a topic and it flows out of you.

I remember reading about a psychology study once where they had an experimental group of students that they would give two different lessons to, one would be visual, through material they were supposed to be reading that was in front of them, and the other would be a spoken presentation at the front of the classroom. At first, they couldn’t absorb both lessons at once, but over the course of a month, they conditioned their brains to do so. I always thought was a pretty inspiring idea about our potential as humans.

Through the Line, Below the Line and Above the Line Copywriting

ATL, BTL and TTL are more than just fancy lingo that copywriters throw around. They refer to three different subgroups of creative copywriting.

ATL refers to commissioned ads such as television, radio, outdoor, cinema, press (the fun stuff) while BTL refers to non-commissioned work such as direct mail, sponsorship, promotions and public relations (bread and butter stuff).

TTL is a combination of the two.

In today’s market, it is important to be able to write for all three. I am lucky at Publicis in the sense that I spend half of my day catching sparks for big creative ideas and the other half working on my craft writing longer copy. It is a good balance, and as a copywriter, it is useful to have experience doing both. As you may have guessed from this blog, I have never been one to specialize, I always find you are sharper when well-rounded.

All Hallows' Eve

It’s Halloween, my favourite day of the year. They have few skeletons, ghosts and pumpkins here and there, and there is a rather impressive haunted house set up at Times Square, but all in all I wouldn’t say that Hong Kong has the same exuberance about this pagan holiday as we do in Canada. No one is dressed up at work and I didn’t see any freaks on the streets this morning. Maybe tonight will be more lively though.

Sustainability Advertising

I write a column about the intersections between sustainability and advertising.

Here is the latest: Sustainability Advertising and Environmental Design

If this is a topic that is interesting to you, I wrote a daily blog for over a year on the topic for Creative Wonders. Sustainability Advertising

An English Blog

Ah ha. Azuma has showed me how to switch this blog into English, so now, hopefully, I can iron out a lot of the glitches. I have been running this blog in Chinese since the beginning, which is a bit tricky, as I can't read a character (actually I now know the symbol for yes).

$0.02 from an English Copywriter

Does anyone watch TV anymore? At least on a television? When I was in Vancouver I remember getting all of these memos from TV stations about how 25-35 year old TV watching was as strong as ever. But I have my doubts.

Diane and I took a course on how to edit Final Cut Pro while we were in Vancouver at Emily Carr and I have been itching to get my hands on the software (and a camera).

The future of advertising is here:

Dove Evolution Youtube Spot

To the chagrin of Sony, this ad was leaked on Youtube before it went to air. Bravia - Paint

Hard Day's Night

I've been at work for 34 hours.

I did manage to secure an hour of fitful sleep on the floor, but overall, it has been a crazy day at work.

I have aspiring copywriters writing to me and asking me what it's like to be a copywriter in a large agency. It's great, but days like today make me wonder why I ever gave up moving furniture in an auction house. Actually, not really, but I am exhausted.

I have had six people contact me about work since I've set up this blog. Two job offers, two headhunters and two freelance opportunities. I'm amazed how well it has worked. Despite the long days, I am happy here at Publicis, but man, I'm beat.

Now, some of you at this point may be thinking that this is all work and no play. But that's not true. Click here to find out about the perks of being a freelance copywriter

Bud Lite Ad with the Falcon

This ad has been a hit at the office today.

Bud Lite Falcon

That Freelance Writer with the Blog

I have been getting a few calls from other agencies looking for freelance work. I have become known as 'that guy with the blog', which is good with me. I am still here at Publicis, although my contract is month-to-month, and I am much too busy to take on any freelance at the moment. But don't be shy to call me up, even to put a voice to a name.

Brilliant ads

A Day in the life of a Freelance English Copywriter in Hong Kong

This blog has served me well. I am truly amazed more companies don’t make use of this medium. It has brought me some influential visitors, to say the least, and more than one job offer already.

Let’s put it this way, I’ve had this blog running for around two months now and it has helped me find work, and put me onto the screens of several prominent creative directors.

It’s been more effective for me than a print ad could ever be, it’s personal, it’s engaging, and also, it’s free!

I want to keep it informational, however, after all, my greatest traffic comes from those looking for insight on how to break into this crazy business.

If you start from the bottom and read up, it will give you an idea of the work involved.

Status Report III

Well I have been in Hong Kong almost three months now.

I have managed to meet almost all of the creative directors in town and land myself a month-by-month contract here at Publicis. I am very close, but still, I haven’t reached my goal. If you go back to my original post, you will see that I am at Step Eight in my Ten-Step plan.

I have been writing my story as well. I just finished Chapter 29. It’s about us hitching from New York to Texas in a 48-hour blitz.

Friday the 13th

The Chinese aren't too concerned about Friday the 13th. They say they already have too many other superstitions to worry about. For them, 4 is an unlucky number, and there is no fourth floor and whatnot. 13 is my lucky number, but I still get a bit paranoid on Friday the 13th. 4s don't bug me much though.

Big Shop vs Small Shop

There is some debate amongst creatives first starting out on whether or not they should begin their careers at the largest multi-national agency they can find, or a small shop.

The benefits of a large agency are that you are right into the game. Right off the start, you have the luxury of making big ads for big-minded clients on big budgets, so the imagination is the limit. These are ads that people will recognize and it adds to your overall credibility as a creative. This is nice.

However working for a small shop offers more discipline. You learn to really focus your creative on what will sell. You are dealing with small clients with small budgets. You are writing long copy for every account in every medium and at the same time juggling strategy, accounts, production and new biz; basically learning all the ins and out of the business as you go along. If an idea can stand up on a zero budget, it’s strong. If you have to write headlines around stock photos (or even photos that the client provides) then you are forced to be clever. There isn’t a slick production to hide behind. It is all about the idea. And a small shop will give you this focus.

That said, however, I am glad to have moved on to a big agency and that I can finally let my imagination loose, it’s time.

Blogs Still Strangely Underused in Advertising Agencies

You think a tool that is capable of putting your name, or your company’s name, straight to the top of the searches on Google would more readily utilized by advertising agencies. Similarly, you would think that those with the know-how and experience to make the most of such a medium would be in greater demand. I give it a year or so, and then every agency will be employing copywriters that can write long, compelling copy, on target, with the right voice. I mean, who thinks of looking for a hotel near the airport anywhere but online, and who doesn’t google a potential employer/employee before an interview?

Hong Kong copywriting

One thing I like about Hong Kong is that it is a nocturnal city. People thrive at night here, and they are moon-worshippers. This suits my lifestyle much better as I am a night owl, as well as an insomniac, the furthest thing from a morning person really.

I have been devouring books. I am onto Hemmingway now. He would have made a great copywriter.

Freelance Copywriting In Hong Kong

This city is all about work. Long hours, six days a week worth of work. On the weekends people pour into the streets to shop. I think shopping is Hongkongers favourite pasttime.


If you want to know what the Hong Kong experience is like: click here - freelance copywriter link

I bought a book by Augusten Burroughs, it's okay, he was a copywriter in New York in the early 90s and he has since published his memoirs. It's a good, fast read, but he has a way of pushing emotional buttons that I find slightly manufactured.

I liked the cover.

Mid Autumn Festival

It’s another holiday in Hong Kong. It’s 8 o’clock and I’m here by myself. I suppose I will go to Victoria Park and watch the Lantern Festival, as it is right by my place. The nice thing about being so busy is that you don’t have enough time to yourself to be lonely.

Psychology and Advertising

Having a background in psychology is useful in this industry. Getting into the head of the target market, be it a high powered business man looking for people he can trust, or a pennywise shopper out buying school supplies like pencils, erasers, post-its and protractor sets; I like to completely absorb myself into the role.

I find cognitive psychology especially useful. There are scientific studies that show the pathways information moves along from word to word, and how it is affected by priming. For instance, if I were to ask you to conjure up a mental picture of a ruler...

It would be the ruler you use to measure things, probably the wooden kind with the metal edge and not a ruler that reigns over the land. This is because of the previous priming in the paragraph above.

The studies of memory and the state-specific and location-specific factors that influence it, as well as how the brain differentiates between recognition and recall stimulus in its hardwiring make for very useful strategizing in media planning and conceptualization.

Then there is the 7 plus or minus 2 rule. People can only remember between 5 and 9 digits or items in a row.

For instance read this list, look away and see how many you can remember, write them down.

Fox, Rabbit, Hippo, Rhino, Tiger, Penguin, Goose, Crocodile, Elephant, Lizard

If you can remember all ten, you have an excellent memory. If it is between 5-9 you are normal. Most likely, you remembered the first and last.

Now, conjure up a mental picture of a scale.

Moving

Moving is a stressful, expensive and labour-intensive experience for most, but it isn’t so bad when you are nomadic like myself. I can carry everything that I own, albeit rather uncomfortably. This means I can pack up, move and reestablish in under an hour, which comes in handy when you are kicked out of your apartment to make room for vacationing mainlanders who will shell out an extra $4000 HK during the month of October only to get invited back for November as you are collecting your damage. Sheesh. My new place is okay, though, but no view.

It is bizarre that I spent so many years working for moving companies and auction houses, and moving furniture everyday. There is nothing that most people hate more than moving, but I kind of like it, on to new places and adventures.

In other news, I've made peace with Google.

Extension II

Excellent. I have been extended for another month.

Creativity

There is a certain state that you hit when doing creative work.

I am pretty sure everyone has experienced it at some point. It is when an idea just appears, out of nowhere. It happens in sports as well. But for me, as I spend most of my time writing, that's where I get the 'spark'.

Experimenting with the frequency of ideas, I would say that idea generation is kind of like a muscle. The more you force yourself to come up with ideas and the more time you spend on it, the more your brain becomes used to 'thinking sideways' or creatively. It is a fun way to see the world.

Here are a few ads that I think are just plain fun, but effective, and the kind of stuff I like.

Canal Plus - March of the Emperor

Coke - Videogame

Sci-Fi - Human Suit

American Express - Wes Anderson

Vodafone - Mayfly

My New Apartment

Well, I had to move. October is the busiest month in Hong Kong and for no reason at all, they told me I couldn't stay in this sweet room with the nice view any more.

It was impossible to reason with them, they just said I had to leave and then went off in Cantonese and laughed at me.

So, fine, I found a new place. It is more expensive, and there is no view, but it is at least brand new and a bit bigger than this place. It also has a TV and DVD.

It's HK7000, but I bargained them down to HK6500 a month. It's serviced so they come and clean it and whatnot. So it could be worse. Definitely a step down from this place though. I move in on Tuesday.

Work is as busy as ever. I had my first day off in ages yesterday, today I went in for seven hours and tomorrow I have to go in again, long weekend or no long weekend, there is work to be done.

As the apartment dude was taking me around the city showing me various rooms, the first one he showed me was on the 14th floor, which I would never do, either way, the place was like a cell, so I said no way. There was a restaurant up there overlooking the harbour, so as we were there the fireworks started and this random dude and myself watched the show for 30 minutes in a restaurant packed with people with the lights out. It was a bit surreal. The fireworks were good though.

Freelance Copywriting from a CDs perspective

Here is an interesting interview with Scott Goodson at Strawberry Frog. They are a small shop out of Amsterdam and New York that do most of their work by using freelance copywriters.

According to this interview, Canadians are the best in the biz -Shna!- and that consistently outsourcing freelance copywriters is the new way. Essentially, writers who are nimble, hard working, quick to pick up on voices and concepts and mobile will soon be the workforce of the future in advertising.

Sounds like I am well equipped.

For the time being however, I am still with Publicis Asia, it's great here.

I was pretty depressed today. I don't know why. Every so often the system just crashes. We didn't win the pitch, but KC has hinted that they might still keep me on. They told me I can't stay here in my apartment anymore, as October is high season in HK, so I need to find a new place, and the guy I was supposed to meet never showed. Ugh. Then, I find out google has shut me down! I think it was the post where I was misspelling words, hmm, either way, I've written them and apologized and made the necessary changes, so I hope they will let me back on. I'm still cool with msn and yahoo though. Also I got into a random conversation with some guy the other day and when he asked how old I was, he guessed 35. 35! I couldn't believe it, I asked him why and he said it was because I was fat! That really bummed me out, so today, I just started running. I ran for over two hours, at least a half marathon, through the frenzied streets of Hong Kong with all of these people looking at me and mumbling under their breath in Cantonese about this crazy fool smashing his way through the markets like a madman.

Now I feel great.

I am going to start running home from work. In Vancouver, I would run on my lunch breaks. It was awesome. There were hills and parks and trails through trees I could race through, usually with Daisy, so it kept me trim and sharp. I'd go to the gym and do about 30 reps on the bench press and then hit the showers, it was a good mid-day break, and by the time I left Vancouver I could bench and fly press 315 lbs. On Wednesdays we'd do the Grouse Grind. And on Sundays we'd play floor hockey. Then there was training for the marathon. A fit team is a productive team. Here, I work too long to even hit the gym once a week, and I run maybe twice a week tops. I am going to change this up a bit, KC has mentioned that he wants to go to the gym on the dinner break, so maybe we can work something out.

Pick a brand, any brand

First brand that comes to mind.








This is my favourite question to ask people if they say they are not affected by advertising.




My other favourite is to ask them to name three chocolate bars.


Top of mind advertising, usually through a combination of frequency and talk power, keeps things tip of the tongue in terms of awareness, recognition and recall.

But when it comes to emotional connections with brands, we are talking about a different story.

People want to own their favourite brands, so there has to be a bit of them inside it, be in class, edge or in the case the spirit of atheleticism, postivitism and fair play,


Nike.

Some Great Ads by Design House

Going Global

We have been working with Publicis New York and Publicis London for a global TV project for a Swiss bank. I hope they take our idea. It could be great exposure. We might even be able to shoot in Spain.

I have been writing for print, TV and even writing storyboards for virals. It’s fun stuff. Long long hours though.

Copywriting Freelance English

Things are going well at work. I am working on some great accounts now, TV scripts as well. That's always fun. Long hours though, I figured out that I worked 85 hours last week. Today is Saturday so I am going to buy some clothes, eat, go for a run and see if I can put hold on this apartment for another month, because apparently next month is high season.

When Writing and Brand Values Align

I think it is important to land a copy job where can write about values that are very close to your heart.

Here I get to write about the virtues or perseverance, determination and hard work to overcome obstacles and achieve your goals. If I can say anything about myself, it’s that I am tenacious. I attribute this to the abundance of dental professionals in my life.

Publicis is founded on the concept of La Holistic Difference, basically that the sum is greater than its parts. I have been thinking about this concept a lot while I’ve been here, and it’s quite true. Think of what makes you like someone, or why you find something beautiful, you never know, you can’t pinpoint it, but the whole picture is appealing.

I also get to write about synchronicity, which goes back to my psychology days, but it is something that has never left me. I am a believer in power of luck, but I also believe that everything happens for a reason, there are no coincidences, the universe is helpful and that luck takes sides (usually in my favour).

The Longest Day of Work in My Life

I worked a 20 hour day today. I started at 8 am and it's 4:30 am now, and I just got in the door. I had one hour of sleep last night because I couldn't sleep and now I am exhausted. The pitch we have been working on is set to go tomorrow. So hopefully it pans out. I am tired. Since I've been working in Hong Kong I have been averaging 70 hours a week. 20 hours in a day is a record for me.


I thought this was a long day. Little did I know what Hong Kong had in store for this freelance copywriter in Hong Kong.

Macao

Cool beans. Tomorrow I get to go to Macao. I'm stoked, another country to see.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a great city. It's not very big, in fact, you can pretty much walk across it. But there are seven million people here stacked up in skyscrapers hundreds of feet high. There is bustling activity everywhere and there is more neon here in such a concentrated area than anything I have ever seen. I love it, I love the commotion of it, I love the energy.

Causeway Bay on a Saturday night is wild. There are millions of people out just wandering around at one in the morning. You can go into the Wellcome supermarket and it is packed. From what I gather, Hongkongers are night owls.

Want to know more about freelance copywriting in Hong Kong? - click here.

I spent most of Saturday talking with my girlfriend, esteemed 1/2 marathon dynamo Maria Hruschak, a fantastic up and comer in the sport. It was our two year anniversary, so Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary.

The Life of an English Freelance Copywriter

I have to say, being an advertising copywriter is one of the best jobs in the world. I love it. It doesn't get much better than when your work is your two favourite things: thinking and writing. It's a great job. Crazy mind-bending puzzles every day.

It's the kind of job millions of people would love to have, but what separates the wheat from the chaff is the hours. Crazy hours: 12, 14, 16 hour days. It is intense. It's okay for me, because writing is my life right now and I don't really know anyone or have anything better to do. But I can see a lot of people going, "Well, I would rather just work at a job I think is okay and then spend time with my friends and family."

People always ask me, 'Do you know anyone here?' and I say, 'no.' Then they ask why I came to Hong Kong and I tell them I don't know. I really don't, but I like it here, and I'm going to stay.

I see they are even making a reality show now about people trying to break into a job as an advertising copywriter, a la The Apprentice.

I'm still not there yet, though. But there is a big pitch coming up, we'll see what happens.

This better not be one of those shows where everyday folk take glee in watching other's fail to reach unattainable goals. That's the kind of crap that made me stop watching TV (that and bad ads).

To find out more about what a day in the life of a freelance copywriter is like, click here.

Expression

I met with Vicki at Expression the other day. Expression is a very interesting magazine, much like a cross between a Luerzer's Archive and an art book. She needs a copywriter, or will, down the road, so we discussed working something out on a freelance basis when the time comes, although right now I have been busy with Publicis. It was good to meet her. I am sure that all of my meetings with various creative directors and recruiters and editors around town will prove to be worthwhile eventually. My meeting with Vicki was the 25th since I left Canada 7 weeks ago.

English Writing and the Online Presence

Sometimes people ask me what the point of an online presence is.

Google is a lot like the Yellowpages, for most people they only reference it when they are in immediate need of a service. It is reactive advertising.

So if you offer a service that is not needed in a reactive way, it wouldn't make any sense to advertise there. For instance, if you were to go through the Yellowpages, the biggest ads are alwasy for places like storage lockers, plumbers, car rentals, moving companies and things that you don't think about until you need them.

English Freelance Copywriters with international experience are like that. A Creative Director will either call whomever is top of mind, whomever's card s/he has nearby, or the first name that comes up in Google if all else fails.

Calling an english copywriter is about the equivalent to a normal consumer ordering a pizza. You have a few numbers stuck to your fridge that you call, but if they're busy, you call the biggest ad in the phonebook.

That is what online advertising is.

People make 200 million searches a day.

Google is the go to source for looking up information online, for many, it's their home page.

Extension

Excellent! KC has extended my gig for another month. Publicis is an awesome place to work. I'm loving it. I am at step 8 already...things are going well.

Long Days

In Hong Kong they work 12,14, sometimes 16 hours days. It's dizzying. I'm not afraid of hard work though.

Tomorrow technically is my last day, but I am hoping they will extend.

We'll see.

Copywriting and Strategic Planning

I come from a mixed background of both Copywriting and Strategic Planning. It has proved to come in very useful at Publicis. It's been long hours, that's for sure, but at least they are night owls like myself! I love the challenge of highly conceptual and creative work.

Freelance English Writer in Hong Kong - A Marketing Plan

I've written my personal marketing plan. It took me four hours.

My positioning is around my small-town ethics: transparency, reliability and integrity.

My competitive strength is my digital savvy and online presence.

Just search for an english writer in Hong Kong. You can't miss me.

Status Report #2

I managed to get my rent down a bit and I paid half today, the rest I'll pay in a few weeks.

I have work at Publicis lined up for a week.

I am 14 chapters into my book.

"The United States was a country built on credit, son."
-Bud, to Otto in Repo Man

Publicis

KC just called and he wants me to come in and work for a week. Aha! It's a start.




The best way to read this sprawling story is to scroll to the very bottom of this page and read your way up. It has everything from how I got my first break in Hong Kong, up what happened afterward.

Freelance English Copywriter - I own these words

In unexpected good luck, I see that out of 200,000 possible worldwide links on Google for Freelance English Copywriter that I am at #1.

Wondering why a freelance copywriter would need to promote himself online?

I contacted all of the CDs in Hong Kong that I have met in my month here and pointed them towards the post below. I hope it didn't freak them out! Either way, still no dice. I met with Darias at Star TV yesterday, and that went okay, I also met David Chow at 360. He is a fellow Canadian, so that might be an in. He wasn't all that impressed with my book, but he seemed to like me and my hustle (how could you not!)

Today I am meeting with KC at Publicis and the Oriented group. I am also going to start looking for bar jobs.


At this point, I switched gears to start my first novel. Click this English copywriter link to see why.

20 Meetings

It's been a lot of hustle trying to find a job in Asia.

Here are all of the people I've met with so far (going backwards this time)

1. Chris Kyme - 8 partnership Hong Kong
2. Ivy Lam - Links Hong Kong
3. Bernadette Johnstone - BlaneyMundy Hong Kong
4. Victor Manggunio - BBDO Hong Kong
5. Tony Peck - OgilvyOne Hong Kong
6. Simon Handford - Ogilvy and Mather Hong Kong
7. Colin Ruffell - Doremus Hong Kong
8. Tan Shen Wong - Y&R Hong Kong
9. Malcolm Costain - TBWA Hong Kong
10. Paul Chan - Grey Hong Kong
11. Dave Barlow - MRM Hong Kong
12. Wayne Knowles - DDB Hong Kong
13. Michaela Pejsar - Hudson Hong Kong
14. Hui Louie - Bates Hong Kong
15. William Tsang - BBDO Hong Kong
16. Frank Hahn - Wieden and Kennedy Shanghai
17. Paul Stanley - DDB Shanghai
18. Ella Zeng - Hudson Shanghai
19. Liza Law - JWT Shanghai
20. Stephen Kong - Leo Burnett Shanghai

What an ordeal. But nothing worth having ever comes easy.

It took me 35 meetings in Vancouver, so I figure I'm 2/3 of the way there.


So I have a whole lotta names and a whole lotta SEO going on. What does one do from here? Click this English copywriter link to find out.

Back to the Drawing Board

Met with Chris Kyme today. He had a few leads for me but still no dice.

I'm meeting with Star TV tomorrow.

Tomorrow I am also going to contact all of the Hong Kong CDs again with this link.

I've Decided To Take My Work Back Underground

I have a pretty wild story to tell.

I've been travelling for the last seven years and I have been all over the world, working at all kinds of jobs and having all these mad adventures.

I always figured I would write a book about it when I finished my way around the world by land. Basically, all I have left to do is a quick trip on the Trans-Siberian from Beijing to Moscow and I've been around the Earth.

I'll do that one day.

The point is, I always figured I would finish that trip and then write a story about my travels. But now, I don't have a job, or much to do, so I figured I would start it now. I wrote until 5 am last night, probably at least 15 pages. I was on a roll. It may not be the most interesting story in the world for some, but it needs to be written just for my own sake, and then I can go on to writing other stuff.

Needless to say, the job hunt has been a bit slow today. It's 4:30 and I just got back from lunch and I'm only now wiping the sleep out of my eyes. I'm off to see Chris at 6:00, other than that...it's just a waiting game. Haven't heard back from the freelancers or anyone for that matter. So I'll just keep writing.


When suddenly, just like that...a breakthrough. Click this English copywriter link to see my good news.

As The Phone Rings

And another! StarTV wants me to go in for an interview on Wednesday.

A Writer's Monday in Hong Kong

I met with two headhunters today. They had work, but the jobs were not in advertising, more editing etc. I am too honest. I basically told them that even if I took one of these positions as a survival job, I would drop it the second I was offered work in an agency.

I think that pretty much killed my chances.

What I need to do now is get myself registered as a company here in Hong Kong. That way I can get my working visa sorted out and use companies like this as freelance opportunities. One recruiter put me in touch with a girl I am to meet at a wine and cheese type party who has done the whole process from scratch. So I'm off to that on Thursday (looking for work gets you into the strangest places, it is always an adventure if you have the right attitude.)

I love when my phone rings. It only rings about two or three times a week, but it's always good news. I'm meeting with Chris Kyme tomorrow at 6.

Status Report

This job hunt has been nuts. But I think tomorrow will be a big day.

Where things are at:

I have met with 18 creative directors since I left Canada seven weeks ago.
I have spent almost all of my money, save about $7000 HK. ($1000 CAD)
Rent is coming up in a week. Rent is $6200 HK.
Meat and rice and some strange leafy vegetable costs $15 HK.
I need to eat twice a day.
And I need Ghost Squad and the odd beer to keep from going insane. (Ghost Squad is $3 a shot and beer is about $7)
Tomorrow I have 2 meetings and 3 freelance leads to follow up on.


A guy from Japan sent me an email saying he did the same thing six years ago. So it's good to know this is possible.

What happened next? Click this English copywriter link to find out.

Hong Kong Sunday

It's Sunday today. My plans are to go for a run, eat some rice and chicken and sleep.
Yesterday I went with Dave to take pictures of the markets that are going to be torn out to make way for skyscrapers. Hong Kong is an interesting city, it is built right into the side of a mountain coming out of the sea, so most of the city is on reclaimed land. They are building out into the sea more and more, and it is only a matter of time before Kowloon and Hong Kong join.














Things are slowly starting to fall into place...

I received a message from a woman named Queenie who has a back-translation freelance assignment for me. Just in time too. Dave referred me to her. I am also speaking with two recruiters tomorrow. Ivy at Links and Bernadette at Blaney Mundy. These were leads from Andrew Goldstein, whom I went to school with, he called me up from Dubai to try to help me out. He's a good guy.

Marc Stoiber gave me some names the other day as well. He worked in Hong Kong a few years ago. I'm hoping to meet with Chris Kyme sometime this week. If you are reading this, thanks Marc!

My View

I really like my view. I have seven panel windows full of sunlight that overlook the harbour. On a clear day, like this morning, I can see Kowloon and the boats sailing around in the strait. On a smog day, you can't see more than a couple hundred metres, it's a bit spooky.

This is part of the reason behind the Lights Out Hong Kong campaign.

I'm off to have lunch with David. He has another freelance lead for me.

As much as I love this view, and having my own space, the rent is a lot. I've devised a plan where I will ask the landlord about paying in installments, that way I might be able to stretch what I have out another couple of weeks or so.

Everything Creative Is Worthwhile

There is nothing like being in an industry where you are constantly producing creative work. Everything creative is worthwhile. It is a fixture. Four years ago I wrote an Inflight article about the West Coast Trail (I haven't figured out how to post pdfs yet).

But now, it is helping me find work in Hong Kong. Whatever you write doesn't disappear.

It is taking you to the next level, it is always beneficial.

My latest column has been published online. It is very apt if I do say so myself.

Young Jobseekers Use Digital Media Savvy to Crack Tough Job Market.

I know they were reluctant to publish this one, it took me a couple of re-writes to get it up to snuff. There is some blatant self-promotion in there, but at least it's topical!

In other news, David Barlow has some great leads for me regarding freelance work. Hopefully it works out.

In other, other, news - you may have noticed that I changed the name of the blog to Freelance English Copywriter. I figure 'english' is the key word here, although this may shoot me in the foot ten years from now. We'll see.

I am off to find some live music. Being cooped up in this room has started to drive me mad. It's 12:30 on a Friday. We'll see what kind of city this is.

Referrals

The world runs on familiarity. When I meet one creative director they give me the names and direct lines of two others, and so it builds. It was in this way that I was able to meet just about every CD in town. Referrals. If you are recommended by someone, you are more likely to secure another meeting. It is the closest thing to nepotism.

I did my calls and secured two meetings on Monday with two other recruiters, again, through referrals. They said there may be work...so let's hope.


So, you've contacted everyone you know and you've exhausted every connection that you have. Where do you go from here? It may seem hopeless at this point and you may feel lost, but you have to keep grinding. This is how I felt at this point freelance copywriter link.

My Day Job

I don't have a day job.

This is my vacation. Or, well, it started out that way. As it is I am still at $7450 HK. Rent is coming up soon, though, and that'll kill me if I don't figure out how to make some money fast.

So I am going to start writing travel articles for Inflight Magazines.

Dave Barlow of McCann put me in touch with some editors. I need to write up about 5 pitch ideas for stories and send them off along with an artilce I wrote for Pacific Coastal Inflight about 4 years ago.

Getting this story was a bit of a miracle. Pacific Coastal is long since defunct, but when I googled the edition one other author came up who had also published. I contacted her, and sure enough, she had a copy. She scanned it for me and emailed it over. What a sweetheart!

I might have to start looking for bar work soon.

Okay, it's 2:30, time to go through the list again and call everyone.

The Best Way to Get A Job

I have just posted an article about using digital media savvy to find work.

However, this is the best way to get a job.

Maybe not the best, but certainly the easiest.

My, a little bitter, are we? Here's where I was at in the hunt so far: English copywriter link

The Wait

I have two hours to kill until 2 pm. It is impossible to reach a creative director on the phone during lunch, so I'll wait. In the meantime, I've done a little searching online.

My latest article, Sustainability advertising in Hong Kong is out, but strangely enough it doesn't get picked up by the Google News in Hong Kong, only in Canada. I should probably get a better picture, the pixelation makes my skin look like Bryan Adams'.

They didn't run the intensely shameless one about my job search, not really news I guess.

I see I have competition. SL (initials) has let his website go, so he's no threat however. PR as well. Hmm. He has freelance english copywriter in Hong Kong squared off quite well. I'll put more emphasis on the english copywriter.

The online stuff is a bit of a project. With the latest article out I should see more traffic soon.

You may notice while reading Freelance Copywriter the tendency to shape sentences around the words as positive and professional and inviting

Admittedly, this can get in the way of the flow sometimes. I'll try to figure out a way around this. But for now, search engine optimization is king, readership, secondary. After all, I only have 2 hits so far!

ihaveanidea.org

ihaveanidea.org is a great resource for people looking for jobs in advertising. It used to be predominantly Canadian focussed, but I notice now it is attracting a global membership.

Ignacio suggested that I put this blog into the forum there. It might be something a lot of you can relate to.

Let me know what you think