It’s one photograph. Taken at a birthday party in May 1981. Chances are no one remembers the party. But the photograph — Pat’s 12th Birthday — is one you’ll never forget. For it represents everything that photography is, and all that a great photographer can achieve. As with all photographs…

The real problem is that we expect too much. We want every game to be like Super Bowl 49, when the Patriots’ rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted a Seattle pass in the end zone with 66 seconds left to cement the win. And we want every commercial to be another…

I’m pretty excited to have worked on the fifth edition of Hey Whipple, Squeeze This — The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads with the original author and legendary copywriter Luke Sullivan. Much as changed about our industry since the last edition of this legendary book, never mind the first…

For young creatives, it can be tough staring at the blank white screen or page. Here’s a helpful guide to start generating ideas. Brand or product: What is it, what does it do? Its truth: What is the single truest thing you can say about the product? Be honest. …

By Andy Slaughter, a first-year BU COM graduate student in public relations and The COMmunicator’s editor in chief. Eight undergraduate COM students celebrated campaign awards on Wednesday from The Hatch Awards, the country’s largest regional creative advertising show hosted at the House of Blues. Judged by many of the most…

Use the right typeface. If you’re updating your resume: avoid the Comic Sans typeface. It looks friendly but is the equivalent of Porky Pig reading the Gettysburg Address. I have worked with the documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, who conducted an online survey and discovered that people are more inclined to believe something printed in Baskerville. It has an amazing refinement and credibility. So says designer Michael Bierut in this great interview in the WSJ.

Both need creativity, storytelling and data. — As advertising becomes more about earning attention and creating owned content, and PR agencies do more video and creative production, it gets harder to distinguish between the two — other than the typical examples that might compare corporate PR or IR to an ad agency’s creative department. In the past…

This Volkswagen missed the boat. The chrome strip on the glove compartment is blemished and must be replaced. Chances are you wouldn’t have noticed it; inspector Kurt Kroner did. In 1960 Volkswagen ran what may have been its most famous ad ever. Lemon. The one-word headline described a 1961 Beetle…

“At the heart of an effective creative philosophy is the belief that nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature, what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action, even though his language so often can camouflage what really motivates him.” Bill Bernbach Writing a great brief…