Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Bringing ideas to life in an organization can be a bumpy ride.

We’re all familiar with the myth of Isaac Newton sitting under the apple tree, waiting for inspiration to fall on his head. Newton’s apple is one of the more common symbols of innovation, right up there with Archimedes shouting Eureka from his bathtub. Metaphorically, that’s what we do when go to a brainstorming meeting to come up with new ideas. If the conditions are right, and the coffee strong enough, the next great idea just might fall on our heads.

What is often overlooked is what happens next, after the apple falls, when we have to actually bring that idea to life. If we’re not careful, Newton’s apple can turn into Newton’s applesauce, a watered down imitation of the idea. One of my first cartoons (back in 2002) was about this phenomenon.j...

Nothing says "family" like pretending to love the terrible gifts your relatives have gotten you for the holidays.

That, at least, is the basic premise of a new 30-second Christmas ad from Heineken starring Benicio del Toro, and emphasizing that Heineken is, technically speaking, a family-owned business.

Part of Publicis Worldwide's new "There's more behind the star" campaign, it's the latest in a series of spots, launched earlier this year, featuring the A-list actor as a spokesman for the brewer, whose logo is, like him, a star....

As part of a tasty new tourism campaign, ad agency Lapiz just made Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs a reality. But instead of soup and juice, this futuristic cloud rains something altogether more buzzy—tequila.

Lapiz, a unit of Leo Burnett, used ultrasonic humidifiers to vibrate tequila at a frequency that actually turned it into visible mist. This mist was then condensed into liquid form, which fell as raindrops. All of this happened as a special exhibit in Berlin, Germany, during the rainiest month of the year—to promote Mexico as a vacation destination....

That dog won't hunt, but it will rack up debt via chew-toy impulse buys. Canada's Zulu Alpha Kilo is well known for elaborate self-promotions, like its recently revamped agency website poking fun at agency websites. But the shop does have real clients,...