Here's a little help for clients and copywriters: I learned it from Anne McFadden, my creative director when I was a kid in Pittsburgh. I think she learned it from a guy at Ketchum, who learned it at Ted Bates. Check it out. In 29 seconds, at a conversational pace, a professional announcer can say...69 words. So, count 'em up. For a 30 second spot, that's all you get.

We just learned that we're going to be branding a company in Hawaii, and I'm sure you'll be hearing more about it as the initiative goes along. They are very polite people, but very strong. It's refreshing, if unnerving, in contrast of the growing tendency toward posturing and bombast among business people today. Not to go down another rabbit trail (here we go), but have you noticed how business interactions have become more combative and loud lately? Anyhow, our Hawaii clients are not that way. And I'm glad of it. We've been planning a visit in a couple of weeks.…

We've been looking at hybrids for quite a while. We knew our ancient cars would eventually wear out, and we knew we wanted to replace them with something more fuel efficient and something that would be a better environmental stewardship testimony. I think a lot of people have those two motives (in some combination) for going hybrid: save money, be responsible. Our pal, Zufall, was more about saving money (I think). He talked a lot about wanting a hybrid car that got really good mileage, but "looked" like a normal car. He was not interested in making a statement. He…