The journal

Artificial.
Done artfully.

Notes on advertising, branding, photography, culture and the ideas that earn their way into the conversation.

01

Why Photojournalism Beats Branding Photography

Why unstaged pictures cut through a polished, automated visual world.

Read it →
02

Lesson From Our First Trimester

Notes from the first three months of an online newsletter.

Read it →
03

ABpictures

A route into Chris’s commercial and documentary photography.

Read it →
04

Favorite Ads From Other Agencies

A manual quest for advertising that actually touches the zeitgeist.

Read it →
05

Audio, Artfully: The Mixes of Bob Clearmountain

A listen for the craft behind records and movies that last.

Read it →
06

Buildings and Buzz

Photography, architecture and the story a space tells.

Read it →
07

Thievery and Generative Search

A point of view on attribution, art and generative tools.

Read it →
08

Friend Is Not a Verb

A short cultural argument about language and social media.

Read it →
09

10, or Maybe 3 Things I Hate About You

A contrarian note on visibility and being disliked.

Read it →
10

The C.J. Interview

Why someone who creates buzz for clients ought to practice it in public.

Read it →
11

Explore Ads, Buzz & Chat

An entry point to tactics, prompts and a 69-page whitepaper.

Read it →
12

$2,450,000 in Free Press From Three Free Ads

A career-defining return from a campaign that made a small town impossible to ignore.

Read it →
13

When It’s Time for a Quick Brand Fitting

For the moment when a business needs more than a look and less than a full rebrand.

Read it →
14

The Amazon Best Seller in Advertising for 2024

The story behind the second edition of Awareness Without Advertising.

Read it →
15

Otherworldly Gatherings

What live events can do when the audience is invited to participate.

Read it →
16

Le Mans, Mazda, and the Pursuit

A motorsports launch and the craft of a high-stakes reveal.

Read it →
17

Setting the Show, by the Numbers

A look at the scale and unexpected economics of events.

Read it →
18

Founding a Business Without People

A note on the human-light start-up trend.

Read it →