My Immutable Laws of Business

DIARY OF AN ADMAN My Immutable Laws of Business David Ligon, Creative Principal, Sacramento December 18, 2014 If you’ve ever been near my desk, you may have noticed sayings stuck to my walls and cabinets.  I didn’t realize it when I wrote them, but I was writing some of the laws that govern my business. Don’t get jealous, get better. If it’s not original, think harder. The bathroom is where all good things come out. (also: The cleaner my house, the happier my clients). Never get so stressed that life stops; the irony will be lost on you. Shotguns save time. Nothing is worse than no. Entrepreneur and author Mike Michalowicz would call these my Immutable Laws.  Let me explain what they mean. Ligon Media’s Immutable Laws Don’t get jealous, get better.  Don’t spend a lot of time wanting what someone else has- instead figure out what you need to do to achieve the success yourself. If it’s not original, think harder.  Clichés are for the clichéd.  If you describe yourself or your company as the “premier” or “leading,” congratulations, you have entered the late 1990’s.  If you’re revolutionary then you’re on about the 100th evolution of that term. If you’ve seen it done a thousand time before, trust me, so have your customers and they won’t remember you doing it.  Think a little longer.  Come up with a new idea or at the very least, a new way to say it.  If you want to stand out, then don’t wear the same uniform as everyone else … unless you’re the only one with pink hair. The bathroom is where all good things come out....
ELECTION 2004: Fun With Cake.

ELECTION 2004: Fun With Cake.

DIARY OF AN ADMAN ELECTION 2004: Fun With Cake. David Ligon, Creative Principal, Sacramento June 17, 2016 Since today is election day and in honor of my new series “Take A Look Back Tuesday,” here was a fun little election announcement project from the past. In November 2003, I had one of those “Ready. Set. Go” moments.  Popular radio talk show host Tom Sullivan was going to announce live on his radio show whether he would run for the 2004 Republican nomination for Congress or continue with his radio program (this is before he took his show national).  I came up with a fun idea for my bakery client to bake him a cake that covered either decision (just turn the cake around and it would support his choice).  Unfortunately, I thought up the idea two nights before Sullivan’s big announcement. The next morning (one day before Sullivan’s announcement), I was with Ettore Ravazzolo, owner of Ettore’s Restaurant and European Bakery (my client at the time), for a noon TV gig. I told him about this fun idea and too bad I hadn’t come up with it sooner, because we could have done it. Or so I thought. Later that afternoon, Ettore’s general manager called to tell me Ettore wanted to do the cake, but they would need the artwork by 6:00 p.m. (the call came a few hours before that).  At the time, this was only an idea, there was no artwork to give them. I hadn’t even fully formulated what I would write or create. So with only a couple of hours to write out the concept, create the artwork, get it approved and get...

Storyboard Even If You Can’t Draw

DIARY OF AN ADMAN Storyboard Even If You Can’t Draw David Ligon, Creative Principal, Sacramento October 28, 2014 Whenever I do a commercial, or make a short film, I storyboard it.  And although I can draw a picture with words, I can’t with a pen.  And you know what, it doesn’t matter.  I’m not making a multi-million dollar Hollywood movie.  I’m making a small budgeted project and the storyboard is really a cheat sheet that shows the client, actors, photographer, and even reminds me, the director, what is intended in the scene. Why does the director need to be reminded?  Because while on set, things can get hectic.  And that clarity of every shot I had a week before in the tranquility of my office goes out the window when I’m being harried and pulled in multiple directions, while having to get all my shots in a limited amount of time. Since I can’t draw, and haven’t invested in storyboarding software, my storyboards are usually created in one of two ways — stick figure drawings or stock photos.  Are they pretty? Nope. Do they work? You bet. “Your storyboard should be a finished commercial or scene. Visualize it in your head; watch the scene play out and then create the storyboard.” So don’t let the fact that you can’t draw, or that you don’t have time to be real artistic with the storyboard, prevent you from creating one.  The first thing you need to do is get a template.  You can either use a premade template, or do what I did and create your own.  Don’t bother storyboarding until after you have a finalized script, or else you are...
BARGAIN OR RIP OFF? POINT OF REFERENCE DICTATES WHICH.

BARGAIN OR RIP OFF? POINT OF REFERENCE DICTATES WHICH.

When I was in college, I bought my ties at Macy’s for about $30 per tie.  It’s where my other tie-wearing friends bought theirs.  One day I discovered Marshall’s and was looking at designer ties alongside an elderly couple.  I remember the man exclaiming to his wife: “I can’t believe these ties cost $10.”  I was thinking the same thing.  We were on the same page- except he was complaining that the ties were 10 bucks, while I was praising my good fortune.  How come we looked at the exact same ties and one of us thought we were being ripped off, while the other was thrilled at the great bargain?  It was because of our “point of reference.”  In my mind ties cost $30; the elderly man thought ties shouldn’t cost more than $3.  Neither of us were wrong, it’s just our life experiences were different. (just as there are people reading this who wouldn’t be caught dead in a $30 tie). Customer Expectations These experiences often dictate what we see as a good value.  When I was a kid candy bars cost no more than 35 cents.  Today, they’re about a buck.  But since in my mind they should only be 35 cents, I haven’t bought a candy bar in years.  Not because I’m cheap or because I don’t like candy bars, but because I always think I’m being ripped off.  My point of reference is based on when I used to buy lots of candy bars, and no matter how much evidence I see to the contrary, psychologically, candy bars are 35 cents. Period. (or they’re handed out for free on Halloween). So why’s this important?  Because...

DIARY OF AN ADMAN Advertising Plays Fun Role in David Ligon Films David Ligon, Creative Principal, Sacramento September 16, 2014 Since my last article dealt with clichéd local ads, I thought it might be fun to post some of the silly ads that I have done in my short films. While writing the last post, I realized that advertising is a consistent theme in my movies. (hint: mouseover name of film for a brief synopsis). Either I create commercials inside the movie (“as advertised”; “Inside Scoop”; “Terror Detectives”), or a phony brochure (“Meow!”); or discuss advertising (“Portrait of a Red Light Woman”; “Ménage à Ted”); or simply used actual creative work as a backdrop for an office because the character presumably works in advertising (“Pilgrimage to Becca”). Since I create comedies, I try to make it humorous too.  I assembled this little montage of advertising in my films. Although out of context, they’re still kind of fun and I think safe for work – ish. (although if you are easily offended, I would recommend not watching).  Unfortunately, most of these are pre-high definition. In order of clips – “as advertised” (actor: David Ligon; vocals: Dan Wallace), “Terror Detectives” (actors: Sean Morneau, Cameron Johnson; vocals: Dan Wallace), “Inside Scoop” (actors: Rae Wright, Vincent Dee Miles; vocals: Dan Wallace), “Meow!” (actor: Galen Howard; voiceover: Mark Hoffman), “Portrait of a Red Light Woman” (actor: Sean Morneau), “Pilgrimage to Becca” (actors: Kelly Symone, Galen Howard), “Ménage à Ted” (actors: Cameron Johnson, Sean Morneau, Vincent Dee Miles, Justin Blenkle, Rae Wright (on computer screen)) and “as advertised” (actor: David Ligon; vocals: Dan Wallace). Contact Us If you like, share. If you don’t like,...
CREATE ORIGINAL TV COMMERCIALS – THINK HARDER

CREATE ORIGINAL TV COMMERCIALS – THINK HARDER

I have a sign on my wall I wrote that simply reads: “If it’s not original, think harder.”  So if I ever make this suggestion: “We should mimic those ‘the most interesting man in the world’ commercials – it’ll be good … and so funny.”  You have my permission to slap me.  The commercial will not be good nor funny, it will simply be bad.  Really bad.  I can’t stress enough how bad it will be.  Because unless you are really talented — you cannot, will not, and should not try and pull it off.  You will fail.  Miserably. And then have to face the embarrassment of these commercials on TV. Because I have seen way too many local commercials (and let’s be frank, late night national ones too) that are so terrible, I started a file on my computer entitled “God Awful Local Commercials.”  I haven’t decided if I’m going to contact these companies to let them know just how bad their commercials are.  I suspect they already know.  Maybe not.  I’m certainly not going to publically mention them here, although if you are familiar with local Sacramento TV commercials you might be able to figure out who I am referencing in some of my examples here. Let me state I don’t mean every local commercial falls into this category.  There are a lot of good ones, but there are those that just leave me shaking my head wondering how someone could’ve created this and actually charged money.  And how a client could have approved the concept when presented with it. In a nutshell the problem with most local commercials is the people who...