16 Resources For the Advertising Folks to Flock

While browsing through some creative campaigns I chanced up on a few blogs that speak about advertising both good and bad in general. There were some pretty interesting stuff to read about and came to know of a lot of campaign materials that I hadn’t seen previously. At WATBlog we have always put digital advertising content at the forefront, considering that’s the industry we cater to. However, advertising being advertising asks for a similar approach (albeit different execution) regardless of the medium, and hence digital or not we advertising beings are all the same breed really. So this one goes out to all our offline advertising friends, another small resource list from the WAT stable:

1. Ad Goodness – Advertising/Design Goodness started in May 2005 with the mission to showcase only the best advertising and design around the globe. But sometimes you have to show the very worst as well in order to know what great ads and designs are. This site is there to start a conversation, to inspire, to enjoy great work, or to just talk about what your views are.
2. Third Way Blog – The blog claims to be the place for Straight Talk from Client Side. The brand managers view on campaigns and advertising, on whether the money spent was worth it or wasted. Predominantly north American, but considering that’s where most ideas originate from we can do with it.
3. GapingVoid – I have been a big fan of Hugh Macleod since the time I read his popular E-Book – How to be Creative. Famous as the stable for his cartoons drawn on the back of business cards, Gapingvoid is an excellent place for the creativity seekers and marketers in general.
4. I Believe in Adv – is a resource full of smart creatives from around the world, and is one of the best places to find innovative and unique creative practices among advertisers.The blog caters to wide array of categories including Outdoors, photography and art, Television and movies and even digital media.
5. Sandeep Makam’s blog – Chanced up on this blog some while back, and found some interesting stuff on advertising. Sandeep runs an interactive full service agency in Chennai, and I really like his blog. Too bad there hasn’t been an update since over a year though, still the archives are worth a look.
6. Ads of the World – A straight, no bullshit ad repository.
7. Ad Freak and Brand Freak – Part of the Adweek network, these blogs feature some crazy ass advertising from all around the globe. They also feature some really good names in their contributors list.
8. Make the Logo Bigger – is Bill Green’s marketing blog. As an art director he gives his views on brands and advertising and campaigns.
9. Ernie Schenck’s Blog - Ernie is an ad veteran and has been in the field for nearly 3 decades. He has won quite a few awards and accolades for hsi work over the years and the blog is his repository of thoughts on advertising.
10. Fallon Planning – This is what the blog announces on arrival – “Share ideas that inspire. FALLON PLANNERS (and co-conspirators) are freely invited to post trends, commentary, obscure ephemera and insightful rants regarding the experience of branding.”
11. JaiWal/Creative in London – is a rather new creative blog by two young guys, and they call their blog Creative in London. I found some interesting stuff on their pad, and hence they make their way to this list. They also place their views and thoughts besides the regular creative snippets in the form of ads, which gives a different image than most other resources on this page.
12. Creativity-Online – Is another major resource place with loads of advertising related content and campaign information. They even put up some campaigns for readers to rate, giving a lot of ideas on how people perceive and act on creative stuff, which to my mind is vital for any ad creative guy to know.
13. Brand Autopsy – I landed up on the blog and read one article, then another, and then an entire series, it had me hooked. Amazing content and very readable. The blog focuses on branding, advertising and marketing giving some valuable advice.
14. Desi Creative – Indians needn’t be far behind and in Desi Creative we have our advertising and creative’s blog. They could do with a better template, but the content is mighty good regardless.
15. AdAge - It is unlikely that if you are into advertising, and have spent a fair bit of time online, that you don’t know about Advertising Age. It is by far the biggest and the best resource for advertisers online and is itself a bigger repository of resources for advertisers than this list.

There you go, hope you find these sites as useful as I did and help you learn a lot more about advertising. If you have any other sites you recommend please do add them in the comments.