Advertising has had a bad rap over the years. It's been called shallow, materialistic, disingenuous and promoting unrealistic standards.
While these claims aren't without foundation, I also happen to think they exhibit the same level of (...)
Dad to his child, after the first day of school: Son, what did you learn today?
Son: Not enough, dad, I'll have to go back tomorrow.
Does anyone actually learn anything in school?
I mean, aside from unintentional things, like bowing to (...)
A few weeks ago, Ricardo De Menezes (known among soccer fans as Kaka) turned down a staggering £108 million transfer from Milan to Manchester City. A deal which would have seen him get paid an obscene £500,000 a week.
Last week, a senior (...)
My recently acquired partner expressed a concern, recently. Should we be together for the long-term, would I respond to the inevitable loss of passion in a relationship by seeking stimulation of the carnal variety elsewhere.
In other words, would (...)
I've always loathed chess, the way you hate anything you've never been particularly good at.
I'm not good at it is because I don't have a brain suited to making moves that are five steps ahead of my intentions, or a drive to deliberately (...)
I have a new resolution for the new year: Instead of resolutions, I'm going to admit any unpleasant truths about myself that came to light in the previous year. And then I'm going to work hard to accept them.
Not change them . just accept (...)
The world is no picnic at the moment.
Financial meltdown threatens to eradicate the very cornerstones of the global economy, war and terrorism lurk menacingly, promising loss of life and endless anxiety. Even the very planet we live on is (...)
Professional acceptance is a curious mix of the things you can do and the things-you-look-like-you-can do. A marriage of style and substance, if you like.
Talent is good, a strong work ethic to go with it is even better, but looking and sounding (...)
This morning, I woke up and discovered that I'd been castrated.
I have no idea when this happened. Could have happened last night or last year. I don't even discount the possibility that this unfortunate act could have been visited upon me, a few (...)
The best book ever written is "1984 by George Orwell.
In this taut, nightmarishly-plausible tale of a future gone bad, the government monitors the thoughts and actions of all its citizens, indoctrinating them toward embracing the collective over (...)
It's safe to say that I have a fractious relationship with celebrities.
They're stupid, self-involved, preening, shallow, predictable, entitled, obsessed with their image, convinced they're better than me and they spuriously demand privacy when (...)
The other day, the company Creative Director showed up at my office, early in the morning, with a 40-something year old lady in his tow. He introduced me to her by name only, and we shook hands. Then I enquired if she had just joined the (...)
There's no hope for hype.
It's why that superbly reviewed movie all your friends were talking about, "smelled to heaven, as Shakespeare put it. Or why that Michelin Star restaurant recommended by everyone and their grandmother, tasted no better (...)
In less than three days, the people of the United States will begin the process that identifies the person who will take on, arguably, the most important job in the world.
I refer, of course, to the open auditions for American Idol.
No, I'm (...)
Youth is wasted on the young.
It's a familiar refrain that's oft repeated by older people, often rueing their own misspent youth. It's part warning, part jealous lashing-out and eight parts smug (...)
I noted, with interest, this week that the group of tourists who were kidnapped in Southern Egypt relied on GPS to inform authorities of their exact location which contributed greatly to their safe return.
This, of course, is unacceptable: GPS (...)
In the field of advertising, as in life, a healthy dose of self-esteem isn't a nice-to-have. It's a must-have.
Let me put it in less dramatic terms: Without it, you're dead.
So your parents did a number on you. Or maybe you were blighted with (...)
This week, on the advice of my editor, I m going to keep my opinions to myself. Her concern is that some of my vehement rants might be too dark for the bright, sunny world that you, the easily-startled readers, seem to inhabit.
Instead, I plan to (...)
People are simple creatures who do complex things. That's what makes them so hard to figure out. Working in advertising (or the media, in general) is a great way to observe people in their unnatural habitats and understand what makes them (...)
Every time I'm tempted to proclaim the era that we live in as the most depressing ever, I remember that I never had to fight in a war or live as somebody's slave. Then again, I do live in an age where Celine Dion is allowed (even encouraged) to (...)
Last Tuesday, right on schedule, my sister-in-law popped out a happy and healthy baby girl, who was promptly named Lara.
Given that my family has a history of bestowing gender-inappropriate names on its progeny ? my own parents named me 'Shereen' (...)
People have different tastes. Based on the movie "Pineapple Express, which I watched this weekend, you could make the argument they have no taste at all.
Let me give you an example of the kind of questionable taste to which I refer.
A couple (...)
Last week, my editor suggested, with all the subtlety of an anvil wrapped in a silk sheet, that it might be a good idea to use Ramadan as the theme of this week's column. Being the team player that I am, I decided it might be worth sharing my views (...)
When I left Egypt in 1999, I was very excited about one thing above all else: the choices I would have when I got to New York.
That's what getting out of Egypt represented in those days: choice. I was psyched at the prospect of seeing independent (...)
If it's true that love makes the world go round, Newton's got some explaining to do.
What is love anyway? Has there ever been a word so overused and yet so poorly understood? Why is it so widely accepted as truth by 99.9 percent of the (...)