TCC Podcast #132: Telling the Truth About Advertising with Bob Hoffman

Former copywriter and Ad Contrarian, Bob Hoffman, is our guest for the 132nd episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. If you know anything about Bob and his special brand of commentary, you already know that you’re in for a treat. He’s been an outspoken critic of what’s wrong in the advertising world and he had a lot to say about privacy, ageism, and social media. Here’s what we talked about: •  Bob’s path from bad school teacher to contrarian copywriter •  the most important personal quality if you want to be a copywriter •  how to write in a way that attracts interest from your audience •  why he started his own ad agency—more than once! •  the dark side of running an agency and the difference when working alone •  the things about advertising that drive Bob crazy •  why privacy should be your #1 concern as a marketer and consumer •  what it will take to fix the privacy problem •  what ad agencies are doing well right now (spoiler: it’s not much) •  Bob’s complex love-hate relationship with social media •  the limits of brand building with social media •  the ultimate goal of the work that you do •  Bob’s process for selling better ideas to his clients •  the problem of ageism in advertising today—and why it matters We also asked Bob about what he’s focused on today, his book recommendations, and what’s next for him—no surprise, it’s another book—and his reluctance to tell us his predictions for the future.  To hear this one, click the play button below or download it to your favorite podcast app. Or you can scroll down for a full transcript.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Hoffman Lewis Bad Men by Bob Hoffman 10 Influencers Under 10 The Choice Factory by Richard Shotton Dave Trott Where Did It All Go Wrong? by Eaon Pritchard Eat Your Greens by Weimer Snijders Laughing at Advertising by Bob Hoffman Bob’s website Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground Intro: Content (for now) Outro: Gravity   Full Transcript: Rob:   This podcast is sponsored by The Copywriter Underground. Kira:   It's our new membership designed for you to help you attract more clients and hit 10k a month consistently. Rob:   For more information or to sign up, go to thecopywriterunderground.com. Kira:   What if you could hang out with seriously talented copywriters and other experts, ask them about their successes and failures, their work processes and their habits, then steal an idea or two to inspire your own work? That's what Rob and I do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast. Rob:   You're invited to join the club for Episode 132 as we chat with author, Ad Contrarian and chief aggravation officer, Bob Hoffman, about what's wrong and what's right in advertising today, what it's like to found two successful ad agencies, what copywriters need to know about marketing and copy right now and what it means to be a true contrarian in an industry where group think is rampant. Kira:   Welcome, Bob. Rob:   Hey, Bob. Bob:   Thank you, thank you. It's great to be here. Kira:   Bob, how did you end up as a contrarian copywriter? Bob:   I started as a contrarian person and then it led to me being a contrarian copywriter. Well, I started as a copywriter, I didn't really start as a copywriter. I started as a science teacher, believe it or not. Kira:   Oh, wow! Bob:   I was a science teacher for a couple of years in middle school and then I ran into a friend of mine who I hadn't seen since college, this was about three or four years after college and I asked him what he was doing and he said, ‘I'm a copywriter,’ and I said, ‘What's that?’ and he said, ‘I write ads,’ and he said, ‘And you would be really good at it.’ He said that to me because we had written some stuff together in college. He said, ‘You'd be really good at that,’ and at that time, I was fed up. I was a terrible teacher, and I always wanted to do writing,