I read something recently in AdAge's talentworks blog about how many ad shops are heading out to San Francisco in search of talent. It seems that the city by the bay is the place to be for agencies who want to go interactive with their marketing efforts. It's no wonder either, with technology giants Google and Apple headquartered in nearby Mountain View and Cupertino.



This is pretty good news since I've been considering making a move out west. My sister lives in San Jose and has been touting the benefits of the bay area for a while. It's sunny. There are beautiful mountains. There's plenty of things to do. Etc, etc. And you know what? Not having to endure another painfully cold Chicago winter is a pretty good motivator too.

Celebrity endorsements are an old standby of the advertising industry. They provide affirmations of the product's capabilities from a likeable and familiar face. In the world of sports, endorsements become even more important with entire lines of apparel being dedicated to one athlete. The Jordan brand alone is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

So who out there in the sports universe is making the big bucks in endorsement deals? CNNMoney released a list of the top ten and the answers are somewhat surprising. I expected superstar basketball player LeBron James to be number one, but he is actually only at number three trailing professional golfers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Another surprise: the margins between them aren't even close. Tiger is a huge number one with $100 million, Phil a strong second with $47 million, and LBJ a distant third with $25 million.

Needless to say, that's a lot of cash. It kind of makes me wonder if any companies will let me endorse something. With all of this holiday shopping to do, I'd schill for pretty much anything to get an extra buck or two. Seriously. I've got a trust worthy face, right?

The cover letter is a tricky thing for a lot of job seekers to deal with. It's supposed to be the part of the application that allows a potential employee to showcase their personality, not just their experience. Unfortunately, for many misguided souls the cover letter turns into a mangled train-wreck of poor grammar, incomprehensible syntax, and over inflated self-worth. Often, the results of these sad attempts become unintentionally hilarious examples of how not to get a job.

While searching for new potential internships, I came across the website of a small firm in Chicago called Killian Advertising. The good people at Killian have seen many cover letters and resumes come across their desks over the years and, disturbed by the number of just plain awful letters they had received, began compiling the worst of the worst on their website. From lame poetry to unbounded hyperbole, these are some very good examples of what we should all be trying to avoid. Enjoy!

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