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19

Thomas Kemeny

Writing Your Way Ahead

Mike Tyson said “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” That's how I feel every time I try to write something. You don't really realize how hard writing is until you actually sit down and actually do it. If it’s any consolation, just remember the copywriting law of physics from this episode’s guest: If a problem exists, so does the solution.

Thomas Kemeny has made a career writing for advertising, one of the most challenging written mediums. You need the copy to sell, but it can't be salesy. It's gotta make people smile, but you can't come off as trying to be funny. The shorter the better, but make sure to pack in all the features and benefits. Got it?

For people who have practiced this all their life like Thomas, writing for advertising is an art, a science, and a business. And for the rest of us to learn, Thomas wrote one of the very few books on how to write advertising copy. The book is called Junior, and today we'll talk about many of the lessons he shares in this book.

In this episode, Thomas will take us through copywriting exercises to generate headlines using the shortcuts and “dirty tricks” the industry has used for decades. He talks about how his creative process involves tricking your brain into never thinking it’s done, so that you can push from the logical and into the nonsensical before arriving at an unexpected solution. Best of all, Thomas reveals what he calls “the secret rule for great work” which no company will ever actually abide by.

Enjoy the show, enjoy his book, and enjoy making Hungarian chicken paprikash.

Listen : Spotify | Apple | YouTube

“Focus on human connection more than logical persuasion”

Show Index

01:45 - Q&A with Scott Norton
05:15 - Interview with Thomas Kemeny
08:30 - Thomas’s Writing Warmups
14:24 - Breakthrough with Oscar Insurance
18:45 - Thomas Works on Sir Kensington
26: 25 - Thomas’s Advice for Persuasion
31:37 - The Cheap Tricks of Ad Writing
46:58 - At Large and Off The Cuff

Show Notes

Ep. 19 — Thomas Kemeny

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Listen

19

Thomas Kemeny Writing Your Way Ahead

“Focus on human connection more than logical persuasion”

Show Index

Show Notes

Writing Your Way Ahead

Silencing the Discursive Mind

Thomas Kemeny

Writing Your Way Ahead