As an example, when they took on the Mini Cooper as it was introduced to the U.S., most car companies’ ads and PR showed their car driving in the scenic outdoors. Their approach was to strap a Mini Cooper on top of an SUV and hit the cities. The SUV had a banner across the side of the SUV saying, “What are you doing for fun this weekend.”
When the company representatives from Germany traveled with the car to measure results, they reported they still didn’t know how to measure the results, except to say wherever they stopped, people took pictures. But no one was stopping to take a picture of any billboard, so they were certain the campaign worked.
Porter stressed the importance of new technology being a good thing for storytellers, allowing a direct connection to consumers. But the storytelling must be good – interrupting people just doesn’t work anymore, they can easily go elsewhere or scroll past. Also, ads are good, but inventions are better, even simple ones. His example - CP+B helped develop a “pizza tracker” for Dominoes displaying at the bottom of the screen where people were watching, showing the progress of their order – with graphics to match the type of program the customer was watching. It wasn’t complicated, but people loved it.
Measure everything. Except Porter believes creativity cannot be pre-measured. They use the internet to help measure the creativity of ideas, testing what works. Once they find a winner, they create an ad campaign.
Because they started as a small agency, they knew they couldn’t afford to hire people with all the experience, so they set a priority. They “hire for brains, talent, passion, curiosity, and experience in that order.”
The takeaway from his talk, do good work every day, try new ideas at a smaller level to see what sticks, remember the client and what goal they came to accomplish – then find a solution that engages people. It’s okay if you don’t know the answer, sometimes that’s the perfect jumping off point to finding creative ideas. And it always helps to have people to talk things over with when building creative concepts.PR Insights & Public Relations Strategy
By EPR Editorial Team3 min read
Chuck Porter – Ad Legend - Says PR is Better Than Advertising
By EPR Editorial Team3 min read
As an example, when they took on the Mini Cooper as it was introduced to the U.S., most car companies’ ads and PR showed their car driving in the scenic outdoors. Their approach was to strap a Mini Cooper on top of an SUV and hit the cities. The SUV had a banner across the side of the SUV saying, “What are you doing for fun this weekend.”
When the company representatives from Germany traveled with the car to measure results, they reported they still didn’t know how to measure the results, except to say wherever they stopped, people took pictures. But no one was stopping to take a picture of any billboard, so they were certain the campaign worked.
Porter stressed the importance of new technology being a good thing for storytellers, allowing a direct connection to consumers. But the storytelling must be good – interrupting people just doesn’t work anymore, they can easily go elsewhere or scroll past. Also, ads are good, but inventions are better, even simple ones. His example - CP+B helped develop a “pizza tracker” for Dominoes displaying at the bottom of the screen where people were watching, showing the progress of their order – with graphics to match the type of program the customer was watching. It wasn’t complicated, but people loved it.
Measure everything. Except Porter believes creativity cannot be pre-measured. They use the internet to help measure the creativity of ideas, testing what works. Once they find a winner, they create an ad campaign.
Because they started as a small agency, they knew they couldn’t afford to hire people with all the experience, so they set a priority. They “hire for brains, talent, passion, curiosity, and experience in that order.”
The takeaway from his talk, do good work every day, try new ideas at a smaller level to see what sticks, remember the client and what goal they came to accomplish – then find a solution that engages people. It’s okay if you don’t know the answer, sometimes that’s the perfect jumping off point to finding creative ideas. And it always helps to have people to talk things over with when building creative concepts.Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces reporting, research, and analysis across thirty verticals — communications, reputation, AI visibility, public affairs, media systems, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era. Publishing since 2009.
Other news
See all
EPR Editorial Team · 05/28/2026
The Alex Karp Playbook: Palantir's Founder-Intellectual Operation Predated Anduril
Palantir doesn't run the Palmer Luckey playbook. It runs the playbook that preceded it. Alex Karp built the founder-as-defense-intellectual architecture more than a decade before Anduril existed — and inside AI engines, that architecture still dominates defense software.
Ronn Torossian · 05/28/2026
Israeli Tech's Communications Reckoning
I work in AI Communications. Watching Israeli tech from the ground this year, the headline story — the shekel — is real. The story underneath is bigger. Four patterns.
EPR Editorial Team · 05/28/2026
How Anthropic Turned Claude Into a Consumer Brand
For two years Claude was the AI insiders respected and consumers didn't ask for by name. In 2026 that flipped — a brand-demand story, not a model story.
Never Miss a Headline
Daily PR headlines, weekly long-form analysis, and our proprietary research drops — straight to your inbox.