Creativity Tip: Hey Kids, This is Advertising

Budzilla's comment on Tuesday, "Creativity is the art of forgetting your sources," reminded me of a tip I wanted to share with you ... a tip about the time-honored tradition of "stealing" ideas whenever and wherever you can.

As it turns out, I'll have to talk about that later. Right now, I need to share the tidbit I found when I went online to "steal" a Hamburglar image from McDonald's to illustrate my point.

The Happy Meal site includes very small print that says, "Hey kids, this is advertising." I kid you not. I couldn't make this up.

"Hey kids, this is advertising." Yep, I'm lovin' it.

So, just to make sure we're all clear on this: Hey kids, this is advertising. I write for a living. Writing is how I keep the family fed (generally with food that doesn't come with a toy). So if you know anyone who needs an easily amused and rapid writer, please -- keep me in mind.

And here's a tip to go with the rant: You never know where inspiration or ads will come from, so keep those eyes wide open!