In the world of promotions, you know you've come up with some good chachka if the client prospect you ship it to keeps it for the next seven years....


Back in 1999, when I was VP of corporate communications for a company called PageNet, I was sent a coffee mug by Maddock Douglas, a Chicago ad and design firm that wanted to do business with us.
We never did do business with Maddock Douglas, but I still remember the firm's name and have retained a positive impression of them. Why? Because I liked the darned mug so much.
Mike Maddock has given me permission to post the copy from the mug, which provides "101 Ways to Brew Up a Great Idea." Hope you find it as inspiring as I have -- again and again -- on sleepy-eyed mornings.
1.
Take a warm bath.
2.
Go for a drive with the windows open.
3.
Order Chinese food and eat it with chopsticks.
4.
Call a random phone number – ask a stranger.
5.
Ask a child.
6.
Create an idea that would get you fired.
7.
Paint your bedroom.
8.
Consult tarot cards.
9.
Gargle.
10.
Play football.
11.
Sing a show tune on a crowded elevator.
12.
How would your favorite uncle solve the problem?
13.
Doodle.
14.
Do a crossword puzzle.
15.
Pray for a little help.
16.
Ask the most creative person you know.
17.
Ask the least creative person you know.
18.
Run.
19.
Ask your local postal worker.
20.
Ice skate.
21.
Take a shower with your clothes on.
22.
Ask yourself, "What rhymes with orange?"
23.
Talk to your favorite cheerleader about the idea.
24.
Breathe slowly.
25.
Flip a coin.
26.
Mow the lawn.
27.
What is the simplest solution?
28.
Do 20 quick push-ups.
29.
Go shopping!
30.
Write the alphabet backwards.
31.
Build a fort in your office.
32.
How would an ant solve the problem?
33.
Create a silly solution that rhymes.
34.
Make paper airplanes.
35.
Use three wishes to solve your challenge.
36.
Browse through a bookstore.
37.
Take a survey.
38.
Make a sculpture with mashed potatoes.
39.
Fish.
40.
Go to Vegas, play a lot of craps.
41.
Daydream.
42.
How would you solve it with an infinite budget?
43.
Write out the problem with your opposite hand.
44.
Sing the National Anthem with a cockney accent.
45.
Eat dinner.
46.
Change your brand of coffee.
47.
Wash dishes.
48.
Find the solution in the clouds.
49.
Swing.
50.
Take a nap at your desk.
51.
Go bowling.
52.
Spin in your chair shouting: "WHOOPEE!"
53.
Eat a snow cone.
54.
Contort your face in a strange and unusual ways.
55.
High-five yourself.
56.
Go camping.
57.
Take Spot for a walk.
58.
Massage your scalp for 10 minutes.
59.
Play musical chairs.
60.
Go for a walk in the rain.
61.
Pick up something with your toes.
62.
Communicate.
63.
Stand on your head.
64.
Stand on someone else's head.
65.
Go for a drive.
66.
Call a psychic hotline, laugh at their predictions.
67.
Caffeine.
68.
More caffeine.
69.
Imagine explaining the idea at an awards banquet.
70.
Make a prank phone call.
71.
Think about it before you go to sleep.
72.
Call mom, she can fix anything.
73.
When in doubt, resort to duct tape.
74.
Watch slasher movies to boost your creative confidence.
75.
Fly a kite.
76.
Shake up a can of pop and open it.
77.
Go for a walk.
78.
Draw a picture of it.
79.
Pretend to snorkel.
80.
Think like a child.
81.
Walk outside and wave to a stranger.
82.
Look at the person's paper next to you.
83.
Climb a tree.
84.
Find a new word in the dictionary.
85.
Take an ice cream break.
86.
Make a daisy chain.
87.
Dance a polka.
88.
Play in a toy store.
89.
Just don't think about it.
90.
Jump on a treadmill.
91.
Alphabetize your refrigeratables.
92.
Pretend like it doesn't matter.
93.
Paint with your fingers.
94.
Clean your toilet.
95.
Lose yourself in your favorite music.
96.
Watch old black & white reruns.
97.
Listen to bees.
98.
Walk in a grocery store .... notice clever solutions.
99.
Rake the leaves in your yard.
100.
Sit outside and count the stars.
101.
Still can't find the answer? Call Maddock Douglas at 630.279.3939.
Mike asked me to mention that Maddock Douglas is "the agency for companies driven by innovation. We invent relevant new products, brand them and use unconventional marketing to help propel them into the world."
Least I could do.