Skip To Main Content
John Long on Muck Rack

John Long

  • Executive Creative Director, Digitas North America
  • Contributor, Freelance
New York
As seen in: Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel, LinkedIn, Adweek, Flipboard, The Drum, The New Republic, American Thinker, Climbing Magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, Korn Ferry and
Author, ZOMBIE BRANDS (#1 New Release, Advertising) | ECD, Digitas | Ogilvy, Huge, The Economist | Cannes, Clio, Effie | Webby+Effie Judge. Let's go Knicks.

Get in touch with John

Contact John, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.

Learn more about Muck Rack

Actions

Share this page

Articles

#earthday #worldoceansday | John Long

|
By John Long
| LinkedIn
Did Cannes accidentally create more Zombie Brands? In the book, I argue it did. Here's how. As the smartphone-centric media ecosystem took hold in the early to mid-2010s, social media calendars became central to advertisers' annual plans. All of a sudden, brands started viewing previously obscure holidays and cultural events as marketing opportunities—even if their product or service had no obvious, organic connection to them—because of the massive conversation they generated on social.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

In a Safety-Obsessed World, Routes Like ‘Snake Dike’ Are Monuments to the Trad Era

|
By John Long
| Climbing Magazine Verified
Published June 18, 2026 04:07AM Editor’s note: On Friday, June 5, Yosemite guidebook author Erik Sloan re-ignited a fierce debate by adding more than a dozen bolts to Snake Dike (5.7 R; 800ft), a 1965 classic route on Half Dome that’s known for its sparse protection. Since then, some of the new bolts have been removed. When I think about the retro-bolting of Snake Dike, I think about surfing. YouTube videos of big wave surfing now routinely get millions of hits.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Critical thinking not included

|
By John Long
| American Thinker Verified
Decades ago, when buying a Christmas toy, I needed to look at the box carefully. If the box said “batteries not included,” I knew I would need to pick up some batteries so there would not be any tears on Christmas Day. These days, I often see new social media entries or opinion pieces that (should) contain labels saying, “Critical thinking not included.”  Many of us spout off the most outrageous things without examining whether those thoughts are based in truth.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?
See all 55 licensed articles (61 Total)