Rob Schwartz Journalist Profile

Articles

I Shot the Tariff – PRINT Magazine

1 week ago | printmag.com | Rob Schwartz |Kim Tidwell

We haven’t got the money, so we’ve got to think. Ernest Rutherford“My 401K just became a 201K.”That was one of the bits of gallows humor I saw late last week as the stock market (and every other store of value) took a colossal plunge. But there’s nothing funny about Trump’s Tariff decree. And as we have already witnessed, this throw-down from the White House bully pulpit will have severe economic consequences across the globe and in every market. It got me thinking about your mindset.
At the End of the AI Arms Race, Creativity Will Win – PRINT Magazine

3 weeks ago | printmag.com | Rob Schwartz |Kim Tidwell

Courtesy of the author; created in Midjourney“What’s the future of Advertising?”In a moment filled with more inspiration than preparation, I blurted out something like, “90% of all agencies will be systems agencies. And only 10% will be interesting.”After the initial investments and implementations of tech stacks, data, media, and now AI, a first-mover advantage is short-lived. After the show, I continued to reflect on it, and I believe I’ve hit on something.
At the End of the AI Arms Race, Creativity Will Win – PRINT Magazine

3 weeks ago | l8r.it | Rob Schwartz |Kim Tidwell

“What’s the future of Advertising?”I was asked this question recently on Jason Harris’ very good Soul & Science Podcast. In a moment filled with more inspiration than preparation, I blurted out something like, “90% of all agencies will be systems agencies. And only 10% will be interesting.”After the initial investments and implementations of tech stacks, data, media, and now AI, a first-mover advantage is short-lived. Something like that.
Journey of a Creative Project on Creativity – PRINT Magazine

1 month ago | printmag.com | Rob Schwartz |Kim Tidwell

I’m working on an interesting project that is trying to answer the following question: “What are the ideal conditions for breakthrough creative to happen?”This year’s Super Bowl advertising provided all the evidence I needed to confirm something I have been observing and feeling for a while: namely, advertising is in a creative ditch. We’re not alone. Hollywood, the music business, and car design are all stuck in the same rut, too. I can summarize the reason why in one compound word: risk-aversion.
Rolling in the DeepSeek – PRINT Magazine

1 month ago | printmag.com | Rob Schwartz |Kim Tidwell

It seemed everyone had AI on the brain last week. It started when I flipped on the news Monday morning, and each and every channel and stream I follow was talking about one product: DeepSeek. At first, I heard it as “Deep State,” which is par for the course these days. Then it sounded like “deep six,” so I knew someone was in trouble, and it turned out it was a bunch of tech giants from OpenAI to Nvidea to all platforms in between.
Rolling in the DeepSeek – PRINT Magazine

1 month ago | l8r.it | Rob Schwartz |Kim Tidwell

It seemed everyone had AI on the brain last week. brAIn? It started when I flipped on the news Monday morning, and each and every channel and stream I follow was talking about one product: DeepSeek. At first, I heard it as “Deep State,” which is par for the course these days. Then it sounded like “deep six,” so I knew someone was in trouble, and it turned out it was a bunch of tech giants from OpenAI to Nvidea to all platforms in between.
The Creative Hero Effect – PRINT Magazine

2 months ago | printmag.com | Rob Schwartz |Kim Tidwell

That’s the question I asked in a January workshop with several top European Executive Creative Directors. It’s part of an exercise I do to help creative directors become better leaders. The answers these ECDs offered were inspiring.
The Creative Hero Effect – PRINT Magazine

2 months ago | l8r.it | Rob Schwartz |Kim Tidwell

That’s the question I asked in a January workshop with several top European Executive Creative Directors. It’s part of an exercise I do to help creative directors become better leaders. The answers these ECDs offered were inspiring. Daft Punk, Hunter S Thompson, Zaha Hadid, Peter Saville, Paul Arden, Louis Pasteur…even the city of New York!The way I do the exercise is to have the workshop participants tell the group who their creative hero is and talk about the hero’s work and career.
You Dropped a Bomb on Me – PRINT Magazine

2 months ago | printmag.com | Rob Schwartz |Kim Tidwell

There’s an old joke that goes like this:“If there’s ever a nuclear bomb that wipes out civilization, only two things would survive – cockroaches and advertising agencies.”As for the bugs, they apparently can handle the blast and the high levels of radiation thanks to their hardy exoskeleton and cell makeup. They also don’t need much food or water to survive and can go weeks without eating.
Find Yourself or Create Yourself? – PRINT Magazine

Jan 17, 2025 | printmag.com | Rob Schwartz |Kim Tidwell

I love this quote from Bob Dylan. Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. Self-Portrait album by Bob DylanAnd there’s no question the former Robert Zimmerman of Hibbing, Minnesota did a magnificent job of creating the artist, Bob Dylan. But there were some pieces to the “Dylan myth” that he found. He found music on the radio when he was quite young. He discovered the guitar. He unearthed the poets from Rimbaud to Kerouac. He found Woody Guthrie, Suze Rotolo, and Joan Baez.