Edward G. Robinson.

The first time I heard the phrase "magic bullet" I was probably 10 or 12 years old. This was back around 1970 or so and my father worked across the street from a place called Willoughby-Peerless from whom you could rent old movies on 16mm reels.


My father had bought an old Bell & Howell projector and in an effort to give me and my brother a proper film education, he would bring home old movies for us to watch on weekends. Naturally, or maybe not so naturally, my brother and I grew up loving the snarling Edward G. Robinson who was so great in "Little Caesar," "The Sea Wolf" and "Kid Galahad."

Somewhere along the way my father brought home the movie "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet." Of course my brother and I were expecting a good old-fashioned shoot 'em up. What we got was a bio pic of Dr. Paul Ehrlich (played by Robinson) who discovered the "magic bullet," the cure for syphilis.

In any event, I digress. This post has nothing to do with Edward G. Robinson, syphilis or nearly anything else.

It is about clients who want something for nothing. Clients who want magic bullets.

Let me make this simple. Work takes work and work costs money. No commercial is so effective that it will transform your business and your brand without commitment on your part.

In other words, there is no magic bullet.