American Copywriter is a simple little podcast about advertising and pop culture hosted by creative directors John January and Tug McTighe.

January is Executive Creative Director at Sullivan Higdon & Sink, where he works on brands such as Borden Cheese, American Century Investments, Cardinal Health and Pizza Hut. McTighe is Creative Director at Callahan Creek, where he works with Toyota, Hills Pet Products, Payless and Sprint.

The show is recorded as deadlines allow and has a patient, yet passionate fan base.

If fancy advertising awards matter to you, then you'll be interested to know that between the two of them, John and Tug have cracked Communication Arts, The One Show, Archive, Creativity, Print, US Ad Review and the National Addys.

It's clear to even the most casual observer that John and Tug's most valuable assets are their fat pie holes. Groups from around the country have had the misfortune of inviting them to speak to their memberships. Usually only one or two people are offended by the course language and salacious personal attacks.

Presentations include:

• Jedi Copywriter or Everything I Need to Know About Advertising I Learned From "Star Wars." Advertising isn't really all that hard if you follow the Jedi way. John and Tug share the lessons that the epic "Star Wars" saga holds for today's advertising professionals.

• Dirty Little Secrets of the Creative Mind. What do those snarky folks have up their black sleeves? What are they hiding behind their "artsy" eyeglass frames? What the hell are they thinking? Dirty Little Secrets of the Creative Mind will let you stare into the abyss of the creative person's brain. But beware, when you stare in the abyss, the abyss stares back into you. If you work with "creatives," or happen to be one yourself, this meeting will help you understand the creative mind and bridge the communication gaps that often cause unneeded strife. It will help you become a Creative Whisperer. And who doesn't want to be that?

Patrick Palmer is Executive Vice President and Global Brand Planning Director for Leo Burnett USA, one of the largest and best-known creative advertising and communications companies in the world.

He is a leader in the field of "account planning," a new and fast-growing discipline in the advertising industry. Using techniques from psychology, cultural anthropology and consumer research, he seeks to understand the "how" and the "why" of human behavior in the marketplace, unlocking insights that inspire creativity.

Based in Chicago, he leads global and U.S. account planning on several Leo Burnett clients, including The Coca-Cola Co., General Motors, Miller-Coors and United Technologies Corp. Pat is also the agency's senior strategist in business development, responsible for attracting new clients to the firm.

A typical day for Pat might include talking to a group of married couples about home improvement projects, poking around medicine cabinets with young mothers, interviewing a famous behavioral economist about the recession or recommending a new creative campaign to one of Leo Burnett's blue-chip clients.

He has been honored with the industry's top awards, including multiple Gold Effies, Cannes Gold Lions and the Yahoo! Purple Chair for Innovation.

Prior to joining Leo Burnett in 2003, Pat held similar positions within other agencies in Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles. He has crafted strategies for companies such as Honda, Darden Restaurants, Cadillac, Walgreens, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Hyatt Hotels, Dos Equis Lager and AirTran Airlines.

Pat grew up on a farm in DeLand, Ill. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1987 and a Master of Science in communication theory and research from Illinois State University in 1989.