Hand shakes, high fives and a tip of the cap to you all – this is my first piece for the Vicar, so unlike the seasoned pros we have writing here I probably don’t have the same experience, but what I do have is more enthusiasm than an Andrex puppy but probably the same amount of literary craft, so bear with me. Couple this with the fact I am still earning my stripes in the ad world as a humble account exec, I have many questions that puzzle me about why we do what we do. So without further ado, let’s cut to the chase – comments welcome.
My article's title is not meant to sound disrespectful nor is it derogatory about the state of the advertising industry at present - but do we advertising folk actually get advertising? What I mean by this is not the daily argument that suits have with creatives about putting more mandatory copy on posters, which then ‘spoils’ the visual because it no longer looks pretty. More, the way we look at the way messages should be transmitted to our unsuspecting target audience. For example, a straight talking sales poster, though garish, gets the message across quickly – 50% OFF ALL CLOTHES – even the Jeremy Kyle brigade can work out what this statement means if it’s in a shop window, no hidden meanings here. In contrast, some ads are so over the top, so ‘out there’ that unless you stand and analyse the ad like a piece in an art gallery, you won’t fathom the USP before it's too late and the man with the Metro next to you, turns the page.
I guess what I’m asking is: are we over thinking things? Are we in danger of getting a bit too clever for our own good, with our metaphors, cleverly cropped photography which is supposed to make us feel intrigue and ultimately lead us to read on – we all want to win creative awards, but is this to the detriment of our client’s bottom line? Sure, brilliant work should manage to do both (that’s where the award comes in), but few rarely do in my opinion.
A case in point is the new Volvo ad -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzMstoVXXxM
We all like to take the rise out of car ads, with their formulaic over exaggerated promises of changing our lives and making our 2.4 family complete; but would you actually make an ad mocking this? Especially since you can bet your bottom dollar, the next Volvo ad will be exactly the same as those they are mocking. I quite liked it, but that’s because I got it, and I work in advertising and I see what they are poking fun at – but two of my friends who don’t work in advertising, without prompting, quickly commented “well I’m not buying that” and “what a crap ad for a car”. So it’s an ad for ad people isn’t it?
We want risky creative, we want to keep producing gems like ‘The Meerkat’, but there is a time and a place. Just because you are a cutting edge agency, doesn’t necessarily mean the brands you work on will always lend themselves to your hip way of thinking – but then I guess that’s why they chose you.
Having said all this, if you asked me, 'Is it time to reign in the creativity then?' I’d say no, because that would just make our jobs boring.
Richard Annerson, Januray 2011
