When did advertising become the overworked, stressed out, squeeze-every-drop-of-creative-juice-until-you’re-all-used-up career field that it currently seems to be? What happened to the old agency spirit that pioneered the way for successful and epic brands?
Every moment was spent immersed in a cauldron of creation and ‘ideation’, carefully orchestrated by exceptional minds. Clients loved to visit ad agencies because they were a wonderland of possibilities and a factory for their visions and aspirations.
It’s tough to come up with world-class ideas when you’re working, thinking, chipping away 24/7, but it seems that’s what agency owners want in 2017. New-age offices are designed in a way so that no employee would ever have to leave. The onus of urgency rests heavily on the agency’s shoulders, so motivation is key for employees.
But motivations can do only so much. It is important to reinstate the rituals of the creative process, currently damaged by the transformation of the digital world (convenient though it may be).
Then let the planning team take over in full earnest, converting business aspiration into a jumping off point that actually makes sense, with enough flair to stimulate the creative mind. Following this will be ‘concepting sessions’ of deliberate cross-cultural conflict, eventually leading to the manifestation of a breathtaking idea with a passionate in-house presentation.
Finally, the client presentation should be considered a grand finale of sorts. A concert. A ceremony. The audience should be enthralled. The client should see (and be moved by) the passion and intelligence and creative acumen it took to come up with an idea that’s truly worthy of brand consideration.
From restoring respect and profits to improving employee morale, it would be immensely beneficial for the advertising industry to bring back the old industry spirit. The prevailing culture of brevity has morphed the exciting rituals of advertising into the monotony of procedure, leaving little room for inspiration, and reducing the quality of the craft as well as the value perceived by clients.
The digital age is eating the romance of advertising alive, misrepresenting abbreviation as efficiency and crippling creative minds. Advertising has always been a labor of love. Once that ends… everything is over.
