I – like many people – really enjoy the show Mad Men.
Well written, well cast and well executed … it’s American television at its absolute best, something we often forget they are so skilled at.
The thing is, as much as the subject matter is adland, it’s really a show about people with advertising simply serving as the backdrop.
Sure there’s some classic bits like this …
… but the show works because of the drama, intrigue and tension between the characters, not because they’ve written a great ad for Kodak or something.
Of course people in the industry have tried to ‘own’ the show and that’s understandable because our impact and value is so small these days, we are always looking for a way to keep the delusion and illusion alive.
I can’t remember who said it, but the best quote I heard about why ad folk love the show is something like ‘it reflects an industry we’d love to work in’ which I think is rather amusing given the show is fiction, not a documentary.
Of course it’s nice to see an agency dealing with a CEO of a company rather than some middle management lacky … sure it’s brilliant to see an agency fighting for what they believe in rather than simply crumbling at the first objection … sure it’s warming to see society value the industry rather than view them as overpaid, out-of-touch, wankers … but was it really like that back then?
OK, so without doubt agencies were more influential which – arguably – translated to them being able to do more interesting things, but the way some people go on, you would think everything they touched was gold plated genius.
Recently I asked a mate of mine to name one of the best creatives of the past 40 years.
Because we both know him, he said Neil French.
Now regardless what you may think of him, he was/is an amazing creative guy – and an astouding writer – so I then asked my friend how many truly great campaigns he thought he [Neil] had done.
After some consideration, he said that there was probably 15 or 20 campaigns that have gone into ad-folk lore.
So then I said if Neil has done 20 great campaigns in a career so far spanning 40 years, that would average out to be 1 bit of genius every 2 years.
Now of course these numbers are vague, the definition of ‘genius’ is open to all sorts of interpretations and some/most people would never be able to get close to anything Neil had done if they had a lifetime to try … but think about it … one campaign of uber-brilliance every 2 years.
TWO YEARS.
SEVEN HUNDRED AND THRITY DAYS.
FOUR THOUSAND, ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY WORKING WEEK HOURS.
… and yet the way the history books and media describe it, they were churning future history out every bloody week.
Now I don’t want to decry the amazing achievements of the people from the past [or those still in the present] – they did stuff that still stands the test of time and makes a mockery of many of today’s so-called advertising superstars – but the reality is that I don’t want to look at Mad Men and think that was the time when advertising was at its peak, I want to feel it’s still to come.
Of course I know it’s going to be more difficult and more challenging – but as much as I decry a lot of adland – I know there’s some amazing agencies and people out there … agencies and people that could put Don Draper and his cronies to the sword … agencies and people who actually do deal with CEO’s, fight for what they believe in and do things that causes a fundamental positive shift in their clients business … and whilst not everything they touch may turn to gold, they may have a better track record than the Kings of the Past, even if they still are the ones with the cooler stories.
Advertising isn’t dead … just the ambitions of the industry are.