Advertising is supposed to be fun.
The people in it are allegedly interesting and exciting to work with.
We claim we understand people so well that we can do stuff that makes them fall in love with stuff.
So how come all the photos agency people have of themselves in the media or in their agency credentials makes them look like the most miserable bunch of fuckers on the planet?
Seriously, if they’re not all dark and moody [always in black & white] …
… they’re contrived wackiness [always in colour] …
Seriously, it’s like there’s some law that you have to either pretend your Bono in his most pretentious of moods or Coco the fucking Clown.
This all came about after I was checking a deck we’re going to present later this week and saw that the entire W+K team had photos that looked like they were either going to a funeral or contemplating suicide.
Who the hell is going to want to work with a team like that?
Our business thrives on relationships – and whilst you’d hope a lot of that is underpinned by respect and quality of work – the truth is how well you get on with eachother plays a massively significant role, and so basically scaring people away from the moment they set eyes on you is probably not the cleverest move in the World.
OK … OK … so I know I scare clients regardless of what facial experssion I’m showing, but it amazes me how adland loves to talk about big things and their ability to understand people and situations and then fail to realise how the little things can make the biggest impression.
Oh, and for those who say that knowledge and personality should conquer all … well yes, it should … however first impressions last and if the first exposure they have to a company is a bunch of miserable and moody photos of the team they would be working with, the reality is they’ll make sure you never have the chance to show how good your knowledge and personality actually is.
It’s a bit like women saying ‘a sense of humour is more important than looks’ … but let’s face it, if the guy has a face like a dropped pie, no women is going to give them the time of day to let them show off how funny they are in the first place.
Hell, I had to lock my now wife in a dungeon for 3 months to make sure she listened to me and even now I wonder if she married me out of fear or love.
So adland, drop the moody and the wackiness and just be fucking normal, smiling people – you might even find people talk to you like a human being after that.
Oh and from now on, W+K are a moody bastard photo free zone.