The older I get the more I realise that life is a battle between holding on to the things you believe in and allowing yourself be engaged and entertained by the things that challenge all you believe.
My Mum was particularly good at this …
She had an incredible ability to stay open minded to all that surrounded her … ensuring as she went forward in life, she was never left behind but also never walked away from things that time, experience and consideration had taught her were of real value.
But here’s the thing …
She never went along with what was happening simply because it was happening, she invested time in it to make sure she knew what it was, why it was happening and what it would mean for her.
I say this because I feel the ad industry has for years, chased after the newest new thing to appear relevant, without ever actually considering what to do with it to make it work for them.
In essence, it’s relevance by association.
Or worse, it’s about stealing from culture rather than adding to it.
I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve read a piece from someone in adland proclaiming they are geniuses when all they’ve actually done is repurpose something that has been in existence for years.
The irony of adland is that we talk about the future but we hold doggedly to the past.
Some of this is not entirely our fault – there is the small fact that the remuneration structure many clients insist on, is designed to keep things the same rather than drive innovation in thinking, technique and approach – but at it’s heart, many of the problems we face are problems we actively helped create, which is why unless we are willing to break the cycle, the only winner in this whole sorry situation will be Alvin Toffler’s credibility.
It’s up to us.