Shut Up and Advertise

Yes, yes, I know. Just one short day after inviting you to open your collective joyhole and shout, “Merry Christmas,” I’m now instructing you to pipe down and do some advertising. Well, remain calm. I’m not speaking to all of you.

I’m speaking to the over-thinkers, the focus group wonks, the what-iffers and what-elsers that can’t seem to get out of their own way and actually run a decent ad. Or any ad, for that matter.

You know who you are.

Here’s a newsflash: Advertising is not hard. It’s not easy, no, but it’s not nearly as difficult as some of you make it out to be. The key to creating good ads is the same as it is for running any successful business: It’s the people. Get creatives that can turn the art of commerce into artful commerce. Find account planners that really do become the voice of the consumer and not the voice of the latest research trend. Dig deep and find account people who actually love and understand advertising. They do exist. I’ve met them.

Look around your office. Do you have these people? If so, move to the second, final and most important step:

Let these people do their jobs.

This goes for owners, account directors, CDs and peers. If the only thing you do all day is sit around deconstructing the efforts of others to find the .05% of their ideas that might not work, go away. If you can only ask a creative to sell you on an idea instead of being able to sell it back to them, shut up. If think your job is to make sure an ad is bulletproof before it goes in front of the client, guess again. No ad is invincible. No ad will ever be universally loved. The only way you’ll ever get everyone to agree on an ad is when it reeks. And even then some direct mail person will scoop up the remains and send them out in a “targeted e-blast.”

I know, you know and the client knows there are infinity-plus-one ways to solve a problem. So quit trying to find the one you think is “the best” and look for one (or three) that works. Unless you never have a deadline. Then feel free to tinker all you want. The rest of us will be over here in the real world getting the job done.

If you can honestly help make an idea better, speak up. Most people – even creatives – want the end product to be as great as possible. I’ll even thank you by name when accepting my pencil. But if you’re just in it to cast doubt and aspersions and bandy about fear like a radioactive beach ball, then please, just sit there. Observe. Maybe you’ll learn something.

After all, most of us do know what we’re doing. So get out of our way, and let us do what we do best.

Advertising.


Later,

Fox