One of the more unfortunate characteristics of the advertising business is that every generation believes itself to be the first.
I was talking to an eminent chap from the media world recently.
I was giving him my impression of media planners that was almost completely incorrect. He was giving me his impression of what we used to call account planners.
And I was rather shocked at what he said.
I have just had to get myself a mobile phone contract.
I guess that dates me since mobiles/cellphones happened after I started work and so I have never had one of my own.
So as a matter of course I went to the Carphone Warehouse (The UK’s largest cellphone intermediary).
Needless to say it was a pretty grim experience.
HHCL finally has a proper entry on Wikipedia.
So if you are currently thinking about the future shape of a communications company save yourself the trouble and copy down what HHCL did a decade ago.
It has of late become awfully fashionable to lay the many and varied problems of the advertising industry at the feet of creatives.
They are accused of many things including introspection, arrogance, irrelevance and rank stupidity.
And of all their crimes the ultimate is that they simply ‘don’t get it’.
Neither planners nor suits are collectively damned in this way.
Indeed in some circles, particularly the blogosphere, the ridicule meted out to above-the-line creatives borders on a kind of blood sport like hare coursing or bear baiting. In particular it is practiced by members of the new marketing mafia who never made it in proper advertising and consequently have a massive chip on their shoulders.
Well I’m getting a little fed up of this.