"GOD SO HATED ADVERTISING MEN
THAT HE NEVER MADE A WHOLE ONE"
(Page 3)
This is too bad, because in my opinion learning something about the money end of advertising would be pretty easy for any advertising man who wanted to spend a little time doing so. Compared to most businesses, the money mechanics of an advertising agency are quite simple. Most troubles could be avoided by an elementary knowledge of credit management and cost accounting on the part of all those who make agency decisions. They don't have to be accountants, but they need to know enough to keep from giving the store away.
So far, I have talked about problems which the advertising business shares with a great many others. For a person with creative talents the environment of advertising presents one problem that has few counterparts. It is one of the few creative activities that virtually everyone feels competent to criticize. I do not make this statement idly. I have done extensive research and have found very little evidence of any appreciable body of people who do not feel qualified to criticize the creative content of advertising. To be sure, there are those who make a pro forma denial of their confidence. This follows the time honored formula of "of course I don't know anything about advertising." The next sentence inevitably begins with "but."
"...no matter how many
years you spend studying
advertising and no matter
how successful and proficient
you become, most Americans
will assume that they
know as much about it
as you do."
| A few years ago, I threw in an open-ended question on a research project among six year old children. You remember six year olds. They are the little ones that are supposed to be confused about what is a commercial and what isn't. Hah! Having been shown a string of commercials, they were encouraged to comment at will. They did. They instantly began to dissect the creative work, made invidious comparisons with other commercials and cast aspersions on the credibility of what they had seen. I have done no research among octogenarians, but I am confident that I would achieve comparable results. So one of the realities of the advertising environment is that no matter how many years you spend studying advertising and no matter how successful and proficient you become, most Americans will assume that they know as much about it as you do. And why shouldn't they? The current generation of Americans have grown up in a society in which advertising is totally pervasive. People who have never seen a passenger train, a live turkey or a sunflower have been looking at and listening to advertising everyday since they were two years old. How is it possible to tell them that they don't know anything about what they're looking at?
Unfortunately they don't.
This was first discovered way back in the 1930s, just after George Gallup developed the idea of using survey techniques to determine the readership of advertising and editorial matter. It occurred to someone that the whole problem of deciding what advertising campaign to run could be solved by similar surveys. All you had to do was to make up a portfolio of ads representing the various campaigns and go out and ask the consumers which would be the most effective in convincing them to buy. And because it was cheap, quick and gave unequivocal answers, the portfolio test was soon greatly in vogue. But, alas, some spoilsport had the idea of making up a portfolio test out of ads whose results had already been measured in the marketplace.
"...it is extremely difficult to
predict the relative effectiveness
of an advertising campaign
by inspection."
| You can guess what happened. The dear public was nearly unerring in choosing as its favorites what had proven to be the least effective ads.
The brutal fact is that it is extremely difficult to predict the relative effectiveness of an advertising campaign by inspection. It is easy enough to tell whether you are pleased or displeased by an advertisement. It is easy to tell whether you find it interesting, or persuasive. But it is another thing completely to determine whether it has the same effect on its intended audience. And even if this can be done, it is no sure indication of how affective it will be in the marketplace. Unfortunately, the realities of the advertising business are that virtually every advertising campaign that sees the light of day must go through a long series of approvals by inspection. I don't think it's necessary to tell you that getting approval of advertising campaigns can be a stressful experience. It is rare indeed that a campaign is so self evidently affective to everyone who sees it that the creator is instantly carried off on the shoulders of cheering associates and clients. On the contrary, creative solutions normally undergo the most meticulous inspection at every level of approval. Doubt and skepticism are rampant. And, in truth, they should be. Those charged with approving advertising, either at agency or client, are usually carrying a very heavy burden of responsibility. They are making a tough decision.
"The truth is that a
creative advertising person
must also learn
to be an advocate."
| Watching this situation over the years I have been struck with the fact that very many creative people do not adapt very well to this problem. Some tend to believe that the merit of their solution is self evident. They bring in their solution like a surprise birthday cake. Many are clearly hurt because they are asked to explain why the proposed solution will work. Now if you are Picasso, you may be able to take the firm position that there is no need to explain your works. But advertising is not a branch of the fine arts. The truth is that a creative advertising person must also learn to be an advocate. You have to build up a case for an advertising solution and present it clearly and concisely. I have had the good fortune to have known a great many of the top creative men in this country. Virtually without exception they were marvelously skilled advocates. The skills were not mere salesman's tricks. What each of them had was a profound belief in a fundamental creative philosophy. They had worked out in their own minds a logical structure for creating advertising. They, of course, did not all share the same philosophy. That, I believe, is not important. What I do believe was important is that these creative philosophies not only produced advertising that was outstanding in its effectiveness, but they also made it possible to convince others that it would be. Now I also have a philosophy. An essential part of it is that when you finish speaking, you should sit down.
So that I shall, but not before expressing my hope that your advertising careers will:
A. Bring you quite a lot of money.
B. Give you quite a lot of fun.
Thank you.
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