ADVERTISING'S REPUTATION PROBLEM IS NO LONGER MY PROBLEM

On a recent trip to the dentist, the office manager and I were chatting and at one point she bragged to me about how their practice does not need to advertise. They rely on word-of-mouth, a form of advertising, but I digress. A few years ago, I heard the same thing from a man who was president of a regional fast-food chain.

It seems clear to me that some people who might benefit from advertising (or brand marketing) do not like advertising. Small business operators sometimes see it as a badge of honor to abstain. Perhaps they feel this way because advertising is expensive to create and run, and frequently there’s no direct or immediate return on investment.

Possibly the captains of the industry ought to do a better job of advertising advertising’s various merits. When you make food or wine for a living, build or repair houses, or provide medical, legal, or accounting services, people don’t think those things are unnecessary. They don’t feel superior for not investing in them.

Note to self: it’s hard to call yourself a “craftsman” when clients and prospects try to shame you for the shame they feel themselves.

Now, let me see if I can square this real-world business problem with the fact that I continue to believe in the power and efficacy of advertising.

Why do I believe? Simply stated, persuasion is at the core of all successful business enterprises and citizen movements. And advertising is packaged persuasion. Plus, brands that invest in customer-focused communications and solve real problems for people are worth more than brands that do not.

Of course, many brands and their stewards never invest and miss the mark entirely. Other brands make horrible decisions and ads that never get seen.

Here’s something that I read recently on LinkedIn that struck a deep chord:

The brands and businesses we work for are just as vapid and abundant as the communications they create. They’re not interested in solving problems for consumers. All they do is try to funnel every cent to the shareholders by stripping the quality from the products, trapping people in subscriptions, and eliminating customer support. -Daniel Kleinman

Daniel recently left the advertising business to become a nurse. He has better things to do with time and attention, and he’s acting on it. I respect his point of view and his forward movement.

Serving clueless and careless corporate masters will get any person down. For a creative person, the down might be felt more intensely. It might linger and irritate the skin like a rash.

Scratch, scratch.

It might be nice to one day look back at my time in advertising with fewer regrets. Because I do regret the way I was treated by some people, and in return, the way I treated some people. I also regret looking to brands to satisfy my creative needs. It would have been better for me to frame the work as a job and leave it at that.

While it’s true that I have regrets for not choosing another career path earlier, I also recognize the fundamental value of what I learned along the way and carry with me today. Learning to make and sell effective advertising, and learning how to be a productive member of a creative team are critical and both continue to inform the work I do now in the nonprofit sector.