Are we now accepting mediocrity more?

Is it nostalgia ore more than that?

Often we can look back at our past through rose tinted glasses and really think that it was better back then. I’m sure if we were back there we’d feel differently than we do about it today. I’ve been wondering about if mediocrity is becoming more accepted. And more importantly, if it is, why?

If we are honest with ourselves, it’s hard to find anyone who has been fired or criticised for doing what someone else already did. I mean, they got to the same point as you did just because it didn’t work for them, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. Times have changed, it’s different now, so maybe it will work. We may even reference MAYA, most advanced yet accepted principal. When they did it, it was simply to early. For me that’s not the case. I think we have made saying yes to things incredibly hard. It’s the classic brief of do something different, and once you show it being asked for examples of people who have done this already.

Today, it is much easier to say no, or not argue with an opinion we disagree with than say yes, or to really sell an idea that we believe in. I once did a presentation to Unilever about how they could be more innovative in their work. I spoke about campaigns I’d worked on or witnessed and pointed out that a lot of it was realising that saying yes would mean more work and effort, but doing it anyway because the team believed that it really was worth doing.

Two examples I didn’t work on were the Lego ad and the Honda live advert on Channel 4. I didn’t work on either, but I’m sure you don’t do a ‘lego ad break’ without a lot of effort calling clients, getting sign offs then actually making it all in Lego. Or the Honda Live ad, which had to be filmed in Spain for legal reasons and knowing that if the weather wasn’t good on the day they would have to do something else.

When I first started I was at the media agency when Cadbury Gorilla was made. As the manager at the media agency I really didn’t do anything. What stood out to me, was Phil Rumbol saying yes to the advert and really believing in it so that we launched it properly. He could easily have said no to the idea. Luckily for the creative agency I think he had excellent taste and faith in the creative team at Fallon.

I remember listening to David Pattison talking about Sony Balls, and it was largely approved because he didn’t believe Juan Cabral could get the San Francisco street closed down.

Having recently judged in the MMA, it’s clear that this level of work is still being done and importantly having an impact on business results. The best work was clearly not approved easily as it was pushing a boundary, but I do feel that there is a sense people aren’t as empowered as much. Decisions are not made by ‘tastemakers’ as much, it’s about the data, the has it been done before. The work that didn’t get made because people have said no, because they know if it goes wrong then it’s on them. If you’ve done the Mark Ritson course - there is a great example of that, which would be unusual today.

So what can we/you do? If your a client, I think it’s that you need to trust the people giving you advice. You have to back them up and say yes, even if it means more work for you. If your on the other side, I think it’s about really showing why you truly believe in the idea maybe even go that bit further than you normally would - it’s about the team getting behind the idea 100% and selling it. I mean it is what we get paid to do right. While those moments are really difficult it really does pay off when they work. And remember, when they don’t work they should be the thing you learn from because most of the time, if it didn’t work no one noticed it and if they did at least you weren’t in the supposed 89% of ads that no one remembers or likes (copyright David Trott).