August 16, 2005You can't bullshit a bullshitter
Filed Under: Creativity, Fixing the Ad Agency Mess
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To my loyal Jaffe Juice readers, you would no doubt have picked up on a semi-recurring gripe of mine when it comes to the hypocrisy of the ad business: If you're so damn good at building brands, breaking through the clutter, coming up with big ideas, integrating "down the line" (whatever that means), why the hell then do you so suck at promoting/advertising yourselves?
Case in point is the double-edged sword of a website: it is front and center and 110% transparent to all who may care to cast their wanton glances its merry way.
Here's a piece from The Independent in the UK which passes its judgement on a slew of UK-based agency sites.
Hmmm - maybe I'll do the same with the best that this side of the pond has on offer. Watch this space. It's not going to be pretty.
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Comments
I think I have an answer to that. Agencies don't exert a lot of effort in promoting themselves because they "don't get paid for it". Not that that work wouldn't be beneficial or pay the agency back down the road with increased sales, but most agency folks I know are only concerned with work that is billable. That's the reason why so many agencies don't keep their websites up to date...it's because that would cut into their current, at this very moment, earnings.
Posted by: Shig Odani
Like the client who represents himself in court having a fool for an attorney, so it is with the ad agency who does their own work. Sometimes. Oh, sure, an agency should have enough objectivity to direct its own site, but to really do anything innovative, they should hire outside to avoid the B.S. Syndrome. So, not only is the work unbillable, an agency would be billed. And that's where many agencies avoid reality -- they do not believe in what they do.
Posted by: jk
I think you really hit it on the head with: "they do not believe in what they do"
It's probably not as black and white as that..but at the same time, who better to walk the talk than those responsible for spending billions of dollars?
Posted by: jJ
