The top-ten.

Adweek has an article this morning that lists the top 10 earners in the advertising industry. Of course, not one of the 10 white men shown makes ads. There are holding company heads, agency heads and CFOs, but not one person who can take the unformed ramblings of a brand and turn it into a cogent and compelling thesis. There's no one who can make you love a company. No one who makes you want to buy stuff.

I don't know how many industries there are in which the top paid people are so far removed from what the industry does and creates. Maybe this subject-object split is absolutely endemic. I know the airline CEOs that deliver a commercial on your flight before you take off have never flown in coach. I bet the CEOs of telcos somehow never get a dropped call--they probably have a special network for them.

But I find this sad. And it's probably the reason so many brands are nothing but colors and logos.