There's a fog that's settled over our industry that's obscured our vision to the point where some can't even see their image in a mirror. This is a fog that says advertising is a technology industry.
I saw a parallel to this miasma in "The New York Times" this morning in an op-ed by Nicholas Kristoff. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/opinion/23kristof.html?hp
Kristoff starts his column this way: "What if nutritionists came up with a miracle cure for childhood malnutrition? A protein-rich substance that doesn’t require refrigeration? One that is free and is available even in remote towns like this one in Niger where babies routinely die of hunger-related causes?
"Impossible, you say? Actually, this miracle cure already exists. It’s breast milk.
"When we think of global poverty, we sometimes assume that the challenges are so vast that any solutions must be extraordinarily complex and expensive. Well, some are. But almost nothing would do as much to fight starvation around the world as the ultimate low-tech solution: exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months of life. That’s the strong recommendation of the World Health Organization."
The problem with advertising today isn't our lack of technology or our inability to reach consumers because of their technology.
The problem with advertising today is that most work is dumb, pedantic and boring.
Technology can't solve dumb, pedantic and boring.
Better stories can.
Technology is part of the creative process. You work at a digital shop: do you want to get canned? You should be working at an old school agency..if you can find one.
ReplyDeleteSophie
Sophie, technology is a tool, not an idea.
ReplyDeleteI do think, actually, that digital, in its many forms, partly requires a fair grasp of technology. Just like TV and print are different media requiring different skill sets. A great print ad rarely translates into great TV. But the core concept will. Got milk for example.
ReplyDeleteSo the next step would be to try and figure out what makes good digital, if we still use that term. it's so yesterday.
Some people can handle it all. Others not. Of course first comes the core idea. Which may take a persons translating the idea for different media.
In digital it's probably wise to work tightly with a digital producer in order to make the most of ideas. Some ideas are inspired or even born out of technology. The highly successful Swedish agency forsman bodenfors www.fb.se demands all creatives to work across all media when it comes to ideas. So I do think that technologymay be part of the creative process in the sense that it can help inform the execution. I believe execution is a creative process as well. Especially if you work on the art side of things. I even think that execution sometimes can be the idea. Things are not so black and white.
Love this line so much I will steal it:
ReplyDelete"Technology can't solve dumb, pedantic and boring."
Technology is part of what an idea is in the 21st.century, as much as photography, layout and type were in the 20 th.
ReplyDeleteYou guys need to get with the program.
Sophie
"technology is a tool"
ReplyDeleteprecisely.
the technological framework evolves.
but "technology can't solve dumb, pedantic and boring".
great nyt article, btw.
"photography, layout and type" are and were part of the executional idea, incorporating more or less advanced tech.
insight > idea > execution
but thats just my 2 cents, sophie.