The agency of the past.

Of the many things that annoy the crap out of me, one of the more prominent ones is the statement, ________for the future. Or ___________ for the 21st Century. Or the ____________for the digital future of the 21st Century.

From what I can discern, the 21st Century ain't shaping up to be anything worth writing home about; same with the future; same with the promises of digital. So far, customer service is all but eviscerated, wages have been pushed downward and things like courtesy and job security have become relics.

If I had to open an agency, I'd call myself not "The Agency of the Future," I'd say I was an agency of the past.

I'd say I was an agency built during an era when creatives actually understood the products and the marketplace they were working in. An era when client service was more than lip service. And an era when creativity strove to be unique and trouble-making rather than inexpensive and compliant.

Oh, I know. I'm another old, bitter curmudgeon.

But if you really think about the words ____________for the 21st Century, the only implicit promise contained therein is faster and cheaper. And in fact, from what I've seen, most things that promise to be fast and cheap are neither.