More on fake ads.

A friend of mine just sent me an email about my previous post, "Fake Ads." He's a courageous, outspoken guy and would have put his thoughts in "comments" but employment circumstances have prevented him. 

That said, what he said is dead on. So, I am publishing a slightly edited version here:

"Awards are creating an inner circle of [creative] royalty hiring each other.

Leeching on the guys and gals who do the real hard lifting at the agencies. 

The ones that work every weekend and vacation on difficult accounts that are the bread and butter of the industry. The people who toll for the more meager salaries, and effectively pay for the extravagant salaries, awards fees and Cannes trips that the privileged fakers enjoy.

They may be more creative, they may be better designers, when taking batting practice, but they rarely do the real work. Something has gone terribly wrong.

And even the worst of agencies play along. Every job post asks for major awards, even though the agencies in question and the clients they work for have never even been close to winning any prestigious awards.

But how those awards can be prestigious any more I just don't know. Some agencies winning hundreds and hundreds of awards at the same show???

Thousands of awards are handed out each year at Cannes.

Does anyone really care any longer? 

Well, the ones who call the shots do. That's their weapon. Their whip. Their way to keep the worker bees in line. Making them feel useless for not winning awards, when they in fact make all the money for their agencies.

Time for a French revolution in the ad business."