It's Not Just Advertising, It's the Greatest Force for Change I Know

I love Felix, and I love a lot of the points he makes in his editorial At the End of the Day it's Just Advertising, but at the end of the day that post depressed the shit out of me because I didn't bust my ass and go into crazy debt to join what he asserts is an ignoble profession.

Felix is right when he states that work matters, but not at the expense of your health, spending time with loved ones, or your dignity when you lose your shit and reduce an intern to tears. His words are well-needed in an industry full of people who take themselves so seriously that it interferes with their treating other people like people. But while some found the post uplifting I find it dangerous because it tells creatives, "you'll never really do anything meaningful or worthwhile, except maybe an ad for a charity every now and again."

It baffles me that as advertisers we develop a skillset that allows us to build companies, change culture and move dollars, yet an infinitesimally small percentage of us actually decide to use these skills to create our own enterprise. Instead we go through our career with blinders on, never questioning the assumption that the only way to build a career is to be beholden to others by either working for an agency or freelancing and attracting clients. That mentality, quite simply, is inane. If you can build a business for someone else, you can build a business for yourself. You can create what you want to see in the world and by so doing, you'll be tapping in o the best of what's within you. To me, that is the definition of doing noble work.

Here is what I wish Felix had said: "A lot of people in advertising are focused on things that bring misery both to themselves and those around them. When you become obsessed with creating ads as an end unto itself, it is easy to fall prey to things like addiction and angry outbursts. But when you turn your focus to mastering your craft so you can use it to create the changes you want to see in the world, I can't think of a more powerful, inspirational field than advertising."

There are two great things we can do as advertisers that no one else in the world is qualified for: First, we can advise businesses on how to successfully market, making positive changes in their business model so that companies can be profitable by doing the right thing. Second, with our skill in getting people behind something, we can create movements for things we are passionate about. Alex Bogusky, cited by Felix in his post, is doing both. He gave a speech recently that convinced me that the future of advertising isn't media centric, it's business centric. The next generation of award winning work will come from creatives who convinced companies to adopt more transparent, sustainable business models and then turned that into compelling ads. And recent episodes of his web talk show FearLess have focused on educating people about the dangers of the poorly regulated food supply in America.

If you're not as passionately in love with advertising as you were when you jumped through flaming hoops to get in the door at an agency, make a list of the things you'd like to change. Then, pick the one that feels most important and turn it into a creative brief. With the internet making it possible for anyone to connect to an unlimited number of people for the low price of a domain name and a hosting plan, there isn't anything that we as creatives cannot accomplish. If you need a guide to help you with the details, I've written one right here.

Felix, thank you for your rants and your dedication to our craft and the people who practice it. I eagerly await your reply.

Faithfully,
Fernando

Fernando is a passionate defender of advertising who loves human beings. He blogs at bigfuckinglogo.com

Originally posted on The Denver Egotist.