Midway through some rant about the parlous state of the advertising business in general and the near extinction of extraordinary communications, I’m sure. Then, like the guy in the old story I stepped out for a pack of cigarettes and didn’t come home for 20 years, (or in this case 13 months).
Well, to borrow a line from Jack Nicholson in The Shining, “I’m back…” Reasons being a) popular demand (hey, I said ‘popular’, not ‘populous’). And b) my growing conviction that sooner or later (and my hunch is sooner) this industry and the people who truck with it are going to have to come to grips with the fact that if it doesn’t resume creating compelling, extraordinary communications, it’s going to die. And any business that depends on this communication is going to die right with it. That where communications appear (alternate media) such as the risible suggestions I read about such as the back of airplane tray tables ain’t gonna do it. Nor is how often these ads appear (clout) or how to whom (targeting). Nothing, and I do mean nothing, will ever take the place of what is said (content) and how well it’s said (charm). Continue reading ‘“Now, Where Was I…?”’
