Filed under: Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Confidence, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Individuality
A few weeks ago I did a presentation to a bunch of advertising students in London.
While I enjoy this sort of thing, I also appreciate I’m a ‘senior’ old white man … so I’m very conscious of the privilege I have – and had – throughout my career.
With that in mind, I wanted to ensure whatever I said was about as usable as it could get … regardless of where you come from, what you do or whether you lived in London, Liverpool or Lima.
Note I said ‘usable’, because sadly – for all the talk the industry goes on about with D&I policies – there still remains prejudice, whether conscious or not.
So in the end, my talk consisted of 3 slides … of which the one below was not only the most well received, but probably the most important.
Despite the headwinds it faces, this industry can be great.
It has a wide range of brilliant, talented, creative people.
Unfortunately it also has a bunch of bitter and jaded, self-appointed ‘gods’.
People who have achieved a level of ‘industry fame’ based on what they say, rather than what they’ve done. And by that, I mean what they’ve said on Twitter. Yet despite this, they seem to believe it has elevated them to a level of ‘sage’, that means the entire industry exists to impress them.
Of course everyone is entitled to an opinion.
And all experience is experience.
But if you’re starting out, you’re incredibly vulnerable to ‘experienced people’s’ judgement and that can have the effect of either conforming you to doing what they like or undermining your belief in relation to what you like.
Now don’t get me wrong, having your work – and eyes – opened to the views of people who have achieved at the highest level, is incredibly valuable to your growth and development.
But the emphasis is on highest level.
That’s not about someone’s job title.
Not the length of their employment.
But what they have created.
That’s literally it.
And while everyone thinks they have done stuff of note – and in their own way, they likely have – the reality is standards are a bit like Twitter. Your view of the world is in direct proportion to the people you follow … so while there are people on social media and industry blogs who have genuinely learned from the best and created the best, there’s a whole lot more people who have not. They just don’t realise it. Or their ego won’t accept it.
Again, that doesn’t mean they won’t offer some value, but it does mean their view is tainted by the limitation of the work they’ve actually created.
Which is why the best advice for anyone starting out in the industry is to do your homework.
Don’t like an agency or an individual for what they say or how popular they are.
Explore what they’ve actually done.
Was it a one off or has it been consistent?
Have they set standards or just followed others?
Do they push boundaries or just talk about doing it?
Have they done interesting stuff or just know interesting stuff?
This is an amazing industry. It can offer a huge amount. But if you want a career – a good career – you need to find and forge your own voice and you can’t do that if you let popularity silence your individuality or force their words into your mouth.
And that’s why if you face that, especially from people who have never done stuff that is creatively interesting – regardless of their title or experience – then there’s only one course of action to take.
Fuck ’em.