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AD TEACHINGS: FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Top Ten Mistakes in Portfolio Development -
I’ve observed over the years that not all advertising schools get students working on their portfolios right away. Some schools focus on ad theory first, leaving portfolio development until much later in the program.
I’ve never understood why it’s done this way. To me, training to be an ad…
I wrote this during the Occupy movement of 2011 as hordes of disgruntled banner-waving protesters overtook the streets and parks of Toronto to blurt out their irrelevant complaints.
You are responsible for managing your own debt. American culture [entertainment] is extremely influential and it has resulted in a sense of entitlement to an expensive lifestyle without first securing the means to afford it. Yes, bank loans are necessary but so is paying back your debt. When U.S. financial analysts discovered that a certain percentage of loans were more likely to perpetually accrue interest, it created a value that could be invested in. In order to increase the pool of defaulting homeowners, banks began predatory lending habits by targeting individuals who had a less than probable chance of repaying on such huge long-term loans with extremely volatile interest rates (sub-prime mortgage lending).
Investment banks packaged mortgages along with all types of consumer debt (student, car, credit card, etc.) and sold them to investors who expected to earn their money back over time along with high interest. The investors bought what they believed to be AAA rated investments. Instead, credit rating agencies held zero liability if their ratings proved wrong and a deregulated financial system allowed investment banks to pay these agencies to falsely upgrade the ratings of poor investments. Once the investors caught on the bubble burst. Lenders and investment banks were stuck holding on to defaulting loans and eventually ran out of cash, forcing the United States government to rely on a combination of citizen tax money and the Federal Reserve to bail them out. While the economy crashed and millions lost their jobs, the CEO’s responsible for this were paid lucrative bonuses.
The public focus on Occupy protests and “Police vs. Hippies” is absolutely ridiculous. We are watching two fractions of the same representative population be manipulated into fighting each other while the real problem remains in the presidential cabinet, recovering from recent exposure and planning its next move. Since the Reagan administration, Federal law has fought to keep the financial system deregulated and these people in charge do not give in because of public protest. Their decisions are based on something very complicated, and as I strive to understand more, I present the idea that the scope of the individual (“I can’t get a job!!”) has less bearing on national governance or global economics than you assume with indignation during your protests. The crisis is corruption and it needs to be resolved from the top-down.
Here in Canada, our economy is affected by the United States but it does not operate under the same laws. We are not in their position. Furthermore, our Bank of Canada is a Crown corporation, owned by the federal government and ultimately, by the people of Canada (unlike the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is actually a privatized company and acts in its own best interest). What I see is an overreaction to a global economic downturn. It is coming again and we are all going to have to grind hard and be smart in order to deal with it. Stop complaining to the government because things seem unfair. You act like a child occupying Wal-mart, screaming and crying, refusing to leave until Mommy gets you the toy you want. I would much rather take full responsibility in improving the quality of my own life.
: Some Tips for a Young Advertising Person. -
The Industry.
Everyone has a flair for something. Some people turn their flairs into hobbies, some, into jobs. When you combine your hobby with a job, there are two ways to look at it. A) You can rejoice that you will never have to work a day in your life again, or B) you can mourn the loss…
No matter how you cut the cake, the biggest pieces always end up in the same stomachs while others are left, not hungry, but starving. And therein lies the grudge.
In the wake of another admittedly absurd and seemingly contrived Los Angeles off-season, the trades involving Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to the Lakers have frustrated NBA devotees uniting under a rally cry that actually has a pretty good record. Remember when the ‘03-‘04 Lakers had two future Hall of Fame players in Kobe and Shaq, signed two more in Gary Payton and Karl Malone, and then lost in The Finals (4-1) to the Detroit Pistons via complete domination? The Celtics’ Big Three only pulled out one championship in their five years together and the Heat’s Big Three lost to the Dallas Mavericks in their first attempt. The Yankees? They’ve won one World Series in the past decade.
So let’s, all together, agree that the concerns over an NBA (or other sport) Championship are deservedly best left to the players while our problems are about who we get to have on our side during every moment in between. ‘Cause when it comes to the leagues biggest and brightest stars, there’s a damn good point in the fact that most markets can’t compete with the Hollywood glamour, the multi-conglomerate media endorsements, and the mecca statuses of other major cities. Unfortunately for most fans, it remains business as usual. Here in Toronto we have our own history of painful off-seasons; and while you hear a lot of praise for the way the Oklahoma City Thunder built their team, very little of it comes from Seattle. It’s time to face the inconvenient truth that the NBA is just another example of how the world around us is run. The most profitable moves are, more often than not, unfair and full of collusion. But the NBA wants you to know that it’s nothing personal - just call it ‘basketball reasons’.
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THE DIFFERENCE between the creative work that goes into advertising vs. that which goes into TV, art, music, comedy, movies, is that people choose to give their attention to the latter and often pay to see this form of creative expression.
On the other hand, the advertising industry’s work is received as being “forced down people’s throats.”
Is it supposed to be?
What if for one year there was no advertising? It got wiped out by a meteor. How would consumer behaviour naturally pick itself back up? In order to develop a decision on what brand/product to use people would resort to communication - and the immediate impact would be in Digital. Twitter and YouTube would give open forum to talk about a product and influence others accordingly (no corporate guidelines, just human behaviour). Eventually, some people would be recognized as effective salesmen or creative communicators. Once the impact of an individual becomes measureable and profitable, brands would call and say, “Can we pay you to make more messages as effective as that, for our product?” Advertising industry reborn.
So back to Digital…
Brands should be connecting with people to create an impactful interaction based on a belief or value that sticks with them for life, not a 10-30 second impression that relies on the less impressive “click, whirrr” reaction associated with unconscious impulse. McDonald’s Canada and Tribal DDB are stepping up to the hot seat and confidently tackling the public’s toughest questions and hardest critics via website, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. We are seeing the digital age in advertising gather momentum after its successful adoption.
Last thoughts
Experiential is great because it brings the message directly to the consumer without relying on an audience that can’t be measured. The danger is that a campaign involves multiple executions with so many variables that quality control is difficult to maintain. Experiential is like a finger to the hand as it adds versatility to function; but it is not the thumb - it is not the reason the hand is used so well.
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