Comment from Young ‘un
Time March 11, 2008 at 9:52 pm

i think a truly great idea is great forever. I’m in my 20’s, and the other day i was looking at an award show book (i think D&AD) from the mid 80’s that knocked me on my ass.

Of course, that does not excuse a creative, or an agency, for resting on laurels and refusing to evolve.

Comment from Adam
Time March 12, 2008 at 4:18 pm

Well with 8 years in the industry I can tell you one thing. It’s not an industry I’d recommend to people that want a single career for their entire lives. There are not many older people in advertising. The ones that are there are privately mocked by the young hip 20 somethings…regularly. Yes you too. They think you are a dinosaur and are waiting for you to die or get fired as that might be their best shot at advancement.

It is true that you need to grow…and as you do there are less possibilities for you. How many Designers in an ad agency? How many Art Directors in an ad agency? How many Creative Directors in an ad agency? I’ll give a ballpark example to further illustrate my point. Let’s say there are 50 Designers in metropolitan ad agency #1. There are 15 Art Directors in said agency. There are 5 Creative Directors in said agency. What is going to happen to the 50 designers in 10 years? They are not all going to get to be Creative Directors now are they? Will the top 5 get the CD role? Perhaps. Maybe one or two of them are just okay but know the VP of marketing.

What if you are a Creative Director. Your account goes bankrupt through no fault of your own. Your agency will likely fire you if they do not have anywhere to stick you. I’ve seen people with 18 years in an agency get one week severance and help moving their stuff out the door. There is no loyalty.

Bitter? Yeah a bit I suppose. I just never read people telling the truth…it’s always articles like this where it seems like “if you do x, y and z you will be marketable for life” That is BS and you know it.

Comment from Paul
Time March 12, 2008 at 6:08 pm

As one of my ex-wives said (who was in the business), “It’s a shitty business”. But the funny thing is: although shops prize youth, the target markets are getting older as the nation’s demographics turn older. I foresee in a few years time an amusing situation where shops full of 20 year-old creatives are trying to sell stuff to a nation of 55 and 60 year old consumers, and wondering why they can’t relate.

Comment from Young’un
Time March 12, 2008 at 6:23 pm

@Paul:

Good point, but talented ad folks are also supposed to be able to see the world through their customer’s eyes.

I understand that many account-types are too lazy to do decent research and creatives are too arrogant to read it, but your target’s perspective can be taught. Add a little bit of empathy, and you’ll come up with all kinds of relevant stuff.

Four years ago i was fresh out of ad school and writing ads and collateral for senior care communities. The account executive used to congratulate my good work by saying “You’ve got an old soul, young man!”

Comment from andy
Time March 12, 2008 at 9:15 pm

don’t forget young people are much cheaper.

as an ecd who heads up a big agency, the money people who really run many large shops don’t care about the work or connecting with consumers, just hitting the quarterly numbers.

do the math.

say an agency has $250k.

1. you can have one senior person
2. or, 4 people: 2 people at $75k and 2 at $50k.

i agree with the above comments. in so many ways it’s a shitty business.

the other scary thing is you don’t really need money in your 20’s as much as in your 40’s or 50’s when you have kids, school tuition etc to pay for - and suddenly you have no career.

so save. buy a modest house early and pay it off. don’t lease an m3 and buy a $5000k TV. i know a guy who did and had to move back in with his parents when he was in his 30’s after being laid off.

have a good plan b - because one day soon it will become plan a.

sorry to be such a downer…

a beer anyone??

Comment from Henry Miller
Time March 13, 2008 at 3:49 pm

Advertising belongs to the youth. Now there’s an old argument.

The point should be not young or old but how creative you are, and there’s no age limit on that. Judging from the drivel I see on TV these days, maybe Talent Zoo should bring back some of those ‘geezers’ who actually have ideas.

In Japan the top creative directors are almost always what would be called ‘old’ here. In Britain a very highly awarded shop employed this strategy: hoards of cheap (or free) young people for random ideas, and a core squad of ‘old timers’ to craft the work.

Consider this as well: you’re the marketing director of a $50 billion company. Do you listen to the petulant, snot-nosed 20+ something lecture you on how to be hip, and why green is the color you absolutely have to use, or do you listen to the 50+ geezer make a strategic case for it?

If you’re smart, you listen to both.

There’s room in this business for everyone who’s still got an open mind.

Comment from shannon
Time March 13, 2008 at 4:28 pm

Bea Arthur is androgynous?

Comment from Bruce Glassner
Time March 13, 2008 at 7:32 pm

Sadly, it’s all true, everything negative in these comments about the ad agency business. It is rampantly (and today, probably illegally) ageist. However, I also think that most Creatives leave the business primarily because they’ve grown old enough and smart enough to get tired of the agencies’ faux glamour and self-aggrandizing myths.

The truth: No, it is not Hollywood… it is moving boxes of soap or Integrated Circuits off of shelves. And yes, their loyalty to you is precisely the client loyalty due to them: 90 days cancellation per standard contract. And yes, your Plan B should start on your first day in that Big Name ad agency.

Here’s some tips on Plan B, gleaned from 30 years in major agencies as a copywriter, ACD, VP/ExecCD, and Account Planning Director.

1. Freelance. Yes, even…no, especially… when employed as an agency Creative. Keep a couple of small, local accounts you can handle nights and weekends. It’s nice extra income when employed and ESSENTIAL income when you’re laid off… notice I said “when” not “if.” And you’ll be amazed at the income tax write-offs you get as a small, paert-time, home-based business. I took great vacations every year with my income tax refund check.

2. Specialize. One of the pioneers in the PC business once told me that a niche market is “business insurance” because you’ve acquired both knowledge and skills that are hard for a competitor to match. So look for a US-based vertical industry that requires some technical savvy or unique distribution — biotech, broadband, financial services come to mind — and dig in. A good copywriter with grounding in biotech (experience or academic) can write his/her own ticket. Tomorrow, another industry will emerge to give you a long ride… keep your eyes and mind open.

3. Make the most of your agency job. A good agency is the most excellent education possible in all of the disciplines of marketing and communications. Learn everything you can from your media, research, and brand strategy people — and yes, everything your Account Executives know about how corporations really work. That knowledge will be more important to you than a CLIO or Gold Lion — a corporate marketing communications department is where you are most likely to spend the last 2/3rds of your creative career.

4. Do real art…after work at home. Write articles or a book or a screenplay. Paint. Do a graphic novel. Just for your own creative pleasure… it’s not important whether it “sells,” only that it’s really the best of your talent. That will be truly creative and deeply satisfying. Moreover, it will help you understand the difference between artful advertising and Art… and be more comfortable in your daily advertising role.

These are strategies that have worked for me… and allow me to continue doing advertising creative at age 65 — freelancing as a copywriter (where all the fun is for me) and working on big company projects nearly full-time.

Hey, you other senior Creatives… right or wrong?