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Dan Goldgeier - ArticlesSince 2002, Danny G. (a.k.a. Dan Goldgeier) has been writing the most provocative advertising columns ever published. They're all witty, thoughtful and probing, and a must read for those who want a perspective rarely seen in traditional industry publications.
An Atlanta-based copywriter and ad school graduate, Dan has worked at shops big and small. He reads incessantly about advertising, does videography and video editing, and is a whiz at rock & roll trivia. Read more articles by Danny at TalentZoo.com. You can also visit his advertising copywriting site at www.danny-g.net. The War on TalentA friend of mine recently attended a conference panel entitled “How to Win the War For Talent.” Maybe you’ve seen this phrase used somewhere, too. I couldn’t believe people still use it in November 2008.There is no war for talent. Not in this day and age, not in the advertising industry, and especially not in this economy. There’s a war ON talent. From Wasilla to Madison AvenueForget politics--Sarah Palin’s a natural born ad person
Frankly, I think that when she’s done in the Alaska Governor’s office, or the White House, Sarah Palin ought to start an ad agency.
She’s perfect for it. Because she’s living embodiment of what many people have come to expect from advertising and in particular, many of the people who make it. My Client, the Bait-and-switch SleazebagsAll advertising people eventually own up to a certain amount of self-loathing about the ad business. Hucksters, whores, sellouts--we question whether the world really needs this advertising shit. For the most part though, ad people perform a service that helps clients and greases the wheels of capitalism and hey, capitalism is a good thing. But what happens when we work on something that makes us truly loathe the ad business? Are You Targeting Me? are You Targeting Me?Someone in the ad business recently told me, "In a few years, all marketing will be direct marketing." I think that's a likely proposition, and a very scary one.
Selling a client on things like CRM and one-on-one marketing is easy. Clients salivate when you mention services that “add value,” and those services tend not to involve breakthrough creative ideas. Why Few People Respect Advertising in the MorningAs an industry that assaults the public with unwelcome messages, advertising has a responsibility to do more than just make, or take, money. So, when I see a high-profile campaign that sucks, it really pisses me off because everyone sees the greed and shallowness of the ad industry.
The consequences are harmful when a high profile campaign misses the mark so widely. I’ll pick one example. I Got Your Account Planning Right Here, PalAdmit it: whenever you tell someone you work in advertising, they turn into an instant critic. At a family gathering last year, my uncle came up to me and started complaining about commercials. In this case, he was bitching about a couple of Wieden and Kennedy’s Miller High Life spots. We didn’t have a long conversation. I’m not Lying to You Right NowThe last few weeks have been rough. See, I’m a WorldCom shareholder. Or, uh, I was. And I’m pissed. Some people need to go to jail. Hell, I want to make a citizens’ arrest.
WorldCom is only the latest in a long line of corporate clusterfucks. Seems that many executives think it’s perfectly fine to lie straight-faced to the media, stockholders, customers, and most importantly, their employees. What MBA program teaches that lying is an acceptable practice? This Agency's for YouThe industry’s sucking wind--maybe advertising agencies should try advertising
Agencies are cutting costs. Cutting people. Freezing salaries. Hocking the foosball tables. Getting rid of the free bagels. All of which are symptoms of a bigger problem.
Every week, a new article appears about how advertising is dying or becoming irrelevant. In general, the industry can’t seem to stop the slide. Most agencies do good work for clients, but that message isn’t getting out. The Creative TeamstersAs a baseball fan, I get really sickened at the prospect of yet another players’ strike. Then I get really intrigued at the same time.
If baseball players, actors, and screenwriters can form unions, why can’t advertising professionals?
Advertising doesn’t require heavy lifting, and unless your boss has an X-ACTO knife fetish or full-time PMS the work isn’t dangerous, but our industry struggles with all the hot button issues that unions have traditionally tackled: Hey, Luke, Squeeze ThisIf I see any of the following phrases again I'm going to scream:
"Push the envelope."
"Good enough is not good enough."
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