TwoCents | The True Art of Advertising is Dead (Part 2)

I promised that there was more and here it is... If you scroll deep into the internet and searched why advertising as we used to know it is dying, you find articles about how traditional advertising has become irrelevant ever since a major shift in media consumption or how agencies failed to realign themselves with new trends, innovate or make proper succession plans. Some have identified that the idea that social media will help brands reduce their dependence on ‘expensive’ and ‘wasteful’ advertising…or that they could easily tap into a community of followers and reach more people for free is one of the reasons that led us to this point. I do not disagree with any of these but whilst there is truth to these statements, this has no imprint on what I am so passionately writing about. Advertising used to be an art form, a medium of creative expression where ad agencies did their best to get the very best version for their clients. This is what I mean. Agencies used to create songs that lasted forever in the memories of the audience, stories that were not quick to be forgotten, and put their back into the work so much so that it was hard not to see results. They understood their consumers and dug deep into the market until they become one with who they were selling to. The graphics were rich and the messages elite. But we really can’t say this is the same as today. We really can’t look at the overload of adverts on all our social media platforms and see anything that reminds us of quality advertising. I dare you to argue otherwise. Scroll through your phone this instant, find me the best of the best, and make this post invalid. I truly believe this art form is dying because the ones who truly appreciated it have been whisked away on the wings of evolving trends or perhaps, the internet has so radically changed things that it is hard for agencies to pick up. It could also possibly be that like every other creative work, advertising is expensive. The process of creating those iconic ads is marked with money, spending a lot of money and with all the downtimes that the economy has been through, not a lot of people are willing to pay anymore especially when a cheap designer and a self-acclaimed copywriter can do it at the cost of nothing. Only the big brands these days still understand and appreciate the art and we can count their numbers on just one finger. Slowly, it is eroding, the beauty that was once advertising. Now ads are splashed everywhere, without meaning and without a story. Designers just grab pictures of famous people, add a few effects and call it advertising. A lot of us are on this table, including me but even when the memory of good advertising is rising up within me and I feel the need to put in the extra effort and do it like it used to be done, I remind myself that ‘You are not paid enough to do this so just calm down’ and I back to reworking Canva templates. I don’t know if there is a solution to this…I don’t know if like every other trend that has been recycled, that we will go back to the art of advertising. I wonder if one day, all the good old agencies will finally lay their work to rest and take a humble bow out of the industry. I wonder if the generation that appreciated advertising, the ones who gave it their light and passion, the ones who bled true creativity, I wonder when they are all gone… if all we’ll be left of is a museum full of old memories and a future of ads that tell us nothing. No one wants to put in the effort anymore. Not the clients, not the agencies, and definitely not the modern-day designers or copywriters who are just trying their best to survive. And we can’t blame them…’ too much’ because the market economy has changed, media consumption has evolved and technology has taken over but still… Let’s do better…This is the message. Take references from old adverts even if you are still going to rework canva templates and steal copy from a paraphrased version of something you saw somewhere. It won’t be easy considering the new generation of clients are barely appreciating our mediocre advertising efforts and talk less of doing it how it used to be done…but let’s try our best. Until next time!

The True Art Of Advertising Is Dead!