Now what?

When I heard of Gary Prouk's death on March 7, I knew an era in Canadian advertising had come to an end.   And while I never worked with or for him, I certainly worked in his shadow.  Thinking about what his death means for the industry, Paddy Chayefsky came to mind and what he said through Howard Beale during the monologue about the death of Edward Ruddy in the film Network:  

And woe is us!  We're in a lot of trouble!  

Had he tried to break into the industry now, he'd never get past HR.  It's because he wouldn't meet the standardized, sanitized, and sanctified description of the ideal creative's qualifications that the advertising holding companies use.  And among today's creatives, he likely would be mocked because he didn't look like what a creative is supposed to look like: he was not a hipster, he never wore a wool cap in summer, sported a soul patch or a multitude of tattoos. He was someone you could pass on the street without noticing.  No, Gary would be a member of faceless crowd who would never be one of the "qualified candidates" called back.  Collaborative and a team player?  Yeah, right.  Provide clear and objective critiques of creative work?  Um, no... unless setting linears on fire meets the definition of objective criticism. Expert in SEO and Social Media?  I imagine his response would be:

Gary Prouk would likely end up at one of the small agencies: the risk-takers, places that push the boundaries of what's been done before.  Well, at least he'd be there until the Four Horsemen of the Advertising Apocalypse (Omnicom, WPP, Publicis and Interpublic) swooped in with bushels of cash.  Chayefsky and Beale again:  

It's the individual that's finished. It's the single, solitary human being that's finished. It's every single one of you out there that's finished. Because this is no longer a nation of independent individuals. It's a nation of some two hundred odd million transistorized, deodorized, whiter-than-white, steel-belted bodies, totally unnecessary as human beings and as replaceable as piston rods.

Another genius who recently departed—but thankfully he left standing up—is Bob Hoffman.  Bob is my version of Kalliope, and I admire his way of speaking without fear.  On 29 March, Bob called it quits with the agency business.  What he had to say on his blog about his last day is suitable for framing:

 

Graduation Day

Today is my last official day in the agency business.

I'll sign some papers, de-commission my laptop (whatever the hell that means) and say goodbye to the agency I helped found over 20 years ago.

It's supposed to be a bittersweet occasion. But it's not. It's easy. The art of advertising is still interesting, but the agency business has lost its appeal.

While I do a lot of railing about brand babble and digital stupidity, they are not the big problem. The big problem is consolidation.

Like so much of life in America these days, what used to be an industry lead by craftspeople is now something very different. Much of the industry is in the hands of a few investors and financiers who know nothing about making ads. They know about making money.

Sadly, their influence is felt everywhere. Like them, we have become obsessed with numbers and desensitized to artistry. As a former science teacher, I understand the appeal of data. But I've exhausted my energy for explaining to people who don't understand science how misleading most of the data we collect are and how often that data is misinterpreted.

Advertising has become tough for the craftspeople. They have no ammunition in the face of the onslaught of the philistines. There is a lot of frustration and dissatisfaction. There have always been unhappy ad people, but today discontent among our most important element is dangerously pervasive.

I am not foolish enough to fight the march of "progress." I know reality when I see it, and I understand that objects in motion tend to stay in motion. But that doesn't mean I have to like it or approve of it.

Personally, I'm not complaining. The ad business owes me nothing. I've had a very satisfying and rewarding career. I've gone way further than a C student has any right to go.

I've had the great good fortune to help create two successful independent agencies and, most importantly, I've had a hand in providing a livelihood for a few hundred good people and their families. I'm proud of this.

I'm not through with advertising yet. But I have had enough of the agency business.

 As these creative leaders head for the exits, voluntarily or otherwise, megacorp HR departments replace them with piston rods.  And woe is us! We're in a lot of trouble!