Advertising has got worse over the last two decades and today's admen are not doing enough to grip the attention of consumers.
That is the view of advertising legend Sir John Hegarty, who has warned that audiences are losing interest in ads and young creatives are spending too much time on YouTube instead of dreaming up great ideas.
In a rallying call to his peers, the founder and global creative chairman of ad agency BBH said: "I can’t think of any other industry in the world that thinks it can succeed by making a product worse. And our product has got worse. That’s not an opinion, that’s a fact.
"What we’re not doing today is coming up with the kind of ideas that are game-changing, that change the fortune of brands. Our audience, the people we are talking to, their appreciation of what we do has consistently gone down since 1990... it’s now less than 10 per cent. Our industry really has to look at that.
"Great creative work is the result of somebody’s individual passion to drive something through and that isn’t about collaboration but about having a vision, a vision to do something really great and then bringing people with you.
"It really disappoints me that I go round and look at creatives and they’re all watching YouTube. Why are you watching YouTube? What’s the point... it’s been done!"
Hegarty, one of the world's most awarded and respected admen, was interviewed as part of The Blank Sheet Project being run by Arjowiggins Creative Papers.
You can see more of his forthright interview with D&AD chief executive Tim Lindsay on The Blank Sheet Project website.
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I could not agree more when it comes to TV ads. As a very infrequent TV viewer I am amazed by the state of the average TV ad every time I turn the box on. It feels like being shouted at by idiots. Interesting things are happening in new technology, but none of it is game changing (aside from the technology). The question is, is it budget, media and audience fragmentation or creativity which is to blame?
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At what age do a person always start sentence with "In my day..."
No one goes out to be less creative. It's just changed. Long gone are the days of presenting an infinited budget TV ads (that would be shown on one of two channels), a poster, a radio ad and a black and white press ad. WOW! imagine if it was still that easy?
Well, it's not.
Smart phones, the internet, Rich-meda billboards, TV that you can pause and rewind. All created within the last 20 years.
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I think it's pretty ignorant of admen to say that watching YouTube is disappointing. It's not the tool, it's how those creatives are using it. Some ideas cannot be dreamed up of without seeing things you might not otherwise have access to. Maybe it's time you look at the quality of the people you are hiring, not the tools they are using.
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