Can admen still be mavericks?
The modern day advertising industry is many things, but is it still an interesting place for creative people to work?
Robots - one of the many things David Buonaguidi builds outside work
Before the audacity of that question prompts the folk at D&AD to hit me over the head with their latest annual – a tome so hefty it could floor a prize boxer, let alone an out of shape Lancastrian – let me explain how it came to mind.
For this latest issue of The Drum, published today, I’ve been interviewing a number of top creatives about the interesting things they do beyond their day jobs, from making art and music to running a sweet shop and (I kid you not) building robots. You can read all about these hidden talents in our feature, Beyond the agency walls.
Advertising creatives have long been portrayed as frustrated artists, but what came out of those interviews, at least from a couple of the people I spoke to, was more a sense of frustration with the advertising industry itself.
“Creative mavericks wanted to join the advertising business years ago because they could be creative and create something interesting,” Karmarama founder (and robot maker) David Buonaguidi told me. “They can’t now; there are not enough start-ups of interest and independent places that want to change the business for the better. So they are either going elsewhere or setting up smaller more niche creative businesses that form part of the bigger picture.”
That sentiment was shared by painter turned adman Flo Heiss, who agreed that the process of making commercial work today has become “quite rigid”. He said: “If a maverick comes along the agency environment is not there to support, encourage and foster their creativity, and that breeds frustration.”
There is no doubt that in recent years the ad world has done away with many of the excesses of its past. Whether you think that is a blessing or a curse will probably have a lot to do with your birthdate, your gender and how much you value your liver.
But in becoming more grown up, it seems to have become a more serious place to work too. As Buonaguidi put it, “clients can’t afford to fail now”. The obvious danger with that mentality is it leads to safe work, uninspiring agencies and creative kids looking for their kicks elsewhere.
Maybe advertising creatives do end up in this business because they’re frustrated artists at heart, but let’s not turn them into frustrated admen as well.
Heiss hit the nail on the head when he said: “There are now more ways than ever to hit that sweet spot of arty mainstream and that’s exciting. But that’s why a lot of the talent goes to Google.”
This piece was first published as the leader article in the 22 January edition of The Drum magazine, available now from The Drum Store.