IS ADVERTISING DEAD? DUH. YES.
Let me explain.
“Advertising” is of course not dead. Just go to any fucking webpage anywhere, everywhere, and you’ll notice that advertising isn’t dead.
No, Advertising Creativity is as good as dead. Dead as a doornail. Dead as a Doorknob. Dead as Ditch Water. Dead as an Undertaker’s Handshake. Dead as Dog Shit. Dead as a Dodo (though, they night be coming back). Dead as Bill Bernbach.
Advertising sans Creativity is not Advertising. It’s “Contentising”. It’s a Space Invader. It’s fucking Noise.
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“People” have been saying “advertising is dead” for decades. In 1994, Wired asked: Is Advertising Dead? In the article, the writer predicted that during the 2015 Super Bowl, you would be given a choice as to what commercials you wanted to watch, and then computers aided by satellites would instantly create a customized spot set right in your neighborhood. We’re pretty much there, in 2023.
Most of the pieces since then have been wishful-thinking articles written by digital “gurus” who would benefit financially from its demise.
This guy, writing on Huffington Post in 2013, said it’s dead because “digital” has lowered the barrier “to create quality content and clients (are) amenable to hearing ideas from anyone”.
The author seems to have left out the word “low” before quality. Yes, digital has lowered the barrier by lowering the cost, and really lowering the quality, of “content”. Of course, clients are amenable. But you get what you fucking pay for.
In 2015, Dan Wieden (RIP), a de facto spokesperson for traditional advertising said that the digital revolution “will transform us or render us inert”.
Inert is winning.
Because—Digital, “Tech”, kills creativity. In everything, not just advertising. And this started way before AI. But AI is now killing it faster, twisting the knife. Because our industry, even so-called “creative” agencies are all over AI, already creating ads out the ass with AI. Even competing AI ads (below).
Selling creativity is hard, Always has been. But selling the advantages of AI—cost and speed—is easy. As easy as rolling off a log, easy as a breeze, easy as nevermind.
Yes, as Nils Leonard said this week, we are killing advertising. Not consumers. Not brands. We have made the word “creative” weak, nearly inert. Great job, everybody.
This tweet by Adweak sums up most brands’ position on creative advertising in 2023 (sorry, Substack doesn’t allow tweet embeds):
As long as the digital data proves that an original concept will work, Clients are gung-fucking-ho to buy creative ads. But no such data exists. Anyone tries to sell you this line, they’re lying through their fucking teeth.
Is it too late? It would appear so.