The Only Lens

Occasionally I read the ad tabloid that is Campaign. Apparently last week they reprinted our ECD joke. Er, thanks, I think. Now, although it's the bit I invariably read first, I almost always get irritated by the Private View section. Opinions eh? Arseholes etc, you know the saying. I think that's mainly because most people use the column to try to get across some kind of buzzword or something that they're trying claim ownership of. This week, however, someone wrote something that I agree with completely. But it also made me feel a bit sad for our industry.

It's by Simon Francis, chief exec of Saatchi & Saatchi EMEA. In the intro, he states that he's reviewing the work through the lens of advertising being for "...having big ideas that motivate and move people - lots of people - to behave in way that's beneficial to our clients". That's great. I wholeheartedly agree with him. And he does go on to review the work very fairly and accurately in this way (in my 'umble opinion).

But surely this is the only way we should be judging the work we do for clients, isn't it?

The sad thing is that for a lot of people in the business, clearly it isn't. The fact that Mr Francis needs to spell out in an ad industry mag that that's how he's judging the work, isn't that pretty sad for the ad industry?

No wonder clients think ad agencies have lost the plot.