[arg_discuss] [pm] Commercial vs. Grassroots, Player or PM?

[Michael Monello]

On Apr 1, 2006, at 1:31 AM, Christy Dena wrote:
> May I also add in this discussion about advertising and art that  
> there is
> also the perspective of the two approaches converging? There is a  
> book, for
> instance, by Scott Donaton that outlines what he terms "Madison &  
> Vine":

I agree with what he says, but I have a slightly different take. It's  
the advertising industry that's showing cracks. While distribution  
models are changing, artists are very adept at changing with them,  
and wherever the audience goes the artists will go with them,  
creating new art and taking advantage of new forms of distribution.

The advertising industry, on the other hand, is bloated and filled  
with egos. Arts and entertainment industries have healthy subcultures  
and branches built on taking chances and experimenting -- when  
something the indies are doing works, the big boys co-opt it --  
that's how we go from Island Pictures, Miramax (indie version), and  
October Films to Focus Features (Universal), Paramount Classics, and  
Miramax (Disney version).

Advertising has no such subcultures or branches. Ad agencies are  
afraid of stirring things up or pissing off clients. Now, in many  
ways it's clients who have created that environment, by jumping ship  
when their agency makes one mistake rather than riding out a  
partnership, but agencies need to own their share of blame. Some are  
trying to do new things, but it's a difficult battle -- you have to  
fight layers of scared creatives and executives inside agencies --  
people scared of losing their jobs, or people who fear anything new  
and attempt to keep the cult of the TV Spot alive and well. Then you  
have to battle with the clients, who initially sign off on radical  
new ideas then get scared the closer you get to launch and want to  
make changes. It's so much easier to just whip up a traditional  
campaign and collect the check, but ultimately that's short term  
gains for long-term losses.

There's a real danger in advertising agencies wanting to become  
entertainment companies, because agencies will get eaten alive by the  
companies who are already in the space and understand it on a much  
deeper level.

Instead, agencies need to take inspiration from entertainment  
companies, and apply some of those concepts to advertising and  
marketing.

A subtle, but important difference, in my opinion.

Best,

Mike
__________
haxan | films | http://www.haxan.com