I hate advertising
I hate advertising
- Advertising
- I hate advertising
As a young man I had only two dreams for the future: I would become an actor, or an adman. The Theatre Academy didn't want me, but Westerdals and the Norwegian School of Marketing (NMH) did. So advertising it was.
To my mother's great sorrow.
My mother is a true child of '68. She left the arts and crafts school to give birth to me, and moved to the countryside to grow biodynamic vegetables and correct opinions. And yet (or perhaps because of it) she got a son who is skeptical of both political utopias and political correctness. A son who trusts natural science more than natural medicine, and thinks facts should weigh at least as much as feelings.
A son who could have become an artist, but became a mercenary for capitalism instead.
Competition creates innovation
Unlike many of my colleagues in the industry, I have never been ashamed of my job. Even as a young, idealistic so-called socialist I noticed that the world was moving fast. In time I understood that industrialization and division of labor generate prosperity, that free trade promotes peace, and that competition creates innovation we all benefit from.
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Even if capitalism (perhaps) creates greater differences, it also makes sure that the vast majority of us live longer, richer and better lives. Is capitalism perfect? Far from it! It is simply infinitely better than every other system we have ever tried!
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Influencing people's decisions
So I am quite proud of my job, and I think I ended up on the right shelf in life. I have a lot of strange connections between the left and right halves of my brain, and for some reason I find it exciting to influence people's decisions. So when I suddenly saw myself on the TV screen one day, I handled the job as a host like a hobby. Because I am, and remain, an adman.
Imagine, then, my great sorrow when today I have to admit that I am sick and tired of advertising. And imagine how scary it feels to come out of the closet as an advertising hater.
Engaging advertising
The feeling has probably been there for a long time, because you hear quite a few "finally, it's here" before anyone says "simple is often best." And self-satisfied, boastful advertising full of clichés is probably only liked by self-absorbed advertisers.
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But when I started in the advertising industry, we often made funny and engaging ads that won both the public's heart and more international advertising awards than any other country. (Relative to population, mind you.)
Now we make almost as professional advertising as the foreign giants, but nobody cares. And Norwegian advertising was knocked off the podium long ago by our sweet little brother Sweden.
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Olga Marie and Solo
We used to know that people's wallets sit closer to the heart than to the brain, so Olga Marie sang "Hurra for deg" to sell Solo. Everyday life was not quite the same without VG, lottery millionaires were not quite like other millionaires, and Statoil supported tomorrow's heroes. But 16 years after Doffen died, it is mostly the audience that dies. In front of the screen.
As we have gained more and more ways of reaching people, it has become harder and harder to get people to listen. So more and more advertisers use an outdoor voice to break through. But nobody wants to buy from a roaring street vendor who suddenly stands in the middle of the living room. Or a blinking circus on the phone.
And there is no use shouting at people who have decided not to listen. Going from 3+ to 10+ is not enough either. Neither is tripling the number of media channels and making sure the shoes you looked at follow you in every channel. Or launching ever newer buzzwords with small specialist agencies attached, fighting over advertisers' ever thinner budgets.
A billboard for Gule Sider
Most people respond by putting stickers on the mailbox and swiping past the ads. They swap ad-filled TV for ad-free streaming services, and get help installing an ad blocker. Most people hate bad advertising. So do I.
My mother spent many years forgiving me, and it only happened when a colleague told her about a funny ad he had seen: a huge billboard with a man hanging by his fingertips, with the search term "ladders" and the logo of Gule Sider (the Norwegian Yellow Pages). Then my mother could proudly tell people that her son had made that billboard.
And if I am to forgive myself, it is high time to make some advertising people talk about again. I'll try again tomorrow.
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It's documented: being liked pays off (in Norwegian)
Questions and answers about Paal and advertising
Who is Paal Tarjei Aasheim?
Why did Paal become an adman?
Why does Paal say he hates advertising?
What does Paal think works in advertising?
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