Stemming from the overwhelming success of AMC’s Mad Men, a spinoff has been born. Premiering last month, AMC has opened the doors to the chaotic, unpredictable and sometimes cutthroat world of ad agencies. The narrative centers around two agencies that are chosen to pitch new campaign ideas to a major brand. The show doesn’t feel overproduced, like most “reality” TV, but is heavily edited to squeeze in a week of agency work, and a big pitch all in one nice hour-long package. You don’t have to be in advertising to enjoy the show. My wife and I watched the first two episodes of the series last night and I found two interesting takeaways.
Funny doesn’t always translate.
McKinney, an agency in Durham, was pitching two ideas to the executives at Subway. One of their ideas was very well received and they ultimately won the business. However, the other idea just didn’t translate from the creative sanctuary of the McKinney offices. As they were explaining the idea to the executives, there were uncomfortable blank stares of boredom and confusion. In fact, you didn’t really get the sense that the pitchman was into it either. Though you were only given a few minutes of what was likely many hours of discussion between the creatives at the agency, the viewer was led to believe the idea was ill-conceived and perhaps a bit forced. The idea that was funny, creative and edgy to the team at McKinney just didn’t translate to the executives at Subway.
It’s easy to get an idea or concept stuck in your head that you just believe is brilliant. And it may be, but you may be the only one that thinks so. In fact, there’s a bit of science behind it. Studies have shown that people with specific political persuasions tend to process news very differently. News stories that support a point of view are often given far more credence than stories that oppose one’s views. The truth should just be reality, but it rarely is. This phenomenon isn’t surprising to anyone who watches cable news in today’s divisive political climate.
Is there a lesson here? I suppose it’s that taking risks and thinking differently is good, and you should defend your ideas vigorously. But, know when to wave the white flag.
Trampling a project to death.
Back at WDCW, an agency just down the road from our west coast office in Culver City, the creatives had an idea percolating. They wanted to sell Subway’s breakfast to a tough demographic, 18-24 year olds. They were working on a concept “zAMbies” that likened the young breakfast seekers to zombies who needed a fresh new breakfast routine.
The concept was new and creative, but risky. It didn’t look like anything Subway had ever
done. While the agency was working on the idea, overseeing the project was the agency founder, Tracy Wong. He made a great point about the creative process. While pointing out how hard the entire team was working on the project, he reminded viewers that it’s easy for ideas to get stepped on, suggesting that too many people were involved.
I would venture to bet that everyone in advertising has experienced this frustration. An idea starts getting kicked around a team, then another group weighs in, then senior management puts in their two cents, and eventually the concept is trampled to death, crushed by the overwhelming weight of too many opinions. Maybe that’s how the process is supposed to work. Or maybe it’s the result of a process that isn’t working. I really don’t know. I do know that advertising and design is largely subjective. By definition, something that is subjective cannot be right or wrong, true or false. But somehow, we let a pure idea get tossed around, torn apart, painted over, until it’s not recognizable by its originator. In my experience, fewer opinions are almost always better, but that could just be the bias in me, discussed in the third paragraph of this posting.
