Gun Control

Why would I ever write anything about gun control? Because this is about not understanding your customer or listening to them.

                          ​Oh shoot!

                          ​Oh shoot!

I read a tweet by Laurie Ruettimann that made me laugh so hard I almost fell off my chair.  She was in Target and overheard someone asking a question. Here’s the tweet:

OH at Target: "Do you sell staple guns?" "No, we don't sell guns."

Now, I know for a fact that Target does have staple guns. At least they sell them on their website. So I imagine they carry them in their stores as well. And probably the ammo for them. Like staples.

This is a case of someone not listening – only hearing the word gun, and giving an immediate answer to their perception of what was said.

Target just lost out on a sale. Because their staff is either uninformed of what a staple gun is, or they listen to every fifth word.

How many other sales do they lose because their staff Does Not Listen? They’ll never know. Because as my father-in-law used to say, “Profits hide a multitude of sins.” As long as they're making bank, they don't have to worry about a lost sale here or there.

So, how many times have you come up with the wrong answer because you weren’t listening? Failure to pay attention can kill a sale, an agreement, a smooth project or just a pleasant conversation quicker than you can say Stanley Sharp Shooter.

And you thought this post was about the Second Amendment and things that go bang.​

Why Am I the Oldest Person Working On [name whatever it is]

I was researching my post about Rob Strasser and found this post on the adidas internal blog – their History Project – the post was written by the ‘Godfather’ of the project: Peter Moore.

Feel like you’re the oldest person on the project? Have a seat.

Feel like you’re the oldest person on the project? Have a seat.

As a native Oregonian, and way back when I was a graphic designer, always looking for a cool assignment, I paid attention to the folks at Nike and adidas. I had friends there and occasionally did a little freelance work for them. So the fact that they were – and still are my contemporaries seems somewhat odd.

I still think of them as 30-somethings. I’m surely 30 in my head. 

What struck me was what Peter Moore, the Godfather, had to say about his age:

“Finally, the reason I am the “Godfather” of this project is simply because I am, by far, the oldest person on this project (and most every adidas project I work on).”

I’ve written about ageism, as it applies to advertising, and perhaps it is a young-person’s game. There’s a lot of changing technology, things are moving faster – or so everyone seems to think. Well, information travels faster, and therefore marketing a product must be immediate. But even more importantly, it must be relevant.

We’re not too old to work on your project. But why do I always feel like I'm the oldest person in the room? 

Oh, that's right. Because I am. What good is longevity in an advertising career if we can't apply and share all those lessons learned?

The process itself (any process really) does take time. To do things well and thoughtfully, and make them truly relevant, does take skill, experience and thorough consideration. Why is it that we react just as quickly to the unimportant [some celeb’s drunken escapade], as we do to the tragedies [Boston Marathon bombings]?

I think that we all need to step back from our media-filled frenzy and decide what is truly important for our clients and, even more, for ourselves. Faster isn’t better. It just gets you there faster – which may have been an unnecessarily rough ride.

React to what’s important – you may not be the most experienced to determine what that is. That's where us old folks come in handy. After all, responding quickly to the emergencies in advertising is what we seem to be about these days. The passage of time fine-tunes our personal GPS. We know how to get there quickly, but we have the experience that allows us to sort the celeb disaster from the real disasters.

Time to have a chat with your resident ‘sage’ – and pay attention. They’ve been there. Done that. You’ll learn a lot. And they are willing to share.

Slow down to be better.​

You Can Have Any Stupid Opinion You Want

That’s what my Dad said to me, not in anger but in exasperation, when my sister and I were arguing about the war in Vietnam.

It holds true for just about any opinion about anything.

What Dad’s statement means to me is, yes I have an opinion, and in the Big Picture, it’s just plain irrelevant to anything or anyone – except me.

And yes, my opinions about Vietnam were really important. My sister had it all wrong.​

But opinions can be dangerous – if they spark a riot, sway the public as if it were fact, cause a divorce, or send you to a crappy restaurant.

Think about the origin of your opinions on anything. The type of music you like, what you wear, where you’ll be ‘seen’, how you vote. Are they originated in experience? A convincing argument? Research?

Until there is proof, we just have opinions.

And yes, they are stupid.​ Except for mine.

Ageism in Agencies – Does it Exist?

There was a discussion in one of my LinkedIn Groups about age. Here’s the question and below that, my response:

"Q: At what age does a HR, CEO finds the candidate not employable? late 40s, 50s, 60s...be it creative, client servicing..."​

The idea of too old depends on HR and the hiring manager. HR usually vets incoming resumes for open positions; and if they’re worth their salt, also actively follows talent they would like on their team.

Age shouldn't be an issue. At all. But it is.

Just because someone is pushing 50, 60 or even 70, doesn't mean their talents are dusty and they are void of current knowledge.

The problem becomes one of perception. HR, the CEO or hiring manager may be well under 40, may not have experience working with someone ‘older’, and their idea of an individual in that age-range resembles their parents.

If a person in a position to hire has had the awesome experience of working their way up through an agency with a mentor who is in that age-range, they may consider hiring someone ‘that old’. A perceptual shift.

However, I’m seeing a lot of ‘hot, young agencies’ comprised of 20- 30- somethings who are successful – but the learning curve is steep. Lots of time and dollars wasted ‘re-inventing’ what the seasoned ‘ad man’ (and woman) already know. Bill Gates said, “Success is a lousy teacher.” He is right.

Buoyed with an experienced team member, the young shops can get where they want to go faster avoiding common pitfalls. This translates to more time to work on great creative, thus eliminating unnecessary costs in time and materials.

Ageism is alive in advertising. And actually, everywhere. Those of us over 40, or 50, or 60 have a lot of knowledge. And we’re ready to share.

So to answer your question: there is not a ‘too old’. An individual doesn't fit if their experience, skills and talent are not relevant to your needs.

What do you think? If you’re ‘over 40’ have you experienced shift in your ability to get hired in your field; regarded for insight or sought-out for opinion/advice?

If you are ‘under 40’ do you find those who are older are less or more creative, capable or relevant? Would you hire someone over 50 or 60?

'Lean In' and All That...

I love this quote:
"Sure he [Fred Astaire] was great, but don't forget Ginger Rogers did everything he did backwards...and in high heels!" -- Bob Thaves

That’s right.

Well, with all this hullabaloo about Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer – strong, executive women doing it all – it’s time to come back to reality.

There are a lot of women out there who ‘have it all’, are ‘doing it all’, and didn’t exactly plan it that way.

Careers, kids, a husband or partner, house, car, student loans, a dry bar appointment at 6:30am and a quick detour to grab Starbucks before work.

That’s one scenario and not the one that is relevant…

Job, kids, mom/sis/aunt/other relative/friend, apartment, bus, student loans, and a mad dash to get her hair kinda dry before she rushes off to work.

That’s the common scenario.

I don’t want to be a downer here. Instead, let’s be realistic – the fact of the matter is that I really don’t care about Sheryl or Marissa because they are so far from what the 99% (or insert your percentage here) do, that reading articles about them is just a waste of time.

I have been in the ‘business world’ for, let’s see…75% of my life. And I’ve been reading the same crap since the ‘60’s.

So listen here, if you want women to be empowered:
let’s get the REAL unemployment figures reduced (the media and government stats are simply a joke);
let’s have a REAL conversation – no scratch that – REAL solution to affordable, safe daycare (all this healthcare talk would be irrelevant if we had jobs);
let’s cut through the crap where the good ol’ boy network still thrives, and women managers (for some reason) stick it to their female subordinates;
and don’t mess with working women’s hours so they can’t manage the routine they have carefully carved-out.

I’m sure there’s more. A lot more.

I don’t know if Sheryl and Marissa wear high heels while dancing backwards, but my guess is that they have a lot of assistance if they do. That makes it look easy. And evidently makes them experts.

Yeah, I know. They are successful execs, but how many women are actually in powerful positions in their respective companies? I rest my case.

I’m glad women are getting (some) executive positions, but this ‘conversation’ just isn’t going away. Therefore, I will not read anything about those two women at all – because they are the only women we’re hearing about. Sad.

More than that, they just aren’t relevant to any woman I know.

Let’s get back to work.​

The Drama of Creative Agencies or Something Like That

Okay, once in a while you just have to call someone out on their B.S.

Here you go.

So I’m a fan of Ad Contrarian, and checked the comments on his post about a particular agency’s landing page, and one comment had a link to Agency Wank.

Agency Wank takes screen shots of statements agencies make about themselves, posts them on his site, and then folks post notes (comments).

Well, one agency that was captured got very, very angry and invited the Wank over for a drink and a laugh, and – let me quote here; “Afterwards, I personally will kick the living s**t out of you. It’ll be a hoot!”

Nice.

As a result, it looks like the Wank has taken a break – but the site lives on…

Well my take on it is this: First, if agencies wrote anything as pedestrian as what they actually do on their sites – without jargon – it just wouldn’t be…interesting. They bury the fact that they’re asking a simple question:  Use us because we do everything better than the other guy.

Second, anyone in an agency taking a comment seriously from a Tumblr site called Agency Wank, and inviting that person over for consumption of alcohol and a good shellacking is…a waste of time.

Unless…

I think these two guys – I’m sure they are guys – could parlay this into some really good…promotion.

Forget Cannes. Instead we can have some sort of Agency Smackdown or Cagefight to ordain the best Agency Statement of Purpose Ever. The battle of obfuscation.

Awesome.                                                                                                                                

The stage will be set in an historic building with plenty of exposed brick, hip retro furniture, microbrews, and an open concept office so everyone can contribute - and collaborate on the win.

The reality of it all is that once you put it out there for the world to read, everyone has an opinion. Using tons of jargon is just asking for it.

So I just have to ask: There’s actually an ad guy without a thick skin?

Didn’t know they existed.