What the Producer Said...24

I am occasionally asked about the state of diversity in the advertising industry. I get asked this question because I am diverse, and happen to work in the advertising industry.  Instead of giving the standard answer detailing whether I feel there is enough diversity in our industry, I usually try to frame the picture for my interviewer.

In Hollywood, you cannot tell a story without “framing.” In industry terms, framing is the art of setting the outer boundaries within which the story exists.  Sometimes it is referred to as setting the stage.

So allow me to frame.  Advertising is an old industry. As global as it may seem, advertising is an old New York industry.  It is also an industry that was traditionally a second choice vocation.  In the 50’s and 60’s if you were not going to be a doctor or lawyer, and you were not going to work in finance, your next most prestigious choice was to go into the advertising industry.  What does that mean? Well for one, it means we were an industry of second fiddles, with more chips on their shoulders than a cold-miner.  The original advertising Mad Men, already felt so uncomfortable in their own skin, that the thought of letting in a darker hue was just too much to even imagine.

Cut to modern day: We are in a new generation, but that same second tier status exists.  However, the diverse candidate definitely now has first tier choices.  Not only that, they come from families who have very specific ideas about what success looks like. They actually have icons they can look at.  Sadly ZERO, ZILTCH, NONE of them come from the advertising industry.  How do I know this? Because up until February of 2011, I was one of those icons, yet no one has ever even heard of me.

So how does the industry combat this.  Well, for the most part, they are acting like the incredibly fit old guy at the gym.  Everybody knows this guy.  By the look of his skin, he is clearly in his late forties or early fifties, yet he dyes his hair and eyebrows, wears skinny jeans and has way too many muscles for someone his age.  When we see this guy, we almost feel sorry that he is holding on so tight.

Our industry is holding on too tight. We are being too defensive.  We see only what we want to see when we look in the mirror.  The truth is very simple.  The diversity thing is complicated. There are many wrinkles to getting the right people in the right jobs. Our approach is a little outdated. And we spend way too much time patting ourselves on the back.

So here’s what. The next time someone asks me about how I feel about diversity in the advertising industry, I’m just gonna lift up my shirt and show them my six-pack.  Because that’s as good an answer as any of us can give.

And…fade to black.

What the Producer Said...23 Skid-Do

I was recently asked to contribute to an article in the Financial Times about Harley-Davidson’s advertising outreach to women, Hispanics and African-Americans.  As you can probably guess, I did not pull any punches.  If you want to see the article, you can click here.

My issue was the way this brand is going about engaging with the audience.  Specifically, my problem is with their digital outreach.  It is reminiscent of the scene in Animal House where Kent and Larry are ushered straight through the Omega house party and introduced to Mohammed and Jugdish.

Just like Omega house, Harley Davidson is a strong brand that has a following, which includes, Hispanics and women, etc.  To make the decision that you are going to suddenly usher them to their proper sections of your website, is potentially very insulting. There are far more subtle ways to do this.  And, as always, I recommend that H-D turn to the movie business for guidance.  Specifically, look to the art that is the movie trailer.

The other day I was watching TV with my son and the trailer for Ice Age: Continental Drift came on.  He actually said to me, “Wow dad, the whole cast of the Ice Age movie is Black (he meant “multicultural)."

I thought about allowing him this Tooth Fairy/ Santa Claus/ Universal Healthcare moment , but then realized I didn’t want my son growing up in the same bubble that produced me (more on that in a future post).

So, I explained to him how studios edit trailers for specific audiences.  And I reminded him that we were watching BET.

It was amazing to see the light go off in his head. That night he found a whole new respect for what his father does for a living. You are not going to ingratiate your audience by putting “place-cards” on your website.  You gotta be more like Annie Reid, who just happened to be trying to cross a busy highway as Sam Baldwin notices her.  Really? Okay here’s the link.

So here’s what! When it comes to any target audience: Women, Multicultural, LGBT, you will only have success if you can prove that you know where they are, and that just happens to be where you also want to be.  This is why Visa has over 56% purchase volume and American Express (the devil) has only 15%.  And that is why Harley-Davidson better hope their female customers have dial-up.

And…fade to black.

Imagine you navigate to my blog only to find the following message:

Thank you for visiting. I am currently out of the office but will return in five days. While I know you were hoping to be entertained, or at least amused right now? It will have to wait until I am back.

How many of you would be back? (Thanks Ali) But most of you would take that sh*t personally. Guess what? That’s exactly what happens when your Client gets an unexpected O3 from you. (For those of you unfamiliar, an “O3” is an Out Of Office message.)

In Swimming with Sharks (one of my favorite movies), Kevin Spacey’s character (Buddy Ackerman),is epically incensed by his assistant’s matter of fact acceptance that Spacey’s boss is “unreachable.”

Guy: She’s white-water rafting.

Buddy: I don’t see the problem?

Guy: Well, I don’t imagine they have phones on the river.

Buddy: They have helicopters, don’t they?

It only gets worse for Guy after that.

The point is, Out of Office messages infer that you are “unreachable.” (I had to Google to make sure I spelled that word correctly.)

As a Producer, I don’t understand the meaning of “unreachable.” You know what? Check that. As an Account Exec; as a Strategist; even as an Adjunct Professor, I have never been unreachable. Just ask any student who has emailed me at midnight on a Sunday.

I have analyzed this in myself, and realize it comes down to the basic human instinct of wanting to win.  If I miss an email, the Client wins. And honestly, I don’t want them to win.

So here’s what. 

If you want to be a Producer (which, as you all know, is my version of a Superstar Account Leader). Then you have to remove “unreachable” from your lexicon.

You need to check email even when you are out of the office and on weekends.

If it helps, make it a game. See if the Client realizes that you are enjoying drinks on the beach on Turks and Caicos (been there) instead of toiling at your desk.  Make it a game that YOU win by not giving them the last word. Make it a game by controlling the flow of information between you and your Client.  But ultimately (like WordsWithFriends), make your Client believe that the game is always in motion.

   And…fade to black. 

Think Different

Army Strong

The Driving Machine

These are not just taglines from well-known campaigns. These are examples of game-changing concepts.  Throughout history, concepts have been the way to sell in an idea. Whether we were trying to sell the idea of a country where everyone has freedom of choice or the idea that you could order a hamburger without pickles or lettuce, it has always been about the CONCEPT.

Cut to: Interior of a studio at any ad agency. Two twenty-somethings sitting in the editing bay feverishly cutting together a “spec spot.”  Creative Director with short-cropped hair, salt and pepper scruff, and black horned-rimmed glasses hanging over their shoulder.  “We need to get this perfect for the RFP submission.  Can you move in tighter on the product shot?”

WTF!

So here's what. Why are we are skipping right over concept and going straight to execution?  Since when did that win an account? 

This might be hard for some of you to conceive but clients are not buying our ability to write copy. They are not buying our ability to capture the sun setting on a Napa Valley vineyard. They are buying our ability to think.

Does creative win pitches? Of course it does.  But it is the unseen, yet to be produced creative, that actually wins the pitch. The 3 concepts you show must be strong enough to evoke 300 execution images in the mind of the Client.  That’s when you win.

Think Different.

Concept: Don’t be like everyone else buying a home computer

Army Strong.

Concept: It takes a higher level of strength to be a soldier.

The Driving Machine.

Concept: The journey should be just as thrilling as the destination.

So, here’s what! Take a cue from the iconic concepts in our industry.

Don’t be like everyone else. Go to a higher level to make sure your next new business presentation focuses on the ever-expanding journey, and not just the destination. 

And…fade to black. 

What the Producer Said...Hey 19?

My cousin Matthew Kasindorf is a very successful tax and real estate attorney in New York.  While working together on the development of a videogame, he taught me, what has come to be, my favorite word.

Fungible:

being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind.

Something (or someone) becomes fungible when it can be easily replaced by something else with the same perceived value.  Example: If I ask you to exchange the $10 dollar bill in my wallet for the two $5 dollar bills in your wallet, then my bill is fungible.

In Hollywood fungible is sometimes the only way movies get made. Will Smith becomes fungible when he passes on a role that goes to Keanu Reeves (Guess before you click). Molly Ringwald goes fungible when she passes on the role that made Julia Roberts a household name (Guess before you click).  It’s just how things work in that industry.

In the advertising agency business, however, it is no fun being perceived as fungible.  More than ever before we are seeing Clients switch out agencies the way Basketball Wives switch out hairstyles.  We have no one to blame but ourselves. With all this bullshit talk agencies do about “culture” we have forgotten about what really used to define and set agencies apart...”Style.” 

Style is that particular approach someone brings based solely on their individuality.  For those who have style, it isn’t just about how they work.  It was how they live.  My son calls it "Swag" . But in any generation it means the same thing. Confidence-based leadership.   

We don’t hire “style” any more. A young David Ogilvy; Rick Boyko; Dan Wieden or Lee Clow, wouldn’t get the time of day from an agency based on the way we perceive talent.  We hire “relevant experience.”  Which is just a fancy term for “fungible.”  We hire someone with the exact experience of the person we are replacing.  We ask…we demand they have no style of their own,  so that they seamlessly mend the tear in our culture.  When you hire based solely on relevant experience, you end up with an entire agency that can be made irrelevant by the next shop filled with relevant experience. Darwin’s theory in reverse.

So, the next time you hear about a Client changing agencies after a year or so, don’t be so quick to lambaste the Client. Because it could be that the agency just experienced what it’s like to become out of style.

 

And…fade to black.

What The Producer Said...18 and Over

Think about the last time you left a movie theater thinking, “who is the idiot that approved this movie?” Now think of the last time you saw a television commercial and thought the same thing. (I know you are all thinking about this spot right here. ) Well, you’re welcome!

In Hollywood, and on Madison Avenue, it is not about what you sell. It is about how you sell it.  I get paid obscene amounts of money (sometimes) for teaching people how to present. But, since we’re friends, I feel like I can share with you.

As in life, I take all of my advice from the movies. Tonight’s point about selling comes from

Fast Times At Ridgemont High.

In this classic scene, Dumone is trying to prep his friend Rat for his big date with Stacey. In addition to his music recommendation and advice on how to order food, he offers this profound bit of life wisdom.

“Act like wherever you are, that’s the place to be.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz2zVcO9Eus

The basic premise is if you show enthusiasm for the idea you are presenting, that enthusiasm will be contagious.

In the conference room, if you show how excited you are about the information you are about to impart to a current or potential Client, they tend anticipate and prepare their mind for something great.  Think about the way you are when you are about to watch your favorite comedian. You are literally laughing inside before he or she even starts. That is what happens when you show strong enthusiasm. 

So, the next time you are in front of a Client, pretend you have invested your life savings and your kid’s college fund into “The Rum Diaries.” And sell the hell out of it!

And…fade to black.

Btw, The lady will have the linguini with white clam sauce, and a coke with no ice.

What the Producer Said...17 Again

It was almost 100 years ago when three stars, one Producer/Director (and one lawyer) banded together to form United Artists. Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, and some dude named McAdoo had the brilliant idea that creatives should control the creative process when it comes to film.  Unfortunately, this grab at creative freedom is widely considered to be the impetus for The Studio System. This was a system that essentially commoditized every aspect of filmmaking to maximize studio profit and minimize creative freedom.  It lasted for 40 years and took a government mandate to dismantle.

While United Artists (as a brand) survives today, the sea change they were looking to spearhead in 1919 simply did not happen.  From an artistic standpoint, it actually caused more harm than good. The reason is simple.  Stars, by definition, are too bright to see what is in their immediate surroundings.  Said another way, stars are too self-absorbed to either know or care about what the public wants.

In our industry, the latest stars are the “Social Media Specialists.”  These are the people who walk the ad agency red carpet. Unfortunately, in my opinion, many of them are showing way too much star quality.

As most of you know, I love Social Media and believe it has advanced and challenged everything we do as advertising professionals.  But I am concerned about it becoming commoditized.  I am concerned that a few stars in our industry will force a backlash that gives us 40 years of ad agency accountants telling us where and when we can engage.  Based solely on profitability.

Scary ass case in point; I heard the US Army is using Pinterest for recruiting. Pinterest? That is a social media channel with a 97% female user base, that is essentially for posting fashion and wedding planning pictures. But, it’s free; it’s new and somebody who’s blinded by their own stardom sold the US Army on it.  That is not where we need to be as a practice.

So here’s what.  How about we make sure that Social Media strategists remain social.  Don’t leave them to operate in a vacuum.  If you have these specialists on your team or at your agency make sure they are intimate with the strategy and integrated with the team.

The last thing you want to do is leave a star to his or her own devices.  That’s how you get movies like Apocolypto…and commercials like GoDaddy!

And…fade to black.