Told my techno-savvy boyfriend last evening to help me build a website. I wanted to name it http://www.ihateclients.com/. Anyone from the ad frat will probably agree with me wholeheartedly, and hopefully even send me big bunches of flowers. (hint)
Maaaaan the kind of people who run companies in this country.... it sometimes makes you wonder who the hell let them out of kindergarten, let alone gave them a job at the top. To think that we've even developed an atom's worth commercially amazes me, coz there ain't no way in hell these guys are going anyway but down in the near future. I sometimes think life is so unfair to have put imbeciles like my clients in positions ABOVE me, because I actually seem to have more up there than they do, and THAT'S saying alot! There's a poster that hangs above my desk that says 'People who think they know it all really annoy those of us who do", and I swear I couldn't have said it better.
OK... what am I ranting about again? Oh yeah... Sri Lankan advertisers, a.k.a 'clients' to those of us who suffer their whims. I sometimes wonder about why the devil events like the 'Chillies' and 'Brand Excellence' exist at all, because really... we hardly have any noteworthy material to show for it, save the one-off scam ads that are produced with much eagerness. But then again, if it weren't for the scam ads, we'd have VERY little effective creativity to show off to the world when it comes to the local advertising industry. And it's not the fault of agencies at all... it's those buffoons we have to deal with, and produce the ads for.
With the exception of the rare few clients who actually think beyond their own noses, not a single corporate manager in Sri Lanka is willing to show some balls and think differently when it comes to advertising. Every briefing starts with 'we want something out of the box and new', and in the process of a vicious and tiring cycle, the jobs end up looking just like what they did before, or worse.
I'm suffering it as we speak. I've sat here and churned out many an idea and script that I and most of my office think are fairly good, only to have the client pour a boiling hot tub of oil on our excitement. I can understand if the ideas were absolute crap, and didn't do justice to the brands... but the alternative ideas that the client suggets are just BEYOND ridiculous, and you sometimes wonder why you speak to them at all. Brands in this country (again, with the exception of a precious few) will NEVER make it to an iconic status, simply because Sri Lankan marketers will NEVER make new decisions. They just don't have it in them to think out of the proverbial box, and unless someone else has tried it and succeeded, they'll never give new thinking a shot.
The best part is that no matter how much you tell them this, the idiots live in denial. In the mirror, they see themselves as dynamic and creative leaders of tomorrow, paving the way for brand effectiveness in the country, when all they are, are miserable lice who just follow the rest of the pack, because they fear rejection. In a nutshell, they're shit scared to take a risk. There is not an ounce of foresight in the Sri lankan strategic thinking machine... we live for the day, and damn tomorrow's potential.
Gah. Rant. Sigh.
It's not just the government that consists of a bunch of dickheads.
10 comments:
Whenever they ask you to think 'out of the box' it eventually means your ideas are gonna end up in an even smaller box than before!! I just think they should all be put in a 'box' and thrown far out to sea!
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Advertising/Marketing Communications is a commercial business. We are in it to make money. The rest is bullshit. Its first and foremost a job.
So unlike the Da Vincci's of this world one must be very careful where one points their fingers.
Especially if they are from the trade...
;-)
thekillromeoproject- I agree wholeheartedly. I've even designed said sea-worthy box...
Anonymous - If you're from the trade too, then I feel very sad for you. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not doing what I do for the money, and I think I've proven that many a time to my clients in the past, when I didn't take a cent for some stuff I did. I do it because I love it, and because I genuinely would love to see Sri Lankan brands take on the world. It goes beyond a single day's profit. The core ideal of the Ad/Marcom business is to ensure the longevity and value of the brand created, and not just scribble some doodah and make money out of it while pleasing the client. MY end customer is the man who remains loyal to the product/service I create an image for, and the brand I am working for. Not the dumbass who gets the sale.
So... not all of us are in it for the money, and it has never been 'just a job' for me. I guess that makes me a Da Vinci, who by the way, was quite the bloke.
Dear Drama Queen
If you are not in it for the money, you must be a Multimillionaire.
And its really great that you do get involved in social service projects and own your ad agency. Enabling you to perform this yeoman service. Bravo!
The majority of us; Ad people and Clients however are in the business to make money. Which is quite important as otherwise a Marketing Industry may still be able to sustain themselves.
Ad Agencies may have to close down?
;-)
And is that also why you have enabled comment moderation?
;-)
Dear Anonymous,
To each his own, man. I'm not rich by any means, but money doesn't make my world go round either. I'm more interested in doing good work than making the quick buck.
Even at the risk of closing down someday.
Good luck with your version of job satisfaction.
p.s. I don't own my own agency, and nor do I need to justify my reasons for enabling comment moderation.
I do, however, live by the rule that if you don't love what you do beyond monetary reciprocation, you shouldn't be doing it.
Clink!!
Hey Anon,
If you're in the 'trade' as you call it just for the monetary benefit, you should get out right now. Its people like you who make things worse for us. And yes, while we all need the money, it doesn't mean we need to sell our souls to earn it. Have some self respect!!
awwww
you sound stressed
have some gihan's kottu
:)
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