Real Mad Men, 1960 vs 2013
Creative
One of my favorite aspects of the television show, is how they nail the creative process. The research, development, execution, and pitch. Sometimes no matter how hard you want to magically have a great idea, it just won’t come to mind. Other times you can think your idea is ground-breaking, but the client isn’t onboard with your direction. As far as the business world of a career in the creative industry, Mad Men is spot on.
Office Culture
Always watching their back from their coworkers, the cast of Mad Men are consistently out for themselves. Everyone is trying to get ahead, and willing to go to extreme lengths to be at the top. Today, this would be the perfect set up for a failing business. Burning bridges won’t get you far as an agency, as well as taking the time to lend a hand. A successful agency is sustained by good relationships, not only with clients but also with the entire team. Going the extra mile rather than cutting corners is what makes a great agency stand out from a good agency.
The Power of Advertising
In my opinion, this is the biggest change to advertising due to technology. In the 50s and 60s, the media had a certain control that it no longer has. With so many product options, advertising clutter and noise, ways to order, and convenience of the internet consumers’ brand loyalty is nowhere near where it was in the past. Being able to search for the best prices around allows consumers to be fickle with their purchasing decisions.
The power today is in the hands of the consumer. Rather than creating a marketing plan that you think is effective, it is important to put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. Would I benefit from paying attention from this ad, or is it just feature dumping like the other 3,000 advertisements that I see on a daily basis?
Conclusion
So, would an agency like Sterling Cooper be a top agency on Madison Ave. in 2013? No, just as the world evolves over time, so must agencies. Technology has pushed agencies to become more consumer-driven in their strategies. While Sterling Cooper would wine-and-dine their clients into their ideas, it was mainly their way or the highway. Today a lot more listening needs to be done rather than talking.
As Don would say “If you don’t like what people are saying, change the conversation.” However Don never had to deal with Yelp reviews. Sorry Don, your persuasive words might not make the cut in modern advertising. Time to work on your people skills!
Update Your iPhone Settings!
Then it occurred to me that virtually nobody changes their default iPhone settings for their ring tone or their text alerts…myself included. That all came to a grinding halt on Saturday, and I chose the new setting “Sherwood Forest” for my text alerts. It's a beautiful tone that features a medieval trumpet, the kind that would signal to people that royalty was approaching. That's what I love about my ringtone, it's almost celebratory. The important thing is that it's unique and that I know that my phone is the one getting the alert.
The Human Billboard
Is it only a matter of time before all professional athletic jerseys implement some form of advertising? It hasn't bothered Europeans and basketball has become a global phenomenon, with similar jersey styles as a soccer jersey. Could you see Lebron James wearing a Heat jersey that had a McDonald's logo on it (and McDonald's already hosts an All-American game that sports their logo on the jersey)? I could, and I think that the advertising could be done subtly enough that it wouldn't invoke the hatred of fans. Think of the possibilities… consumers who want authentic apparel would also have the advertiser's logo on their jersey otherwise it wouldn't be identical to what the player wore. These fans would wear their jerseys, becoming human billboards for that product. Don't forget about exclusive jersey advertising rights (after all, companies pay a fortune for naming rights to the venues and not too many people stare at the exterior; they watch the star players). Not only do I think this is inevitable, but I think the U.S. should spearhead this movement. Someday, you may just see the Mad Men Marketing logo on the back of a ballcap being worn by a Jaguars or Jacksonville Suns player.
Prosecution and Pugilism
So my query is: “When did fighting become synonymous with legal representation”? Instead of fighting for me, why can't you navigate the pitfalls and professional loopholes of our legal system? Is it because fighting for me makes me think you're a little more altruistic than you may be? Should I be dredging up images of crawling through the mud and the blood in war-torn 1971 Vietnam? Are lawyers depicted as heroes? In most cases, certainly not. Speaking with many people on the subject, the perception is that these people overcharge and have more hidden fees than a budget airline. I've never been to a boxing exhibition in my life, but I'm certain many people would love to get in the ring with an attorney and put their fighting acumen to the test. However, since the phrase is clearly not going anywhere anytime soon, an amazing promotional campaign could have a tie-in with boxing in the form of a weigh-in sponsorship or a still photo with a sponsored fighter posing with the attorney, perhaps with some novelty boxing gloves with the firm's logo. These are the things we think of in the 'ol Mad Men dream factory. If we had a lawyer vs. contender photo on a Ring Magazine kind of ad, or a sponsored weigh-in (which while brief, is highly publicized), then that attorney would definitely be interacting with their potential clients, and in the process, might humanize themselves a bit.
“Farther Relates to Distance; Further is a Definition of Degree. You Should Have Said Further.”
One example I can give you is a recent interview of a former collegiate professor of mine. This is an accomplished man in his field who is the chair of his department, and he hails from Argentina. His surname is pronounced (gah-sho), but it is spelled “Gallo” which would lead most Spanish-speaking people to believe that it would be pronounced (gah-yo). Argentina, however, uses a dialect of Spanish similar to Castellano in Spain and their “ll” sounds like a “sh”. The interviewer used neither pronunciation, and I'm assuming she didn't bother to ask him politely how he pronounced his name, but she opted for the Americanized (gal-low) pronunciation when that English short “a” vowel sound doesn't exist in that language. In no way did this seem to bother Dr. Gallo, but to the listening audience which included myself, it sounded careless and unprofessional.
I've perused many websites, and scholarly journals, and other media. There is often a rough draft quality about many things I read. I often think to myself, “Clearly, writing in a public forum is a component of this person's job. Why aren't they better at it?”. The bottom line is this: The devil is in the details. If you want to affect public opinion with the written word, come with your “A” game, and read what you write aloud to yourself before posting it, or allow a colleague to read over your post. You'll be glad you did. You may only get one new customer out of a thousand, but sometimes it's a high-profile customer, and it could be worth it.