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Is A Fake Ad That Calls Itself Out, Still A Fake? Put Another Way, Is It A One Show Winner?

April 8, 2008 By 5 Comments

Boone_Oakley_fake_ad.jpg
[via Ernie Schenck]

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Filed Under: Awards
About David Burn

I wrote my first ad for a local political candidate when I was 17 (she went on to win her race, and I felt the power of persuasive copy for the first time). Today, I live near Portland, Oregon and spend my days building brands for companies that matter.

  • Mikeo

    This is an inside industry joke and it hits the target, so technically it IS running. It’s worth awarding it because it was clever and did it’s job.
    That said, we shouldn’t stray away from the serious problems of shady ads entering the better of the shows. We need to make a real effort beyond talk to get rid of them.

  • Just_askme

    I agree. Scam is killing the credibility of the awards. It has become so much more blatant and needs a serious sweeping out.

  • fatc

    Now that clients are in on the fake ad scam, too, much of the work in the shows is little more than student work temporarily brought to life with no function in reality other than serving as a template for what might win in next year’s show. Bill Bernbach once complained of “the technicians” in advertising who know all the rules yet have no instinct or soul. I’d argue that today’s ECD fake-award-show-ad jockeys are just as bad. Worse, actually, because most of their output degrades the legitimacy of what it claims to uphold: creativity in advertising. But isn’t that always the way? The forefathers build something. Succeeding generations take it for granted and ruin it. And the cycle starts anew. The shows were always a wankfest, albeit kind of a fun one for creatives who cared. Now it’s just boring. Posturing for other posturers. Clients are greenlighting stuff (as long as the agency pays to run it once) just so the boys in the C suite can go to Cannes. That’s like your High School Principal offering to buy you a guitar if you let him join your band, isn’t it? Man, if that’s the only way my best work sees the light of day, no thanks. It ain’t worth it. Time for a new revolution.

  • http://adpulp.com David Burn

    “Time for a new revolution.” I like that.
    For my part, I stopped paying attention to award shows about three years ago. There are more interesting things to pursue than vainglorious back slaps.

  • Bascefini

    Awards shows can be a very good thing if they’re credible. It’s great to see great work, celebrate it, and give kudos to those who worked hard to get it made.
    That credibility is eroded away by scam though. Most shows have become a joke, and many are losing the battle.
    Why can’t one show just be completely scam-free?
    Why can’t the big ad publications make a bigger deal out of it too?