MediaPost reports on a Unilever exec who had some interesting things to say at Advertising Week:
In the continuing tug-of-war between what drives the train–creative or media–a top Unilever executive Thursday came out in favor of creative. While there is an argument that lackluster ads can still deliver a message with shrewd placement, Babs Rangaiah said if the creative does not drive demand, a strong media plan is not likely to save the day. Rangaiah, the director of global communications planning at Unilever, said if the creative appears banal, it’s time to yank the media spend and use it somewhere else.
“We have to penetrate the culture,” he said.
And the way to do that is through ads that effectively jump off the page or out of the screen. Top-notch creative is even more important in a fragmented world, he said, not to mention for a packaged-goods company.
It’s always good to hear. Though what constitutes “top-notch creative” is different for everyone. We all have our own notches, I guess.
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It’s a good point, he makes. The optimists among us keep saying this is the best time EVER to be in advertising. Another way to put it is, it’s the most challenging time. There are more problems to solve and many more ways to solve them. Which means we have to grow and learn and be better, just to stay in the game. Take digital for example. Everyone’s working to figure it out. Those who do will be pioneers in a sense. Which is heady stuff and more enticing than just showing up for a pay check.