Marketing Philistines Are Everywhere. Don’t Be A Marketing Philistine.

“Training in marketing makes marketers better. It’s the way we all improve and ultimately move the discipline of marketing forward” -Mark Ritson

Mark Ritson is a Marketing Week columnist, consultant and adjunct professor at Melbourne Business School. Last year, he wrote about marketing philistinism. I didn’t see the article then, but I see it now.

To be a philistine today means to be ignorant and lacking in cultural appreciation and respect for learning. Philistines are doers, not thinkers, and their doing is always ultimately undermined by their lack of appreciation for learning and a broader perspective. It’s a key concept these days for our own discipline because we are surrounded by marketing philistines.

You know the sort. They actively deride contemplation as being a pointless waste of time.

Ritson names Gary Vaynerchuk as one of the prominent philistines. I appreciate the professor’s willingness to do so because academic arguments lack rigor without all the proper nouns (and footnotes) in place.

From afar, I think Gary Vee is a well-meaning dude and a uniquely gifted wine salesman. What I think Mr. Vee is missing is how you don’t hustle your way to the top of Madison Avenue. Arriving at the top of the ad industry takes intelligence, skills, connections, a larger than life personality, consistent good luck, raw instincts, and hustle.

The Ultimate Opt-In: A Lifetime of Learning

One of the wealthiest men in the world advised USC graduates, “You are not going to get very far in life based on what you already know.”

Don’t argue with Charlie Munger.

Pick up a book. Learn a new language. Volunteer at your local food bank.

In other words, the more interests you have, the more interesting you become.

To Consistently Make Better Work, Know Your Ad Industry History

I agree with Professor Ritson. Marketing training is essential to individual achievement and industry progress. I will add that the ad industry lacks training specifically meant to make the fundamentals of the business known and highly relevant to today’s Marcom challenges.

More on that in a minute…

In 1908, J. Walter Thompson hired Helen Lansdowne as a Copywriter. She went on to shatter the glass ceiling as she became the advertising industry’s first female Creative Director. https://t.co/MDLXkprKW2

— David Burn (@davidburn) November 16, 2019

Helen Lansdowne Resor said, “Copy must be believable.” She was the first trailblazer.

• 1st female copywriter to make national brand advertising
• 1st first person to introduce sex appeal in ads
• 1st first person to emphasize the need for artfulness in ads
• 1st first woman to run J. Walter Thompson (with her husband Stanley Resor, the account guy)

Three weeks from today I will share more about Helen and many other Ad Legends in a 3-hour skill-building workshop.

Let me know when your team is ready to benefit from a workshop designed to highlight the fundamentals of advertising, the people who shaped the modern industry, and the timeless work that we can all continue to learn from.

These are in-person sessions, not online. I am now booking workshop dates for 2020, and I welcome your inquiry.