Alex Bogusky refuses to be cynical (see December’s Creativity, or take my word for it). George Parker, on the other hand, does not entertain that particular daydream.
Many years ago, when I used to work for a particularly crazy woman in California, she made a statement that has stuck with me ever since… “Our job is not to create ads, it’s to manage the process.” I thought she was nuts, but as the years have passed, I’ve realized that as far as the fucked up ad biz is concerned: She was dead on. How many times have we sat in meetings that decided nothing, read briefs that stated the obvious, created numerous campaigns destined never to see the light of day, been kiss-ass nice to clients (and agency management) who you would rather drown in sewage? In fact, how much of your working life have you spent “Managing the process” rather than actually producing anything of worth?
