Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Need for Pure, 100% Not-From-Concentrate Talent
The advertising industry never ceases to amaze me. The talent. The timeless ads. The fucking bullshit.
On a tip from Adpulp I just read this Newsweek piece on Peter Arnell. You know, Tropicana (and Pepsi) re-branding dude. Or maybe douche is more appropriate.
This quote from Arnell (single out on Adpulp as well) pretty much sums it up:
Arnell also can't understand the kerfuffle over his work for Tropicana. "Can you imagine such mishegoss over a freaking box of juice?" he says. "I can't believe that for the rest of my life I'm going to be known as Peter 'Tropicana' Arnell." He says Tropicana overreacted to complaints. "I have my own perspective on it. But it's not my brand. It's not my company. So what the hell? I got paid a lot of money, and I have 30 other projects. You move on." (Neil Campbell, president of Tropicana North America, says Tropicana will continue working with Arnell.)
If the Newsweek article is half true (and I believe it's more than that) then Arnell is a prime time asshole. But it's not really my place to berate Arnell, I'm sure he has his own not-a-fan club that will take care of that. Rather, this brings me to a plague of advertising: great minds getting recognized and paid for their greatness and then slipping into a coma of douchebaggery.
I have no doubt that Arnell is a fairly smart guy, you need to have a pretty good head on your shoulders to run an organization like his. I have no doubt that the countless other CDs and CEOs and other C-level executives that have risen to similar postions around the world are talented as well. But why do so many have to turn into ass-clowns?
Is it the money that corrupts? The power? The corner office?
I don't have an answer to that question.
But I do have a solution.
Bring in the juniors.
That's right. Let's give those who have no reasonable claim to fame or fortune the chance to attain it. Let's re-inject the passion into the system. And let's make it a booster shot straight to the heart.
But, you might say, won't the juniors just become old douches in a few years?
Yes, some will. It is inevitable. But we must continue to flush the system of impurities while gulping down a nutrient-rich double dose of high energy, fresh idea spouting youth.
I believe that deep down, most people are good. Even most people in advertising. I've run into far more immensely talented, genuinely caring souls than I have asshats in my brief ad career.
So what are you waiting for? Clients, juniors, seniors, and everyone in-between or outside, I'm calling on you to boycott the bullshitters and champion the pure, passionate individuals around you. Flush out the old, move up the truly talented in the ranks and backfill with juniors.
Ummm, you taste that? That's pure, 100% not-from-concentrate talent. And it will do this industry some good.
From: http://www.justinmccammon.com/2009/04/need-for-pure-100-not-from-concentrate.html
On a tip from Adpulp I just read this Newsweek piece on Peter Arnell. You know, Tropicana (and Pepsi) re-branding dude. Or maybe douche is more appropriate.
This quote from Arnell (single out on Adpulp as well) pretty much sums it up:
Arnell also can't understand the kerfuffle over his work for Tropicana. "Can you imagine such mishegoss over a freaking box of juice?" he says. "I can't believe that for the rest of my life I'm going to be known as Peter 'Tropicana' Arnell." He says Tropicana overreacted to complaints. "I have my own perspective on it. But it's not my brand. It's not my company. So what the hell? I got paid a lot of money, and I have 30 other projects. You move on." (Neil Campbell, president of Tropicana North America, says Tropicana will continue working with Arnell.)
If the Newsweek article is half true (and I believe it's more than that) then Arnell is a prime time asshole. But it's not really my place to berate Arnell, I'm sure he has his own not-a-fan club that will take care of that. Rather, this brings me to a plague of advertising: great minds getting recognized and paid for their greatness and then slipping into a coma of douchebaggery.
I have no doubt that Arnell is a fairly smart guy, you need to have a pretty good head on your shoulders to run an organization like his. I have no doubt that the countless other CDs and CEOs and other C-level executives that have risen to similar postions around the world are talented as well. But why do so many have to turn into ass-clowns?
Is it the money that corrupts? The power? The corner office?
I don't have an answer to that question.
But I do have a solution.
Bring in the juniors.
That's right. Let's give those who have no reasonable claim to fame or fortune the chance to attain it. Let's re-inject the passion into the system. And let's make it a booster shot straight to the heart.
But, you might say, won't the juniors just become old douches in a few years?
Yes, some will. It is inevitable. But we must continue to flush the system of impurities while gulping down a nutrient-rich double dose of high energy, fresh idea spouting youth.
I believe that deep down, most people are good. Even most people in advertising. I've run into far more immensely talented, genuinely caring souls than I have asshats in my brief ad career.
So what are you waiting for? Clients, juniors, seniors, and everyone in-between or outside, I'm calling on you to boycott the bullshitters and champion the pure, passionate individuals around you. Flush out the old, move up the truly talented in the ranks and backfill with juniors.
Ummm, you taste that? That's pure, 100% not-from-concentrate talent. And it will do this industry some good.
From: http://www.justinmccammon.com/2009/04/need-for-pure-100-not-from-concentrate.html
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