A declaration of independents.
Sitting in the crowded room at Unfettered: The Independent Agency Summit hosted by the Advertising Club of New York in March, I was struck by how the industry keeps playing the short game.
After all, we're the ones telling everyone in listening distance that "short termism" is no substitute for acting strategically. At the same time, our slice of paradise is awash in signs that advertising, as an industry, is increasingly trapped by transactional thinking on everything from AI to message overload to compensation models to results.
My question to one of the panels: “if we’re not really addressing what’s killing the industry, aren’t we just whistling past the cemetery?
The dour reply: “That’s a boil-the-ocean problem, too big to solve.”
I wish I’d had the presence of mind to reply, “I swim in that ocean, and it’s already too damned hot.”
And that’s the point, writ large: We’re blithely accepting business-as-usual as the blueprint for business as it needs to become.
Which also means we’re implicitly consenting to all the consequences that come with not making waves:
Accepting that prioritizing efficiency at the cost of creativity and talent is inevitable.
Choking off the entry-level pipeline while begging the question of where the seniors will come from.
Caving into the forces dictating that diversity, equity, and inclusion are radioactive, instead of unique sources of vibrancy, cultural relevance, wisdom, and fresh thinking.
Doing too little to stem the flood of dull, uninteresting, and emotionally vacant work that ignores the data, squanders opportunity, and fails the mission.
All while failing to show clients that this race to the bottom isn’t a solo trek and that they have the means and the motivation to enable their agencies to do better.
Maybe it's time to step out and step up with a deeply honest conversation that admits where we are, agrees on where we need to be, and plots a promising path forward.
One that connects the dots and focuses all that intellectual firepower in the Unfettered room on our collective challenges.
And, maybe we go further, by developing a rallying cry, call it a “Declaration of Independents.”
And, yes, that's “Independents” with a “t.”
Because it’s entirely obvious, the Titanic deckchair rearrangers and the financial managers are all tied up in the status quo, ain’t going to volunteer as agents of change.
All leading to an "honesty tour,” a truth-to-power roadshow aimed at clients, allied organizations, and the trade press.
The goal: create the contagious momentum that absolutely can change things in the future.
Because, goddammit, it has in the past.
Otherwise, we aren't just whistling past the grave. We're humming a merry tune while averting our eyes.
P.S. Noticed that a couple of colleagues, Chuck McBride @Cutwater + Bill Oberlander @OBERLAND (who presented at Unfettered) are doing something in this general zone at Cannes this year. Be eager to find out what results.
