So, Sunday night's reading ended with an article from System 1’s Andrew Tindall headlined, "We’ve never spent more on advertising. It’s never done less for us.” His point: “Creativity is still the biggest driver of profitability. Even Ehrenberg-Bass puts creative choice at 75% of success. And creativity’s power comes from emotion. That’s what builds memory, captures attention, and shifts behavior. So, alarm bells should ring (when) the Effie dataset shows…advertising has become far less emotional. Less likely to get noticed. Less likely to build useful memories."

Waking up, Monday morning greeted with Michael Farmer’s Substack, “AI Will Decimate Agency Staffing and Fees. New Strategies are Required for Survival. “ He goes on to say that “AI can take at least 25% of creative agency fees and more than 40% of media agency fees. There is no way that agencies can "optimize" their way out of this situation.”

Reading both, I start wondering if there isn’t a link absent from otherwise impeccable analysis: that advertising, as an allegedly creative business, is in desperate need of creative ideas.

Ideas that ignite the kind of emotional resonance and impact Andrew lusts for.

Ideas that will enable us to translate Michael’s dire warnings into a model that capitalizes on what AI can no-bullshit deliver while still leaving room for humanity.

Not to mention us, still in business.

They’re out there. But only if we stop turning our backs on the truth that the value and power of advertising is all in the ideas.

There's a lot more to say on this, but if you’ve got the time, I’d highly recommend spending it with the two articles mentioned above. If you run into a block, LMK.

Ad ROI: https://lnkd.in/erXvrkEG

AI impact: https://lnkd.in/ehVhCQ6s

Missing _ink.

On the Wall.