Hurts so good

Sir Winston Churchill once famously said, "You have enemies? Good. That means you stood up for something, sometime in your life."

Those of you who know me or those of you who read this blog with any regularity will not be surprised to find I have enemies. Resulting, as Sir Winston put it, from my repeated and often vociferous stands on a host of topics.

In the advertising world, I have railed against slimy politics, groupthink, appeasement, pretentious affectation, even communal office furniture. And while this has earned me a small measure of respect in some circles, it has also cast me as some stubborn, pigheaded purist in others.

Sadly, it's members of those latter circles that tend to rise up the corporate ladder. And gain the ear of those in power. This is usually achieved through back-office obstructionism and silky smooth sycophancy.

"Hey Rich, I spoke with our CEO and he agrees with me, we should give the client what he is asking for. Can we see something by Wednesday? Cheers, mate."

This in essence forms the dividing line in many advertising agencies.

There are the Ad Makers, those who come up with the ideas that alter the business landscape and vault clients into the stratosphere.

And then there are the Ad Fakers, those who abuse the people who come up with the ideas. Showboat. Steal credit.  And earn ungodly sums of money simply because they can pull off wearing Capri pants and know the right champagne to order at Cannes.

Is it fair?
Of course it's not fair.

If advertising were fair, CEO's would not be taking home 4,000 times as much as the mailroom clerk.

If advertising were fair, tone deaf one percenters at agencies would be forbidden from posting Facebook pictures of their new cars, new houses and new $800 Manolo Blahniks.

If advertising were fair, layoffs would not be so prevalent because upper management would have the foresight to set some money aside for inevitable down cycles.

The good news is that even advertising abides by the wisdom of another famous Brit and must adhere to Newton's Laws of Physics.

Namely, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

And while karma doesn't come around as often as most of us would like, recently it took a big fat public steaming dump on a chap who has a PHd. in smugness and a black belt in asswipery.

For some reason this unnamed malignant faker still draws a paycheck, but my spidey sense tells me the pendulum is starting to swing in the direction of the makers.

in any case, it made for some very tasty schadenfreud.
very tasty, indeed.