They're called Best Practices. But if you're reading this blog, and have read this blog in the past, you can probably see where this is going; they're not.
I hardly know where to begin. Suffice to say I have been practicing the art of advertising for a very long long. Longer indeed than my 44 years old would seem to permit without bending the time/space continuum.
And it is only now that I find I've been operating under a false premise and doing it all wrong. If I hadn't already lost my hair, I'd surely be losing it now.
I think back on all that time I spent at Syracuse University studying the art of mass communication.
The money I spent after college to attend the now defunct Adcenter on Wilshire Blvd. Not to mention the esteemed Carson Roberts Workshop.
All the weekends I holed up with various art directors to work on our portfolios. And to drink. And to do various recreational drugs.
And then, all those books from the great ones (Gossage, Ogilvy and Bernbach) and awards annuals I bought and collected to hone what I thought was a craft that demanded time and energy.
It turns out it didn't.
Because in today's ad world, one simply needs to consult the Best Practices handbook on How To Make:
1. A TV commercial
2. A viral video
3. A manifesto
4. A banner ad
5. An Email blast
6. A pre-roll video
7. A radio spot
Notice I didn't include print ads.
They, the ubiquitous 'They', an entity of data driven, formulaic, anonymous, fastidious box checkers, don't have a Best Practices section for print ads, because no one does print anymore (a blog posting for a later date.)
It all defies logic.
Because if everybody is following the "Best Practices" guidelines then it stands to reason all the advertising will start to sound, look and feel alike. And that my friends would not be a Best Practice, indeed it would be the Worst.
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