It’s the Ad-Man

I’m sure many of you would have watched Mad Men. A seven season documentary on the how truly awful our industry was in the 60’s.

Truth be told, we’re probably one of the slowest industries to make radical changes in many of these crazy and, what seem in today’s modern world, insane habits.

For an industry that is spouted as so innovative, it comes as a bit of surprise in many respects. But let’s make this about the advertising (the cultural change is happening in any case!! #thankgoodness).

For all the faults it shone upon our industry, what it did show was the power of great advertising and storytelling. Don was a magician at this. The ability to captivate someone with a story. A narrative. So much more than ‘just’ advertising.

While the cultural shift of our industry might have been slow to die, the art of story telling saw a much more sudden death. As we rolled into the 90’s and beyond, campaigns became more and more gimmicky and flashy as we used the new technology to carry the load rather than the story.

We started to shout at people. We stopped engaging. Simply, we lost the plot. Advertising became about ‘selling’.

But there is some light. Storytelling is making a resurgence and its art is being uncovered as a way in which we can reach audiences in new and exciting ways. By creating a narrative, we connect and engage with people in ways that no other form of communication can do.

We begin to capture peoples imagination again. We include people. We stop selling and start belonging. It’s exciting and refreshing!

So while some may view the death of Don Draper a positive in terms of the cultural slurge it placed upon our industry, I’d like to think we can keep a small part of the candle alight around the craft and art of storytelling.

The big question is, when will you begin to tell your story?