It’s All About The Story
When people first learn that I work in advertising, they often become enthusiastic. They want to talk about television commercials – the ones they love, and the ones they hate.
Then, they want to talk about Bewitched, or one of the dozens of other television shows and movies featuring ad agencies.
They want to know if we play most of the day. They ask if our clients buy every idea we present. And, they need to know what celebrities we have met over the years.
Sometimes, my new acquaintances say how exciting it must be to work in advertising.
They are right, of course. Even after many years, I still find our business fascinating. But, what I really love about the business is the part that rarely gets mentioned.
Recently, I had an opportunity to talk with a tulip grower in Amsterdam. We arrived just a week or so too late to see the glorious blooms of these famous flowers. So, I asked the grower – where are the tulips? He assured me that the plants were right on schedule, and the bulbs were ready to harvest. His response was a good one.
“For us,” he said. “It’s all about the bulbs.”
“Aha,” I thought. That isn’t so different from our business. Everyone wants to see the color…the show…the magic.
But, for those of us in the advertising business, it’s all about the story.
It’s about capturing the essence of a business, telling their story in an engaging way, and producing a desired action.
Yes, we have fun in our jobs. But, we work hard, too.
We meet well-known personalities. But, they tend to be real people underneath.
We present many ideas to our clients. Some they like. Others they reject.
In the end, it doesn’t matter how many dollars we spend to produce a dazzling TV commercial, or how much media we buy to reach the masses, or how many “clicks” we generate over the Internet. If the story isn’t right, the rest of the dollars are wasted.
That’s why, when people ask me what we do, I tell them simply: We are storytellers.
Of course, this is all from a writer’s perspective. Our graphic designers, media buyers and Internet marketers might tell something else is more important than the message.
The clients? Clients will say they just want results. But that’s another story.