Adnaus : Back chat

DraftFCB’s Lwindi Ellis talks to long-serving colleagues Dennis George & Des Shaw about the transformations that have taken place in the New Zealand advertising industry over the past 50 years ...

The hit TV show Mad Men depicts the supposed glory days of advertising in the 1960s, an ego-driven world where key players make an art of the sell.
In 1960, advertising agencies were an all-powerful influence on the masses. Personal and professional manipulation and sexual exploits defined the workplace and closed the deals. The high-profile Sterling Cooper agency featured in Mad Men created campaigns for cigarettes companies and political candidates.
It was a time of great ferment. Women had barely begun to come into their own. Librium and birth control were on the move. Ethics in the workplace, smoke-free environments, sexual harassment and ethnic diversity were workshops of the future. How much has Adland really changed since these heady times?
“Things have sped up, everything is leaner and meaner with fewer people doing more. It’s not necessarily better creative, but it’s quicker production,” says George, who remembers TVCs being shot on film and processed in Australia, all print material being physically sent with changes taking at least 24 hours, and art directors who drew concepts rather than digitally produced them.
There are now also fewer NZ-created agencies (they are either big and international or small and boutique) and a proliferation of media channels and media options.
“We’ve held the Mitre10 account for 30 years,” says George. “In 1986 we were the first to create a 60-second ad for the forward-thinking and trusted brand. Now they are among the first to be using datamining. Our strategy has always been to be positioned one place behind early adopters; we want calculated risks, not risky experiments.”
Looking back, he says it’s hard to believe that just 20 years ago co-workers were calling each other Mr or Miss and the business was so male-dominated that females were either in accounts or working as secretaries and tea ladies. Now they run the show!
“The role of the universities in training young people for positions in agencies has changed greatly,” adds Shaw. “And the time and resources put into preparing a brief before strategy and creative processes begin has hugely increased with formality of the whole process on both sides – client and agency.
“The part played by research in pre- and post-campaign evaluations is now more common but relationships and trust are still extremely important.”
“It’s no more or less interesting, it’s just different,” says George. “If you are the right fit for the advertising industry, you’ll be open to being involved with change – you’re either suited to it or not, no matter how fast or slow the pace.”

© Copyright AdMedia magazine October 2009

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