We are often asked for garbage, and this is what we give. It is very sad. However, there is a light on the horizon and here is a clue.
In an interview in Adlatina published today with Tony Granger, chief creative officer of Saatchi Saatchi New York, he was asked a question, whose answer I would like to share.
>-What do you think are the main differences between North American and Latin American advertising?
-T.G.: In Argentina, for example, they have a culture that loves advertising. The fact that people are talking in the bars, in the street, about this ad they liked so much, makes clients braver. And the quality of the work improves. It’s the same in the UK; the whole culture is soaked in advertising, they love advertising. They don’t have a Hollywood, so people in advertising tend to be celebrities, like rock stars.
In the U.S. there are brilliant agencies, like WK and Crispin Porter, that generate incredible content. The problem with the U.S. is that you never see that stuff, because it’s such a big market and the campaigns are so localized. If I’m a normal consumer living in New York and I don’t know what’s going on in Florida, in the West. Also, a lot of advertising tends to be aggressive, intrusive; it attacks, it shouts too much, in general.
The good thing about this whole emergence of digital is that it’s allowing the consumer to become their own content generator. We are going to have to learn to generate content that the consumer wants to see, because all that advertising imposition is going to be ignored more and more. There is no other option but to be more and more creative. We always ask ourselves, how do we get people to see our ads? We simply have to make them better.
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In conclusion, either we seek to make consumers more demanding with the advertising they receive, or customers will not demand it from us. As TV viewers, for example, we turn on the TV to be entertained, to be informed, to have a good time, to be entertained. Therefore, it is our obligation to abandon the massive production of mediocre advertising, and start entertaining, informing, recreating, surprising, seducing, persuading and, well, yes, when necessary, informing.
Porter says it clearly. The reason Italian shoes are the best in the world is precisely because they are the most demanding shoe consumers in the world. And as a consequence, a cluster of extraordinary shoe manufacturers has formed over the years. According to Granger, it is similar to what happens in Argentina with advertising. And because of this, Argentines are doing extraordinary advertising.
Conclusion: we have to create a Costa Rican culture that celebrates, delights and demands advertising creativity. And I take advantage of this, I hope you get annoyed when you are interrupted with the garbage we are often forced to do.
At Tribu we are winning one little step at a time in the process, and for this, we are very encouraged by our clients who every day ask us for more and better creativity, bolder ideas and unconventional solutions. We haven’t won this battle and we still have some important issues to deal with. It is a struggle to evolve to what will do the most for our customers’ brands and their cash registers. The truth is that we have to come to fear the known, and desire the unknown, explore and dive in.
There is no greater risk than the one you don’t take.
What do you think?
