War of Words: Deciding the Future in Advertising

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By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

Where do we look for the future of advertising? In the United States, we look at our current leaders. Yes; here, we look at those who are currently running the show, and we ask them to lead us into the new, ever-changing future. Seems a little odd, doesn't it? If we look overseas at our friends in the UK, they, too, are looking for answers for the future of advertising. But they are taking a different approach.

They are asking the promising young professionals in advertising to give their opinions.

The "War of the Words" event put on by Campaign and the Huffington Post UK gave the spotlight to professionals under the age of 25 to present their thoughts of the future of advertising to a panel of judges. These talks were separated by planning, creativity, brand and media, and open mic sessions. These talented folks came from universities and some of the small and big agencies around Europe.

Based on the interviews of the winners, it seems that they jumped over the hubris that the U.S. environment is filled with and tackled the actual issues. One of the winners remarked that research indicates that advertising effectiveness is not going down, only the perception of advertising. That's an accurate and insightful statement. Then the professional spent his time speaking about creating effective advertising instead of how the industry can create for favor for it. Another speaker highlighted how advertising should shift its attention from creating awareness to creating "brand evangelists," and he used Fight Club as an example.

The advertising industry needs more events like this; instead of having current thought leaders and the "powers that be" dominate the stage, let's give new, young minds the chance to stick out their necks and ideas and show the world something different. Let's get away from the "learn the ropes" mantra and let young creative people be creative.

Is this happening in the United States? On a small scale, yes. Advertising Week has a branch called Generation Next in which it pairs high schoolers up with agencies and they work on creative briefs and other happenings in a shop. But there is no marketplace of ideas for young talent to really lead the way, unless you attend national student AAF conferences or Ad Club events. Even those organizations tend to use seasoned professionals to tell them what to expect in the industry.

If we are searching for talent and new ideas in our industry, what better idea is there to have an event like War of the Words and put the spotlight on the best and brightest in our youthful ranks in advertising? When we look at the engineering, startup tech, and mathematical fields, they have events that focus not on industry leaders, but instead involve contests and conferences where the bright can shine and win scholarships, fellowships, and grants for starting businesses and investing in research and capital. A while back, there was a debate going on about how agencies should develop a startup mentality. Though there were many points to disagree with, the point of investing in and rewarding young and fresh talent should not be overlooked.

If the U.S. wants to be looked at as the birthplace of modern advertising, then we had better get our act together before the UK becomes the rebirth of modern advertising.

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About the Author

Dwayne W. Waite Jr. is partner and principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Charlotte, NC. He enjoys consumer behavior, economics, and football.

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