We're Not So Different, You and I | Beyond Madison Avenue

TalentZoo.com | Flack Me | Digital Pivot | Beneath the Brand

Archives | Categories

We're Not So Different, You and I

By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

As the Season 5 premier for Mad Men creeps closer, articles about experiences in AdLand become abundant. From young and old, bright-eyed to disillusioned, people are telling their tales about the days they filled the halls of an ad agency.

Mad Men paints a picture of advertising that few people are able to fully wrap their heads around. Do Ad folks really drink all the time? Is it really a boys' club? Are the award ceremonies and conferences really drink binges and sex parties? Of course, the show does illustrate some truths in AdLand, but it is a show. Certain elements naturally have to be exaggerated in order to keep it entertaining. But to say that none of that happened (or happens) would be untrue.

An associate creative director at Olson, Ann Bauer, wrote in Salon about her transition from a teacher and writer to an AdWoman. Like many of those looking from the outside in, she thought that the advertising world was a joke; writers in the industry fell into it because they needed money, were between jobs, or had nothing better to do. Many of them never even added copywriting to their bylines. In Bauer's words, "In my world, advertising was something a serious writer did before doing something important."

Ouch.

But circumstances were such that Bauer fell into an ad agency. And she liked it. Were some of her preconceived notions accurate? Sure, she was surrounded by young men, some who drank during brainstorming sessions, others who engaged in nerf gun wars, and designers who couldn't understand correct grammar. But she learned a few facts, too — though young, the lot overall were pretty smart. They played hard, but when the job needed to be done, the job got done. Many of them didn't lean on their own understanding, either. For markets out of their realm, like financial and medical clients, they ran to her for suggestions and opinions. She also saw the hiring of several people like her: middle-aged women, those who didn't go to school for advertising, and other professions unrelated to AdLand.

Every industry has its quirks, and the advertising industry is no doubt without exception. But we love to read experiences from those who had such a negative perception of advertising and came out to be some of its advocates.

Advertising is a wacky world. A fun one, too. So don't believe all the hype about the wickedness of advertising, and step into our world sometime. You'll see that the people in it aren't that different from you.

Read Ann's story, and add your thoughts.

blog comments powered by Disqus

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.

Beyond Madison Avenue on