Gee, time flies when you’re having fun. Back in my formative years in advertising (there was radio, there wasn’t TV) the business was an absolute dichotomy. By day you arrived at work hung-over, made it through to lunch, and adjourned with some media owners for a mostly liquid meal. Then back to the agency by four, so you could get to the pub on time at five. I’m still unclear how the work got done and when.
On the other hand there was Grey-Phillips. Small and incredibly creative. All the “hot” people went there or came from there. I was led to believe they started at nine in the morning (great for those of us with hangovers, remember?). Cool, so I was eventually offered a job, and boy, here was the culture shock. 9am my ass! At 7am the MD toured the floor noting who was in, and who wasn’t. Same at 6pm. Drinks once a month! (To add insult to injury, beer and wine only). And people fired at the drop of a hat. Only the strong survived. But it resulted in an agency that won pitch after pitch, and managed to achieve the enviable position of leaving clients a choice – “Grey-Phillips or one of the others!”
The point of all this? Competition. There was no way we would consort with the enemy. The agency went it alone – no belonging to the then AAA, no membership of any of those so cool “circles” – you know, Media Director’s Circle, Creative Director’s Circle, Client Service Circle, Switchboard Circle…
So from a very young age I rejected industry bodies. It just never worked for me, and I hate to say it, it still doesn’t. I personally, and The MediaShop, avoid whenever possible the concept of “common good”. I cannot justify sitting down with my competition and beating out deals and policies and procedures that will even the playing field. I like it uneven. I don’t want anyone rowing my boat, negotiating on my behalf. I don’t need to be told how and what I must do. I’m not an idiot, I understand my business and its needs. Simple. Case closed.
On top of this I look with some suspicion and disdain at some of the bodies, organisations, circles and forums. I try and understand what exactly is it they do, and what they have achieved. More often than not I walk away a little confused, and a lot disappointed.
The recent MFSA disaster speaks volumes to me. How it was allowed to happen bemuses me. How it was even possible to turn a simple accounting model into a R5-million pit when SA’s cream of marketers was involved is baffling. How the lid was kept on it when Brendan O’Donnell took just a couple of weeks to pronounce it DOA puts its relevance in perspective. You know what? Maybe we just didn’t need it in the first place.
Let’s end by admitting there have to be industry bodies. Some of them are populated by unselfish talented people who contribute enormously to the well-being of the industry. But then there are the other 80 percent.
Harry Herber is group managing director of the MediaShop.