Is copywriting dead?

Jack Neary doesn’t think so, but it is on “life support”.

On January 5, I mused whether the role of the copywriter in advertising has truly diminished. My curiosity led to investigation and I decided to pose the question to those more qualified to answer than I. So I asked Black Bag (a talent consultancy for creatives) founder and CEO Heidi Ehlers as part of her “Ask Heidi” feature on Black Bag online.

Her deep industry connections gave her an open line to the top of the advertising pyramid and her response was this: “I’ve asked Jack Neary, Executive Vice President/Executive Creative Director, BBDO Worldwide, to answer this question. Jack and I have had conversations on this topic in the past, and he, for one, is a writer/Creative Director whom many have reverently referred to as a writer’s writer.”

I’m going to paraphrase Jack Neary’s response but you can get his entire narrative here.

The Short Answer from Jack:

• The copywriter isn’t dead, “but she’s on life support.”
• “Rare is the copywriter who can summon the right words, the most powerful words, in artfully rendered combinations that inspire consumers to feel and do something.”

Why? He chalks it up to demand.

• “Few creative directors want it any more.”

• “Therefore the wordsmith’s craft is seldom celebrated, rarely taught, and, therefore, almost never practised.”

• “Today’s media culture is not a culture of words. Writing, great or otherwise, has become less important.”

• “The heightened, often mindless lust for Cannes Lions has led to more visual, less verbal work because pictures generally do better than words with a cosmopolitan jury.  That is why the visual pun rose to such prominence in the last 15 years.”

But (and thank god there is one):

• “None of this means words can no longer be a vital part of a creative person’s arsenal of persuasion.”

• “Great writing is still preferred over poor writing, at least by a few of us. The right words can still make the heart soar, touch the soul, and elevate the argument.”

• “Mark me, when fortunes turn and our P&L allows me to hire again I will always offer the job to the writer who can over the writer who can’t.”

Great response.

Just a thought: The traditional role of copywriter was always: wordsmith, strategic thinker and concept developer. But if the craft isn’t as important (“digital natives” are busy mutating the language), strategy is now the charge of planners, and art directors can concept… it looks dark.

Still. If we think of our business, in part, as story telling, then I think there will always be a place for those who can spin them. And who better than a writer?

Thanks to both Heidi Ehlers and Jack Neary for shedding some light.

PS. And no, I don’t see the irony in paraphrasing Jack’s well crafted response with bullets.

Filed under: copywriting, creative, marketing , advertising, Black Bag, copywriting, Heidi Ehlers, Jack Neary

Perverse Engineering ————— Advertising’s dirty secret

Anyone who works in advertising knows this trick. It’s the ethically fuzzy practice of reverse engineering.

Here’s how it works:

A lot of agencies have boring clients that won’t publish award winning work. (Or mediocre teams who can’t produce it.) So the “creative” team, who would sell their mom for awards, will make spec ads and try to sell them- similar to what new kids do to crack into the industry. Sometimes an agency will even mandate this to make some awards noise to attract new biz.

And sometimes they “borrow” inspiration from a seemingly obscure corner of art or pop-culture. In this example, some photography originally done for a French soft-porn rag. They take the grain of the idea, or the whole fucking execution, stick a logo on it and try to sell it to a client. That’s why it’s reverse engineering.

Step 1: Get (borrow) cool idea.
Step 2: Apply idea to previously undetermined brand X.

Voila! Instant “podium wobbler”.

Case in point: “Lego for adults.”

But what’s missing? Well, other than even a hint of creativity, any chance that this ad would actually work. (Even if Lego for Adults actually existed). At best it does nothing. At worst it sprays a little smut over a brand that stands for imagination and kids toys. It’s a poignant example of what happens when reverse engineering starts to….reveal itself. It becomes an irrelevant piece of fluff without any kind of insight – for that you need to reverse, reverse engineer.

I’m not against getting inspiration wherever possible, but I am against lazy BS. Fortunately, lazy, derivative work doesn’t usually win awards.

Filed under: Hack Jobs, copywriting, creative , advertising, ethics, Lego, Reverse Engineering ads, scam ads