If we can't win awards, can we at least not annoy people?

While watching the proceedings at this year’s Loerie Awards I realised that I hadn’t actually seen or heard most of the ads which won awards. This means, therefore, that most of the advertising which I am experiencing is not winning any awards. Of course this is a logical reality; only the best of the best is awarded in any field. But that’s where there seems to be a gap in the logic. We can accept that not everyone is able to produce advertising that wins awards, for a multitude of reasons that aren’t always the fault of the creative team.

But why is it that most of the adverts we see and hear are of such a low standard that they actually become insulting? Is there nothing in between?

Every day I hear radio ads that shout at me, “You need to come down to our showroom now!”  “Well, actually, No, I don’t need to do that at all, and don’t tell me what to do”, is my reaction, just before I frantically change the channel. There is also the popular conversation between two friends, one of whom suddenly knows so much about the product that he is even able to recite the toll-free number and website address off by heart! And, there has to be mention of the infuriating trend to use clients as voice over artists. They might be auctioneers, lawyers or car dealers, but, hey, they saved on that artist fee.

These are just a few radio examples, but there are many others to be found in other media. And yet there are often easy ways to avoid this irritation. A sincere, straight announcer read would be preferable to a commercial that is trying to be creative, but in fact, just creates a negative feeling towards that brand. It’s not that difficult to create average advertising. So why is there this enormous gap between award-winning and downright annoying?

This reality is giving advertising a bad reputation, which has an impact on the future of our industry. Where will young aspirant copywriters and art directors be exposed to work that inspires and excites them? Most of them won’t be fortunate enough to watch a showreel of great television commercials or page through a creative advertising annual to discover the art of advertising craftsmen like Bill Bernbach or David Abbott. Instead, they will be exposed to the mass mediocrity which pollutes our media. And the result is that they will instead choose to become lawyers or auctioneers. And maybe even eventually voice their own radio ads.

This lack of basic respect to consumers is not coming from young students entering the industry. I know firsthand that young copywriters who graduate from my course have better work in their junior portfolios than most of the advertising that is actually produced, and broadcast. So what is the reason for this dismal standard of work, and how can we raise the bar just a little closer to the stuff that wins awards?