I was playing scrabble last night. Online. I'm reasonably competent at it. and I realized (for the millionth time) how times had changed. The internet has made the world smaller (that's true...i measured it with my ruling stick).
Seriously though, on the one hand we have access to all the information we need, are able to communicate with people at the push of a button anywhere in the world, watch and listen to art forms from bygone eras and from faraway places. Wonderful stuff. so much so, that we take it for granted. It's like TV, or the radio, or the telephone, or the motor car, or the steam engine...you see what I'm getting at?
It's progress. Our great grand parents were amazed at the arrival of the telephone, the victrola and then the motor car. Our grand parents were the first generation to see the television and listen to live broadcasts. Our parents heralded the age of TV and stereo sound. They passed it on to us and we went and created the age of digital and mobile technology and then the internet.
What now? What's the next step? Everything since really has been maximizing the potential of an awesome invention call the web. The very fact that I'm writing this is proof of how far we've come. 20 years ago this would have been a journal or a diary my kid would have read after my passing. Today...well I get to share it with the world in real time (or virtually real, there's one to ponder). Way cool.
Then again, I find that my attention span isn't anything like what it used to be. I get bored easily. The amount of information available to us is perhaps more than we need.
In our urgent need to be noticed, we've created monsters. The arrival of media darlings, reality stars (what a crock) and zero talent jerk offs masquerading as superstars proliferate our consciousness precisely for the same reasons.
And what of advertising? Man, the quality of creatives (or lack thereof) screams for a reassessment of what they're teaching in advertising and marketing courses. The levels of me-too advertising are ridiculous. Maybe every creative head learnt at the feet of the same master. This must change. The biggest culprits are the big brands...ridiculous. Just take a look at Colgate's campaign/
At lunch yesterday with a friend, I was informed to my amazement that India's premier advertising industry junket (Goafest) was primarily funded by one single agency. 70% of the entries were theirs. Stands to reason that they win most of the awards, tom-tom about it through their PR teams and grab a larger portion of the advertising pie. The cycle never ends right? Well, maybe owners should actively look for agencies with a different perspective. Someone's got to get a little brave. Who knows they might be pleasantly surprised.
Seriously though, on the one hand we have access to all the information we need, are able to communicate with people at the push of a button anywhere in the world, watch and listen to art forms from bygone eras and from faraway places. Wonderful stuff. so much so, that we take it for granted. It's like TV, or the radio, or the telephone, or the motor car, or the steam engine...you see what I'm getting at?
It's progress. Our great grand parents were amazed at the arrival of the telephone, the victrola and then the motor car. Our grand parents were the first generation to see the television and listen to live broadcasts. Our parents heralded the age of TV and stereo sound. They passed it on to us and we went and created the age of digital and mobile technology and then the internet.
What now? What's the next step? Everything since really has been maximizing the potential of an awesome invention call the web. The very fact that I'm writing this is proof of how far we've come. 20 years ago this would have been a journal or a diary my kid would have read after my passing. Today...well I get to share it with the world in real time (or virtually real, there's one to ponder). Way cool.
Then again, I find that my attention span isn't anything like what it used to be. I get bored easily. The amount of information available to us is perhaps more than we need.
In our urgent need to be noticed, we've created monsters. The arrival of media darlings, reality stars (what a crock) and zero talent jerk offs masquerading as superstars proliferate our consciousness precisely for the same reasons.
And what of advertising? Man, the quality of creatives (or lack thereof) screams for a reassessment of what they're teaching in advertising and marketing courses. The levels of me-too advertising are ridiculous. Maybe every creative head learnt at the feet of the same master. This must change. The biggest culprits are the big brands...ridiculous. Just take a look at Colgate's campaign/
At lunch yesterday with a friend, I was informed to my amazement that India's premier advertising industry junket (Goafest) was primarily funded by one single agency. 70% of the entries were theirs. Stands to reason that they win most of the awards, tom-tom about it through their PR teams and grab a larger portion of the advertising pie. The cycle never ends right? Well, maybe owners should actively look for agencies with a different perspective. Someone's got to get a little brave. Who knows they might be pleasantly surprised.
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