Ad industry not selling itself well

CANNES: Mellors, one time journalist, TV presenter and a trained psychotherapist, is critical of the global ad industry’s inability to sell itself well. “The ad business started out at the stores (as part of big manufacturers in USA), and in many ways we’re still very much that — an extension of stores.

We haven’t given our ideas the dignity it deserves.” What’s the way out? “In advertising, you have to allow human nature, the quirkiness to come to fore and tell your client’s what’s possible, otherwise everyone is looking at the research-led holy-grail of proving whether something will work or not.”

What about the digital age? How’s the ad industry coping with it? “We’re slow in adapting, though we have caught up in the last year or so.” But what really happened last year for the industry to finally wake up to the reality of consumer created content, ads and viral, all too suddenly?

“Well, we realised it’s do or die. Simple.” But has the industry really got what consumers are really upto in the digital word? “Well, there is this hurry to get onto these sites (YouTube et al) with your ads. What we should be doing instead is to reflect what’s happening at these (social) sites. We have to learn from its casual ease of communication.”

In this digital age of 20 something creative guys, does he see his role as global creative director, and that too approaching 60 years, as irrelevant, unnecessary perhaps? “Far from it. Ten years ago, the image of carpet slipper wearing, pipe-smoking pensioner wasn’t too out of sync with reality. Not any longer.

The Net has changed everything. Communication today has truly become boundary-less. It’s not like working on your back garden. Ten years ago, New York and London were the two main creative hubs. Now great piece of work is coming out of China, South America and India.

The need to guide campaigns and maintain standards at the global level have never been greater.” So, if the world has really become boundary-less, why do agencies like his not do more work of their global work out of countries such as India, which is low on costs and high on skills? “The rate of change in India, France and South America is (pleasantly) shocking.