56 years after, and with a supposedly new government manning the helms, coupled with the growing number of ass-kissers milling around the powers that be, the erudite scholar, prof. Pat Utomi, nonetheless barked the home truth: “Buhari is ruling Nigeria with a medieval mindset.”
From a micro perspective, the same “old mentality” of our septuagenarian president runs through nearly all sectors within the country, our advertising industry inclusive.
Unequivocally, Nigeria is a capitalist state, and the advertising industry is a strong element of capitalism, just like other private-driven sectors within the country. And according to Joseph Schumpeter, one of the most influential economists of the 20th century, “in dealing with capitalism, you are essentially dealing with a continuous evolutionary process.”
With the above submission on the table, one starts wondering why most of our ad agencies, especially the older ones, are still blatantly stuck and unchanging from their old beliefs, part of which holds that, creative awards, especially on an international stage, are sheer waste of valuable time, waste of scare resources and, unnecessary distraction from the primary task of servicing the client’s business. This very absurd mindset largely explains why the industry, before now, has been somewhat plunged into relegation almost across all fronts, just like the medieval mindset of the current government has plunged the nation into recession.
In one of his insightful treatise titled “Specificity and the Macroeconomics of Restructuring,” Ricardo J. Caballero, a renowned macroeconomist, wrote: “organizations with dogmatic beliefs either die in recession, or eventually get swept off by the gale of creative destruction”
The term “Creative Destruction,” as paradoxical as it seems, was coined in 1942 by Joseph Schumpeter. It speaks to “incessant industrial mutations”. Simply put, it means a process through which a newer ideology brings about the eventual weakening, or outright demise of outdated ones.
In line with this Schumpeterian stance on creative destruction, the absurd belief that creative awards are sheer waste of time no longer stand. In fact, that school of thought is as good as dead.
Proactivity is the new ideology and most of the young and vibrant agencies within the industry today are very well embracing it going by the number of agencies now, either vying for an international award win, or to make and maintain an entry into the highly revered Lurzer’s Archive magazine; likewise on creative display sites such as Ads of the World, Apes Obey, etc.
Giving the current economic climate and the growing fierceness of competition, the importance of creative awards mustn’t be underestimated. Among other things, an award gives an agency visibility; it validates its work credibility, creates a strong testament to its work ethics, its dedication and unique specialty; it finely differentiates the agency from the pack, and it’s a veritable vehicle for an agency to promote its name equity, hence attract and lure in new businesses and investors from far and near.
According to Bill Bernbach, “Smart clients realize that disciplined creativity is the last remaining legal means of gaining an unfair advantage over their competition.”
If Bill Bernbach’s submission is anything to go by, then one of the litmus tests that would incessantly put an agency’s creative output on its toes and ensures it’s neck and neck with global best practices would be the creative award. And by this I mean, a credible advertising award because, in fairness to critics, this awards are rather too many. But then, one can always separate the wheat from the chaff, and then gun for one or two credible award win.
Just like an Oscar or Grammy win can resurrect a struggling studio and bring fame and fabulous fees to an actor or actress, a LAIF GrandPrix, African Cristal, Loeries, Cannes Lion win, etc., can do same wonders for an ad agency.
Though one might argue that different agencies have different drives and business focus, nonetheless, creativity remains our collective niche as an industry. And as the gale of creative destruction sweeps in the change as explained in this piece, the eternal truism remains valid: change or die!
… I’m Just Saying. {fcomments}
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