Frontline Perspectives

First, a disclaimer: I realize that the quickest way to ruin something funny is to overanalyze it. So before I ruin this, I just want to say:

Here’s a link. Enjoy these posts … some of them are pretty damn funny. Things Real People Don’t Say About Advertising.

Now, back to the business of overanalyzing.

While I found myself laughing at these, I started to feel unsure about how some people might interpret them. The root of humor is truth, right? So what might people take as truth in this collection?

Interpreted one way, the humor here seems to lie in the fact that much of what marketers do — how we plan, execute, communicate and pitch — is, well, missing the point (at best) or worthless B.S. (at worst).

I could almost hear newer (and maybe some older) creatives laughing at these, saying, “See, I know nobody gives a crap about ‘moving from awareness to consideration.’ I just have to come up with cool ideas. Screw the strategic brief!”

I could almost hear newer (and maybe some older) account managers or client-side marketers asking, “Should I avoid these phrases or topics? Is it foolish to imagine customers caring about business messages that are ‘more personal’?”

So here is my message to newer (and maybe some older) marketing professionals: It’s not B.S. That would be exactly the wrong truth to take out of this collection.

Sure, marketers are as good as any group (maybe better) at creating buzz speak. And sure, I’ve met my fair share who use lingo to cover up the fact that they have no idea what they’re talking about. But I don’t think this is the main point of these posts.

In my opinion, the truth to take from this collection is simple: We should never confuse our process with our purpose.

Arguing about the choice of pantone 2120 over 2140 … assigning unique messages to the phases of a consumer lifecycle … creating interfaces for customers to curate experiences … This is our process. It’s not foolish or useless. But it doesn’t belong in the minds of the marketplace. It should be transparent to the audience. And that is why this collection is funny.

This collection reminds us that it would be ridiculous to assume audiences care directly about all the hard work we put into persuading them. It reminds us that they don’t analyze why a message works or fails on them; a message just works or fails on them. It reminds us that, in the end, all the theory, method and process are simply means to our purpose. And it reminds us that while our process is difficult, that purpose is simple: Persuade them.