combination of ideas

There's a certain collectivity in advertising that isn't quite as pervasive in other fields.

Here's an anecdote that might illustrate what I mean (without flat out saying it, of course): My family has started to understand basic advertising speak in the way that international children do when they dive into their first taste of the American school system after growing up in another country -- the need to survive kicks into high gear, so language becomes less and less of an obstacle.

When I start to mention BBDO or DDB or WK or OMD or PHD or KBP or GSP or BSSP or . . . well, TBWA, I've begun to get chuckles these days instead of head nods of encouragement. Why the chuckles? Well, they've picked up on the humor that sits on the surface of advertising nomenclature: every agency name follows the same pattern. And when you have enough of them, there starts to be some overlap. And the overlap, my friends, is where the humor lies.

But why is it funny? I'm too blasé to notice, of course, but it's interesting -- if not coincidental -- that so many groups of men (and yes, they were mostly men) came up with the idea to build a business around original ideas. Original thinking in a sea of sameness. Certainly interesting

But taking a step back, I think there's something worthwhile to consider for those in the business, as well as those not in the business. Although entrepreneurial enterprises continue to pop up around the world due to individual endeavors, advertising has developed a pattern of grouping some minds together, throwing a flag in the ground and starting work on "creative work."

(Don't let the passive aggressive quotations sway you away from my point; I've used them here just to show how common that phrase is throughout industry speak.)

When it comes to ad agencies, there's a unique habit of combining the best minds to create even better ideas, even if they seem to be replaceable and arbitrary on the surface of the matter.

That's a really, really great thing to have by your name. (Or names, rather.)

I've been intrigued for a while with the punctuation that agencies chose to use in their names. Some use "&" to connect names (or initials) whereas others use "+" . . . and still others use "/" . . . or used the other way "\" as is the case with TBWA. Recently, I've seen a resurgence in simply using commas, which is nice . . . although those agencies might be chastised in the industry for lack of symbolic creative connectors. But whatever floats your boat, I say.

So what does all this mean, and why is it so important to ramble on about? It's simple.

If there exists an industry that has such a deeply rooted history of combining minds to creatively solve problems, why are we not continuing to evolve that industry? The fact that we value other thoughts so much stands as probably the industry's greatest strengths. So why is there not a continual pursuit for new or better ideas?

And I don't mean new or better advertising ideas.

Arguably, there might be an answer to this question in the nature of teams. Teams combining, taking sides and battling over clients becomes a dirty, dirty game . . . and there are teammates jumping ship, there trades, there's cheating, and there's controversy over how much the other team is spending on half-time snacks when the annual budget can only afford orange slices and gatorade. (Apologies for the extensive soccer metaphor -- hope you could follow the nuances, though) Essentially, teams can be very good, but when the game goes on as long as it has, things can begin to go bad.

So I think it's time we start a new game. One that pins teams against each other in healthy competition, and one that brings different sorts of people and perspectives together.

In advertising, the goal should ironically not be advertising. Advertising problems can no longer be solved with advertising solutions. Everyone is losing that old game as we speak. We need to recruit people who favor design solutions, business solutions, technological solutions, social solutions. But most of all, there needs to be an understanding of the people solutions if we're going to get anywhere.

Winning games right now is fine. I'm happy to hear about victories in the field. But as we move forward, we should think about how awesome the game might be if we bring new people on board. Instead of resting on our laurels, let's play a really, really good game.