a rant over diction

I absolutely hate the word ‘advertising.’

So you can imagine the conversational obstacles when I explain what I do for a living and what I studied in school. And then there’s the confusion that sets in when I go into just how much I love advertising.

But I truly do hate the word. Loathe it. There are a lot of people that try to wean themselves off of bullshit marketing terminology in order to make their everyday speak a bit more “real” or “human” or -- my favorite -- “social.” But in my opinion, merely finding a temporarily admirable substitute for a word you so desperately want to use on a day-to-day basis is no way to operate in business. Say what you mean, I say.

There are many reasons for my belligerent diction. Built-up over time, they seem to have erupted out of suppression and continually fuel my boundary-pushing planning style. But in the interest of time, consideration and simplicity, I’d like to point out 3 of the major reasons.

(1) It assumes things too willingly.
We all have our weaknesses. Or those things in life that we can’t seem to muster up any tolerance for. One of mine is belabored, redundant, verbose client briefings. You know the ones – where the language about objectives and methods and strategies and ideas and product somehow goes from the mouths of people sitting at one end of the table to nodding heads sitting at the other end.

Yes, these are important moments in a business conversation. Yes, it’s an awesome time to get everyone on the same page. And yes, it’s the ideal time to ask questions.

But what I have no patience for is an assuming speaker (and audience, for that matter). Why is the answer “advertising”? And how – exactly – do you know that it will clearly show two product benefits in a 30-second TV spot?

To me, advertising (I’ll continue to use the word in this context simply for clarity sake) is only a solution to the business problem. But it’s not always the solution. So I’m not entirely sure why problems are brought to ad agencies and they’re told to “fix it with advertising.”

Instead, those meetings should be about talking about the legitimate problem being faced, and inspiring everyone in the room to embrace every possible solution.

(2) It connotes a quota for success.
Beyond just assuming the solution at the beginning of the process, assuming the word “advertising” into everyday conversation sets up a very specific forecast for “success.”

If we can all agree that we’re starting at point A as a team, and we look off into the horizon at point B that was oh so eloquently described in that initial client meeting, what role does a group of creative thinkers play in the process other than figuring out a way to hop on board the TV spot band wagon and hope it’s the most creative, award-winning, category-redefining, results-driving TV spot there is (and ever will be)?

A very small role.

But why? If agencies are really set up to be hotbeds for creative thought and problem solving strategy, why is a quota of specific media or a list of “important” benefits set-up at the beginning of the whole process? That’s like giving a child a puzzle and saying, “ You can only use your right hand with this one, because you did such a fantastic job with the last one.”

But what would happen if there was less assumption at the beginning of the process? What would the solutions look like? Would there be inclusion of things beyond just profit? Or ROI? Or purchase intent? Or other such traditional things?

I would argue that there might be more room for other important success trackers. Loyalty. Sociability. Happiness. Connectivity.

You can’t create a quota for connectivity.

(3) It suppresses childlike creativity.
I know at this point it seems ridiculously cliché and – given the industry we’re in – a bit surface level, but one of the truly remarkable messages that a brand has offered to consumers is the idea of “think different” offered by Apple. Truly genius.

Why is that?

At least to me, it seems that there is much more long-term value in being different, rather than just new or better. Being different involves a very purposeful repositioning – not just on the product or brand side, but on the consumer side as well. When someone strolls into an Apple store to buy an iPhone or Mac of some sort, there’s a certain popular irony – although everyone seems to have one of these little boxes of technology, a simple transaction can bring me that “difference” I so desperately yearn.

Before my Mac, I was regular. After it – even just 30 minutes after my regularness – I am different. But not just being different, but thinking differently.

That’s an inspirational thought, albeit a bit commercial and ironic.

But think about the implications of that moment for the development of advertising. There is a clear (and at this point, quite popular) value of thinking differently. Thinking new, better, best, updated, or even shiny is sometimes valued, but different is always valued.

I’m not entirely sure we should be denying anymore that “different” has many faces.

When I was in 3rd grade, I vividly remember a number of situations when a problem was given to the class and each set of partners would have to work for 30 minutes to find a solution. The catch? There was not one right answer.

That pissed the hell out of us. Even as 9-year-olds, you could have probably seen the smoke shooting out of our ears. But the nice part of being a child is you get over things much quicker, so we dove right in.

When we presented our solutions to the class, I remember being absolutely astonished at the final presentations. Some people used colored papers, some mimed their solution (which I always chalked up as undeniable laziness), while still others built things out of chairs in the hallway.

It was a really cool moment. Everyone did something differently, but each solution solved the “problem.” (I use that term loosely, as I’m not sure I believe 9-year-olds truly go through many problems in their puny little lives).

Fast-forward. I’m not sure our advertising adventures should be treated that much differently from those projects we worked on when we were 9-years-old. There is still the initial problem. There is still a call for “help” with it. There is still that initial frustration that it hasn’t been figured out yet. But most importantly, there is still the potential to solve it in the most creative way possible.

Why? Because there is a value in thinking differently that is sometimes beyond words. And using the word “advertising” throughout the process of solving tough communication problems is not solving anything differently. It’s not even getting us to think, most of the time.

It’s time we throw the word away. We shouldn’t be solving problems the way we already have. Instead, let’s solve problems the best way we can.