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I don't wanna do it anymore
Hate to say it but uber is definitely in tune
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OP, this is a pretty sweeping generalization. Which “classic ads” are you talking about? Award winners? Regular TV spots? Which country? Which decade? And what exactly are you comparing them to now?
Turn on the TV today and it’s wall-to-wall pharma ads, random soft drink commercials starring Love Island contestants, insurance ads, and QR codes in the corner of the screen. Open your phone and it’s influencers and hooks.
I don’t buy the argument that craft is at some all-time high. A campaign for an AI chatbot that feels strangely similar to Black Mirror‘s “Common People” episode just won the Film Grand Prix at Cannes. Whether you love it or hate it, that’s hardly evidence we’re in some golden age of creativity.
But it’s also worth remembering that the job was hard in different ways. Before collaborative digital tools, every board and comp took hours to produce. Retouching was an art form, not a button in Photoshop. Presentations were built by the art director in InDesign, not collaboratively in Slides. Casting was done live, post-production was slower, and clients weren’t available on Zoom every five minutes. The world has changed, and so have the pain points. Every generation thinks the next one has it easier.
Craft is more accessible. Everything can look good. But the ideas were stronger in the past, and championed.
The considerations are different every year. And every year I’m sure they were pushing to hack culture or do something no one had seen before, even if the culture seemed naive or “before” looks totally dated now. And of course, one of those considerations was actually selling things versus going to Cannes. So yeah, it’s an art form that doesn’t age particularly well. Then again, neither does most standup comedy, FWIW.
“Art form” now there’s a good joke
I believe it was 1985 and there was a print ad that won a Lion and other awards. It was for a pasta maker. The image was of said pasta maker. The headline:
NOTHING MAKES PASTA, FASTA!
With just three media available at the time (tv radio and print) mnemonics like that probably has sold way more pasta makers than any kind of digital campaigns will ever do. It was simply another moment in time, with a very different media diet
Some of it is pure nostalgia.
But, the state of the art is different too, in the same way music has built on prior influences or basketball players take moves from players who came before them.
It’s like when you watch a classic movie and think it’s cheesy because it plays off a trope. But the reality is the trope plays off that movie.
Pro
I don't know, feels like a lot of older ads were much more creative. Are you talking about production value? A lot of classic ads didn't have the benefit of computer graphics.
We’re still paid well, though.
You’re 100% right about that first point. All that ‘back when ads were good’ talk is seen through incredibly rose tinted glasses?
But is that job exciting to you? Money aside, I don’t think most of the people I work with now would be stoked to write print ad after print ad and TV ad where the sky ISN’T the limit. If you pitched most of the stuff that runs today, you’d be shown the door. Ads weren’t worse back then because people were less imaginative, the ceiling was just lower. And creatives needed actual marketing degrees and prowess.
Comparisons to the past aside, what else would you be doing that pays this well? Because I agree it can suck, but it’s not like I’d be a doctor or lawyer or making a six figure salary if advertising didn’t exist. It’s still one of the better paying jobs for C students ever.
I’m not saying things are great or even good but if you put it in perspective, those comparisons don’t necessarily hold up. Yes it was easier before, but it was also a lot more boring.
C’s get creative fees
TBH i never get the “ads back in the days were much better” idea as a woman & POC. Images of women portrayed in ads back in the days were terribly unreal & toxic, also sexual in a lot of the cases. And the work environment was also notoriously sexist and off-balanced in terms of both gender and racial aspects. Not saying we are doing perfect now but def improving.
Pro
As a woman, I completely agree with that. The industry is unquestionably more inclusive than it was, and that’s a good thing. But I don’t think that’s the same as saying we’re more creative today, or that we weren’t creative then. Those are two different conversations.