captilasim + creativity = CAPTIVITY

Well let me confess... till about a month back I was engrossed in the poster child industry of the big bad capitalistic world. Incase there is any ambiguity let me clarify: advertising. below were some of my thoughts about the industry as it is in Pakistan

Selling thoughts, visualizing concepts, unearthing U.S.P.s: welcome to the wicked world of advertising, where the hustle and bustle of everyday life manifests itself in every minute action. For many a year advertising has been presented as the pretty face of corporate America. Hollywood has taken it upon itself to depict advertising as the glam job that everyone should scurry after, and for once, they aren’t too far from the truth. It is glamorous. It is exciting. But, unfortunately (or fortunately) it also requires one’s blood and sweat. A point that ‘What women want’ and the numerous other films made, seem to ignore.

In fact, if we were to take realism as a required principle, then advertising in Pakistan can be liken to the charms of S & M, where the caustic responses of clients and the constraints of grids, client policies and inadequacies fuel a fire burning in the eyes of all those involved within the industry. Despite the pain, one continues on this journey hoping that he or she might enjoy that orgasm of having their work approved. Those elusive approvals that require an animal like courting process to entice, arouse and mate with the idealistic bullshit that clients always seem to have.

Many a person involved in the industry has skipped several stages in Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs (due to the lack of sleep, time, etc) and ended up in the welcoming arms of self-realization. A stage at which we realize that advertising does not fall within the constraints of love or hate, a stage where we need not contemplate; whether to love is a waste or if to hate the accompanying hassles is to surrender. Instead one realizes that advertising is simply an addiction.

The freedom of thought that one is allowed to revel in, the ability to always have a source of countless obscenities and simply the unpredictability of it all are the defining characteristics of the field. To label the aforementioned as the pros and cons of the business is not possible since these are as interchangeable as are the people who develop these million dollar brands. The more one examines this business of subliminal persuasion the more one realizes that it provides an escape. An escape from the 9 to 5 desk job that those on the peripheries of creative oblivion crave, where sitting at your desk the whole day is a sign of inactivity. Having to interact with all walks of life, advertising provides the best kind of exposure that one could hope for. A pill for the ego and a solution for the catharsis of daily life.

The evil system within which the client agency relationship lies ensures that all those involved with account management become ‘cheetahs’ as they try and overcome the restraints of a perennial obstacle (a.k.a. the client). The account management’s interaction with the client is akin to a dependant child interacting with his parents. The kid can kick and scream, but he knows that at the end of the day the parents put the roof over his head and the pay the bills. At least parents know what is good for you. The management department spells a life of writing contact reports and acting as a glorified delivery man, it seems bleak a , but somehow or another it provides the most opportunity for career growth.

Creatives have the unenviable task of trying to find ‘purpose’ in a fifty pesa[2] price reduction. Writing jingles, TVC storyboards, mood-boards and body copies the whole day, it’s a surprise they still have the will to talk at the end of the day. Alas, life. The poor art department trying to visually symbolize a service, always the first to be criticized and the last to be acknowledged. The golden field of advertising is actually a misrepresented block of lead trying to stay afloat in the turbulent waters of a society who does not recognize or reward their efforts, ideas or creativity.

Creativity in its altruistic form is cited as the objective in every campaign brief, but when presented is stated as being too ‘out of the box’. A fine balance, where a vision softly creeps and people talk without speaking. A twisted nirvana where people hear without listening and people write ads that voices never share for the fear of disturbing the peace of their dozing CEOs. Present, note, change, present, note, change, present, finalize: the product life cycle of a concept.
Nevertheless despite all its shortcomings, advertising provides a release. The sheer joy of knowing you are mingling with those in the loop, and doing a job with substantial seeable results ensure that job satisfaction remains relatively high. Despite the prevalence of the unprofessional, the industry best mimics the market environment of the West. Low job security, high rewards and rapid career growth. Some may feel this blurb to be highly opinionated and it would be a claim hard to contest. It is biased. It is supposed to be. The voice of an industry wronged has been subdued for too long. Having spoken the words of clients for so long it bodes well to discover one’s own. Call it the marriage of pure ingenuity and the tainted world of capitalism. Define it as captilasim + creativity = CAPTIVITY. By choice and willingly…it engulfs.