P. Diddy tells adland: ‘I hate watching commercials, just like everyone else’
Producer and hip hop artist Sean Combs, better known as P. Diddy, caused murmurs in the audience at the Cannes Lions festival today when he declared that he hated watching TV ads.
Combs is in town to promote his new cable music channel Revolt TV to potential advertisers.
He told delegates today: “I hate watching TV commercials, just like everyone else.”
“The truth will set you free. And I’m here to tell the truth. If you’re not going to produce great work [advertising], you’d better get the fuck out of this room,” he told his audience of advertising professionals and clients.
“Millennials [young people] don’t like watching commercials – and they don’t like BS,” he said. “Brands need to give them something that touches them emotionally.”
“Brands don’t listen enough to kids,” he said. “But if you can empower them, you will win their respect.”
Combs also lamented the day that MTV stopped playing music videos.
“Seven years ago MTV stopped playing music videos. That had a big impact on music. Music became safer. There was no longer a platform that artists could trust.”
Combs also took issue with the idea that the music industry is in trouble. “There is a misconception that music is in the worst shape of its life. But music consumption is at an all time high,” he said.
“Nine of the top ten people on Twitter are music people. That’s a lot of power.”
I hate watching P.Diddy videos…
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But P.Diddy.Puffy.Combs.com’s videos ARE ads….
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He’s right. People hate ads. And it’s never been easier to avoid them. My 2 1/2 year old has never opted to watch the ‘Pre-Roll ad’ before his chosen You Tube film. Never. So stop making ads… stop interrupting people in the middle of their favourite stuff… and start giving them something they might want to ‘opt in’ to receive. If you can start thinking like that… you’ll have the solution to make ‘Communication Agencies’ relevant long into the future.
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