The ad industry – even Clems – has nothing to fear from The Gruen Transfer
In this guest posting, The Gruen Transfer co-creator Jon Casimir answers the question of whether the advertising industry has anything to fear from the new series of The Gruen Transfer.
Ha. Of course the industry has something to fear. For we are a dozen ABC public servants – not true, but we’ll go with the stereotype – armed with a word processor and a few cameras. And the industry, poor it, is the engine room of capitalism, trampling through $500 billion a year, a global army that has us entirely surrounded…
Sorry if you wanted controversy, but Gruen gets on pretty well with the ad biz. When I first did the agency rounds before the show, I expected to be met by skeptics with folded arms, people assuming ABC stands for Ambush, Belittle and Crucify. But most ad folk were intrigued, supportive, even enthusiastic.
And to my surprise, this has been the case ever since. Yes, industry people I meet often have criticisms and questions (usually “why isn’t my special subject better represented?”), but the conversations are civil, fruitful and welcome. And if you believe the AFA, sorry, the Communications Council, Gruen has sparked a surge of career enquiries.
We’ve had many great agencies volunteer for The Pitch, which they rightly see as both fun and a chance to show that advertising is a problem-solving industry, that genuine insight can scale apparently insurmountable peaks.
This year we’re excited that agencies with the profile of Droga5 and BWM are scheduled to take part, as well as a bunch of other bold and willing new faces. Some old friends will return for a second shot too.
But not everyone wants to do it. If you matched our Pitch roster against the list of Australia’s top agencies, you’d find a few notable absences. Some don’t see it as right for their brand, which we understand. Some are just insanely busy.
Some creative directors have politely told us they don’t care for the show, which is fine too. Though others have suggested that a few of the “rock star” CDs are staying away because they fear being pantsed by a smaller competitor on national television. Maybe there’s an element of that. Who knows?
There’s only one agency with an active, public dislike for the show: Clemenger. We’d been on air for oh, about a week before Clems boss Peter Biggs accused us of painting advertising people as wankers. A couple of weeks later his chairman, Robert Morgan, said we “demeaned and trivialised the industry”. We don’t believe either of those things is correct, but we’re not going to doubt the sincerity of their views…
Honestly, I reckon the opposite is true. After decades of “the adman” stereotype being Singo or Siiiiimon, every week we put four smart, interesting people from Adland onto the small screen. They prove to the world that the moral and ethical debates the rest of us have also happen in the industry. They show advertising to be much more grey than it is black and white. They come across as people, real people, with differing and conflicting views.
Time has not weakened the Clemenger stance. Its disapproval is all-consuming and institutional. The last time I rang to ask a research question about one of its ads, I was told that everyone in-house had been instructed not to fraternise with The Gruen Transfer. We’re dead to them (this sentence works better if you channel Joe Pesci and do the Mafioso chin-flick thing). Dead to them.
Sometimes I wonder if they protesteth too much. I wonder if, as it was in the fifth grade playground, all their insistence that “we don’t like you” means they have a secret crush on us. Actually, maybe if we all got a room together and shared the hospitality that only an ABC budget can buy (four cups of tea and Iced Vovos, hold the ice) we’d find that we’re made for each other. Peter and Rob, our door is always open…
By the way, despite appearances, Russel Howcroft and Todd Sampson do often agree on things. Some of their colleagues have suggested that giving away the IP of the industry on national television is not smart, that sharing their “secrets” – as if none of us could read a trade mag or check out sites like this one – is potentially damaging.
Both men have said that if the result of The Gruen Transfer is a public more educated about advertising’s methods, that can only be a good thing. What’s the worst that could happen? Maybe the ad industry would be held to a higher standard of work and thinking. Now, is that something to fear?
- The Gruen Transfer returns to ABC1 tonight at 9pm
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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topics
ABC
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Jon Casimir
Peter Biggs
Rob Morgan
Russel Howcroft
Singo
Todd Sampson
Good piece, Jon.
Forgive me if I’ve missed you guys doing it in a prior series, as I don’t watch religiously, but how about getting GPY&R and Leo Burnett to duke it out in The Pitch segment one time?
Todd’s agency v Russell’s agency.
Only seems fair.
(and maybe have a panel made up of people they’ve voted against in prior pitch segments decide which agency wins!?!)
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From a client perspective, I would hate it if my agency was on TGT preening and parading like a peacock. Same goes for excessive advertising award entries. Just get on with the job, and stop looking in the mirror.
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An awesome show. Smart and sassy. Gives the industry more street cred.
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I love the Gruen Transfer – I could actually sit down with my IT (now ex) boyfriend and we would discuss ads, laugh and engage. It’s great to see how creatives go about their business and I think shows people out there what we stand for.
I’ve never really worked agency side but it’s awesome now that people realise marekting is more than fluffy pretty girls!
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Pardon my ignorance, but just wondering why the gruen transfer is only ‘creative’ based. Be nice to hear a media point of view every couple of weeks on the panel
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I want a media person to explain why they run one crap ad 5 million frickin times during the AFL season. Mental waterboarding.
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I agree with Paul regarding getting media input, it woudl also be good to get a client/commercial prospective
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FYI. Clemenger hate it because they can’t control it and their competitors get exposure.
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I love Todd
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The advertising industry was “enthusiastic” to see a show about the advertising industry?
Imagine my surprise…
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wow, thanks for the links to the Clem opinion articles. They show what a massively out of touch agency it truly is. Advertisers (like me) and the general public love the show for its wit and becuase it shows the thinking behind advertising. It does a great deal to credential the industry in a professional sense and should be embraced by agencies, rather than weakly flogged by limp-wristed pompous twits.
Moreover, it has encouraged millions of Australians to pay closer attention to advertising – isn’t that a bloody great thing for advertisers whose cash lines the pockets of Clem and the likes? or is Clem putting itself first with these comments?
Message to Clemenger – if you want a seat at the boardroom table, climb down from your silly ivory tower and show that you are in touch with your clients and the public, and support the show. If you don’t realise that ALL consumers view ALL advertising cynically, maybe it’s time to retire and yet the young people have a go.
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The Gruen Transfer is only a good thing for this industry. Just as cooking shows like Master Chef have been a boon to the hospitality industry over the years, encouraging people to push their boundaries and develop appreciation for what was once considered ‘snobby’ food.
I think Biggs was just annoyed that he didn’t come up with the concept first.
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TGT works because of its tight focus on the creative advertising side of the industry and not stepping over the line … or is that ‘under’ (sorry bad pun) into media relations.
Obviously most campaigns target both areas, but they have very different focus and ways of working. As a media / comms specialist, I love what creatives do, but is completely different sphere of thinking, planning, strategy and analysis.
Dont get me wrong, I am from the media side, and would love to see a ‘sister show’ to TGT relating to the media side of the industry. But in the context of this BRILLIANT show – the media perspective will do nothing but muddy the waters.
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Man, you people are kind. Thanks.
Turbo Terry, when it comes to The Pitch, we try to avoid situations in which our panellists would be voting on work from their own agencies. The conflict of itnerest would be large and obvious. But having others judge them … nice idea, but kinda breaks the rules of the show. Maybe it’s the kind of thing you could do right at the end of your run, and we don’t think we’re done just yet.
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Great to read “Biggsy’s” comments in The Australian newspaper. Brought back memories for me of this article run here in NZ.
http://www.listener.co.nz/issu.....iggsy.html
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The media side? Aren’t we rebundling in 18 months anyway?
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Gruen is a complete contrivance, that is built to entertain, often at the expense of the facts. Anyone who actually works in the real world of advertising and communications understands that it is built for television. The panelists play to this, often making shit up that is plainly bullshit to anyone who knows.
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Ben is right. Sarah is right. TGT is a bit of fluffy entertainment that has very little to do with the real business of advertising. The ludicrous topics agencies are given to ‘battle over’ just confirm how trivial even TGT treats the business. Todd spends his life trying to be oh so cool and Russell gets to be the fun-loving fall guy defending the industry. It’s kiddy stuff.
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It’s just assertion and counter-assertion. No meaningful debate whatsoever.
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