‘F*ck that’: Agency owner calls on Australian adland to ‘stand up in this time of turmoil’
A prominent adland figure has sent a powerful message to the Australian industry as it endures a current state of “turmoil”.
Joining the latest episode of the Mumbrellacast recorded at last week’s Mumbrella Finance Marketing Summit, Simon Lee, chief creative owner and joint owner of The Hallway, said much like the media industry right now, adland is also concerned about various pressures including job security and AI.
“I think there is a real temptation in our industry, as in life in general, to go quiet or even to back away from that fear. And I think ultimately if we were advising our clients on what to do in this kind of climate, what we’d say is be bold. [To] not withdraw, not be quiet, but be bold, make a statement. This is your opportunity to take a stand,” he said.
“And where I’m at, as an agency owner, is that that’s exactly what we should be doing. [Should we] run away, shut up, go quiet? Fuck that. What good’s that going to do?”
Lee speaking at the Summit last week
Lee said the industry needs “champions” and people who are willing to stand up in this turmoil and lead the way.
“Let’s be creative. Let’s make those statements in the world and stand tall,” he said.
“Hell, if adland’s gonna go down, I want to go down fucking swinging.
“I’m a big believer in transforming ‘ors’ into ‘ands’ and I think there’s a bit of a perception, not just in marketing, but in general, that you’re either doing something cool or you’re doing something that’s commercially responsible and is going to deliver results.
“…It’s not an ‘or’ at all. It’s actually, you do bold work and, or because of it, you drive great results… now is the time to be doing that bold work and you will reap the benefits of it.”
Listen to the full episode here.
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This is it, Simon could have led with some action and said something that was leadership rather then rambling about the need for leadership.
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Lots of swearing. Not many ideas. Fighting against what? AI? Good luck with that! I suggest you embrace it, use it and lower your fees to be competitive.
And he wonders why clients are by-passing ‘creative’ and using AI to make meaningless never watched 5 second SM pre-rolls. Do I really need a highly paid agencies who aspire to have holiday homes and Teslas making silly little ads that no one watches? I don’t think so.
Unless Netflix and Stan bring in compulsory advertising viewing the ad world is totally screwed cause no one watches traditional ads voluntarily.
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Bravo Simon Lee! At last someone has the balls to come out and say what needs to be said in well-articulated, unambiguous language. I bet this dude writes some mean copy!
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