Opinion

They only want you when you’re seventeen

Tim Evans of Ogilvy Melbourne argues that Gen Y’ers in advertising should not be feared. They should be promoted

The other night I found myself re-watching an episode of Mad Men. It’s easy to get sucked into their fictional stereotype of the ad world. Well dressed, slick haired and quick witted, Don Draper is all old-school allure as he lays the Carousel spiel on Kodak. “It takes us around and around, and back home. To a place where we know we are loved,” Draper delivered.

Again.

It might be fiction, but that sell makes me want to ramp up the 1960s masculine charm. For a few seconds, boardroom charisma via whiskey and cigarettes seems appealing.

For many a decade, the advertising game has been an older man’s business. As in the episodes of Mad Men, the greater your age, the more valuable your input.

However, I’m not here to talk up the idea that older-equals-wiser. Quite the opposite. I’m just saying that a wise man knows his history. For instance in the 1950s, TV changed everything. Western culture orbited around the evening game show. TV dinner trays were the height of cool convenience. The audience was captive and the veterans knew how to reach them. Then 30 years later another revolution started to kick in the culture womb.

In the early 1990s the world said hello to on-demand information. We called it the Internet. Fast-forward to 2011, add a sprinkle of social and the cheese has well and truly moved. Of course, TV still plays a key role in mass brand awareness and messaging, and it will for many years to come. But in the slightly altered words of Chris Martin – We live in a digital world.

Yes we do, yes we do.

My point here is that the roles have reversed in agency-land. Gen Y is now front and centre.

The underworked, overpaid, ambitious-yet-lazy twenty-somethings. We grew up in Geocities. The rapid waters of online culture and digital behaviour are Gen Y’s game shows and couches.

Make no mistake, the internet has leaked into mainstream culture. Social media has plunged brands into a reputation economy. Online behaviour increasingly drives offline purchases.

This is a unique point in history, when a 22 year old can be sitting in a boardroom full of industry heavyweights and be the most valuable person in the room.

Change can be difficult to accept, particularly when the upheaval directly affects your livelihood. But as real-life Draper, David Ogilvy, once said “Change is our lifeblood”. He mastered the technologies and culture of his age and triumphed. The veterans of our industry must embrace change. Don’t fear Gen Y. Promote them.

Don Draper, Roger Sterling and Bert Cooper are still the masters of the universe. Experience will always guarantee their seat at the adult’s table. But the time for Peggy Olsen’s ideas and talents has come. Her indigenous expertise will reveal opportunities and revenue. And with the right nurture and support, the youngest player in your agency could fast become your biggest asset.

Tim Evans is the digital strategy director at Ogilvy Melbourne. He is 26 years old.

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