Offices all over the UK will be buzzing with good vibes as the weekend approaches. People all over Twitter will be declaring they’ve got ‘that Friday feeling’ – a slogan that was made famous by Cadbury’s Crunchie back in the day.

Yet now people are blocking out ads, switching off and skipping them – anything to get away from being advertised at. Why? Because quite simply, automation, measurability and targeting have made marketing and advertising boring and annoying! 

People didn’t mind being marketed at when brands were creative, interesting and funny with their ads. 

Recently many agencies have been the worst of both worlds: both void of creativity and where MadMen wannabes prevail, longing for the golden age of misogyny to return. 

Apparently, most of the creative ‘characters’ and strong personalities have either died inside or left the industry to do something more interesting.

Is this too harsh? Tell us:

• Whatever happened to the maverick marketing leaders & agency creatives who were in charge of coming up with big ideas, pushing the envelope, challenging the norm, creating new paradigms and taking risks? – Do they still exist? Are you one of the few still left?
• Are agency bosses corporate robots, too business focused on behalf of themselves not on behalf of their clients? Or are they empathetic innovators? 
• Whatever happened to putting consumers at the heart of campaigns? Do agencies still care what consumers think / feel / do when they experience their ad beyond ‘clicking’?

There is hope. There is a rumbling. A movement is emerging to ‘make marketing great again’ – where we can have the best of both worlds: measurable comms but with the level of creativity and humour of the glory days. A new wave of 'big ideas' in communications can address people as equals, resonate and be relevant to how people consume and engage with the world around them today.

Article dedicated to our good friend and long-term supporter MM. You know who you are.