Life In The Post-Advertising World

On several occasions I have commented on the blindness of the "advertising is dead" crowd.

They declare that we are in a "post-advertising" age.

Meanwhile, every square inch of the fucking planet is covered in advertising. Every dry cleaning bag, urinal, bus stop, gasoline pump, supermarket floor, stick that divides your groceries from the smelly guy in front of you, hat, t-shirt and license plate.

Advertising has become so pervasive, these pundits can't even see it. It is the air we breathe and the murder weapon hidden in plain sight.

I was reminded of this recently when re-reading a book every advertising person should read -- Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton. It will make you feel a little uncomfortable about your job, but a lot better about your life.

There is a chart in the book that should be very instructive to the "advertising is dead" bunch. I have taken the liberty of reproducing it here.

So if advertising is dead, I'd like to know what is driving all this consumer desire? User generated content? Permission marketing? The "conversation?" What?

Pathetic Whining Pays Off:
Since our hysterical rant a few weeks ago, several bloggers have had the decency to include your favorite blog and mine on their blog rolls. This week, I would like to acknowledge three erudite bloggers who have "rolled" us: Sell Sell, FreedomPictures, and the wonderful ad broad. Please patronize our advertisers.

ADWEEK Shatters World Baloney Record

With the Olympic Games in full swing, ADWEEK has won a TAC Gold Medal by breaking the indoor record for impenetrable, incomprehensible drivel (a demonstration sport) with a piece called Beyond Integration.

In this article we learn...

"If it's true that the medium is the message, then it follows that the media experience is the brand. "

Uh, really? How does that follow? And, also -- just as an aside -- what the fuck does it mean?

We also get the full complement of brand babble, including, but not limited to:

"...brand integration"
"...brand expectations"
"...brand experience"
"...brand advocates"
"...brand relevancy"
"...brand meaning"
"...branded content"
"...brand message"

And, as if we were not already gagging on this bullshit, it urges us to practice a new form of abstruse nonsense called "brand holism."

I'd like to suggest another term for it -- "ass holism."

Couldn't help myself.

The Jargon Factory

Here at TAC Global Headquarters, there are some things we just can't abide. Heading the list are hypocrisy, jargon, and pizza with chicken or leafy vegetables.

Today we're going to jettison some jargon. A good place to start is "The Conversation."

Are you sick of "The Conversation?" Do you want to take the next moron who says it and wring his fucking neck? Take a hammer to his long tail?

Good. I can see we're on the same page here.

So what we're going to do is replace this buzzword with a buzzword of our own. You see, cliches and buzzwords are horrible if they're someone else's. But if they're our own -- what the hell -- we're special.

The new buzzword for online "conversations" is going to be "G2G". Here's how it came about.

My funny -- and frequently annoying -- business partner, Sharon Krinsky, walked into my office the other day and saw me writing.

HER: Waddaya doin'?

ME: Writing.

HER: Your fucking blog?

ME: Yeah.

HER: G2G.

ME: Huh?

HER: G2G.

ME: What do you mean?

HER: Geek-to-Geek

And so, here at TAC Global, "G2G" has become a happy buzzword for social media

It's simple, it's descriptive, and best of all, it's accurate.

Yes, I know g2g means "gotta go" in IM maniac language, but that's lower case. This is upper case.

Makes all the difference.