I find it fascinating how the TV seriesMad Men realistically depicts agency life and the careers of creative people. Even though the series is set in 1960s Manhattan, it mirrors how the ad industry operates today. When I saw the episode in which Don Draper’s firm lost its biggest client, Lucky Strike, I said to my wife, “This might very well be the best depiction I’ve ever seen on TV of what I go through with my own business when I lose an account.” It’s not just about the resulting layoffs, it’s the humility–you feel responsibility for the people who count on you, and you wonder, “How can I reinvent my business?”
When the “Mad Men” lose Lucky Strike as their biggest client, it served as a contemporary analogy to the economic downturn we’re all experiencing. How do those of us working in advertising survive today in this new marketplace? Many of us have lost clients these past two years. The partners at Draper’s firm had to slim down, lay off staff, regroup, and become inventive. Their actions serve almost as a model for those of us who run a small business in 2010, with clients spending less and demanding more.
The good news is that the traditional model for advertising isn’t going to ever change. It relies on the creative process–basically, a way to sell a product or a service by communicating a message to the masses. I think the “Don Drapers” from the past would not only survive but thrive in today’s advertising industry. The creative director’s basic work premise, everyday, is to confront a selling challenge, and then develop a creative solution. When no one else was promoting the quality of Lucky Strike cigarettes, Draper came up with a hook for his clients’ product–“Your Cigarettes Are Toasted,” which sounded fantastic. He presented a brilliant solution.
For an out-of-house creative partner such as myself (I hate the term “vendor”), who works as a director and photographer, our value to a creative director like a Draper is the ability to help implement what he’s really looking for. He wants support. He wants a partner that’s on his team. His production partner needs to understand him. The partner needs to take that creative brief and “make it happen,” regardless of the time frame, logistics, or technical challenges it may present.
Once a Don Draper hires his production “vendor,” he assumes the project will come together–he’s not going to concern himself with the mechanics. The “vendor” needs to implement the project, putting it on the legitimate road to success. When a creative out-of-house partner gets some boards, he should embrace them from the perspective of what it must have taken to have gotten those boards approved. They’ve been around the block 15 times already. The CD fought to make those boards happen. The creative partner can certainly suggest embellishments and changes but shouldn’t be discouraged if those changes aren’t immediately embraced.
A good CD doesn’t accept mediocrity. He’s focused, intense, highly creative and a bit self-righteous. He’s interested in implementing his vision with minimum b.s. and drama. Creative cream always rises to the top. Always. And Don Draper — even in the age of Twitter — would still be equally successful today.
(Director/photographer Jay Silverman is founder of Jay Silverman Productions in Hollywood, Calif.)
