Advertising across the entire spectrum is firmly out of touch with the wider public: how to create a true meritocracy.
MERITOCRACY: something that has been championed, peddled and reiterated as a staple of society as a whole has yet to permeate into advertising.
Although wider society is proven to be more socially liberal than in previous generations, the state of advertising does not reflect a society accepting of diversity and social progress.
While the recapitulation of many a previously coined idiom pertains itself to advertising, in hope of securing resonance through ubiquity, consumers will not be as receptive compared to the past to such linguistic techniques.
In a advertising world dominated by key-word-search, the ability for your business and agency for that matter to provide creative concepts that reflect the mindset of your consumers; how they search and why they search, is unparalleled.
Therefore by focusing on previously pertinent language, creative directions, topics and actors too, you are inhibiting the perception and relevance of your brand in continually evolving times.
Although due diligence is a part of any pre-production process as you seek to conciliate yourself to your consumers, there is often to much rationality and credence given to what people think is safe or like, as appose to what is effective.
With the developing scope for expedience in matters concerning accountability, measurability and automation, the entire marketing and advertising spectrum has swayed towards instant gratification and firmly away from that of patience, brand campaigns and creativity.
In order to placate superiors pre-eminatnely riddled within routine and to a degree obstinate in their attempts to appear perspicacious, there needs to be a statutory impetus from the beginnings of creative procurement.
When a creative vision is being discussed and deliberated, there needs to be a firm drive from a PR perspective from casting/modelling/voiceover agencies to cajole businesses and agencies toward a new direction.
To a forge a true meritocracy between artists, creative visions and from the view of social empowerment, a mutual collaboration or pact, similar to that of the pact conceived at Cannes Lions, except in this instance with a clear drive to implementing an incentivised meritocracy.
While the facility exists for anyone to appear within ads, a meritocracy is prevalent.
In practise though for it to truly incentivise all to engage within advertising, both businesses and agencies need to collude to produce mutual pacts bound by targets that hold them to account on championing a true meritocracy and inclusive advertising culture.
While to draft such a bill legally would take more time it has to be the long-term aim, in the meantime though – from both the agency and business perspective – ensuring that a pact is agreed between businesses and agencies is imperative.
In the midst of the Leveson Inquiry examining and elucidating on the conduct of the press, IPSO was formed in order to self-regulate the press.
Although The Guardian among others refused to join, their own charter underlines the ethical practices that should be undertaken, providing its own internal accountability.
Therefore with not only financial incentives to work towards a meritocracy, but ethical ones too, a framework will at least deter those advertisers from inhibiting some from applying to acting roles.
Moreover the creative aspects of ads – with script writing and screenplay for instance – have reaffirmed certain stereotypes and metanarratives simply irrelevant to wider society in the current paradigm.
While the notion of any censorship or control of what content streams are fit for broadcast or ulterior dissemination should be discouraged, ultimately the facts should prevail.
Currently ads that focus on delivering fairer, more inclusive, empowering and meritocratic content are enjoying the greatest praise amongst critics.
Of course this alone should not be enough to persuade your business to utilise a different advertising tact, but it is continuing to elicit improved commercial revenues too.
Five of the eight award-winning adverts from the Cannes Lions event featured a tact of empowerment, focusing on diversity to implement a campaign of morality and commercial gain.
Inexplicably too many within advertising have not encouraged the businesses they partner with to work toward a more meritocratic footing.
The conflation has been to assume that morality was inhibitive to commercial success, while this could be nothing further from the truth.
During a period in which 75% are unequivocally in support of same-sex relationships, compared to 42% 34 years ago, not improving representation and the encouragement of it within casting briefs, in the press and within your own brand ethos will be damaging to your business.
Therefore by working with agencies, the press and advertising authorities you can establish the statutes, pacts and expectations that will underpin change in advertising.
Space City has been producing TV, online and radio commercials for 25 years, working with myriad casting agencies to ensure a meritocracy in advertising without inhabitation or bias.
Contact the team now and ensure your next ad is delivered to reflect the consumers you are advertising too.
