And Now A Story About Our Sponsor...

In television history, advertising and assorted marketing communications companies were shown to us “regular viewers” so as to peel away the mystery of what “those guys do in that creative business.”

Unfortunately, like a deceptive ad, many of these shows were misleading, not exactly a replica of what the ad business really is and does.

Sitcoms like Bewitched and Bosom Buddies had Darren Stevens, Kip Wilson and Henry Desmond portray their craft as writer, art director (and in Darren’s case both) only to have their work presented and “owned” by their bosses Larry Tate and Ruth Dunbar.

There was no client debriefing for the pitch, no creative brief to write and agree to, no timing to determine what the media department would recommend and certainly no budget to get the production done on time and on cost.

As reality television took hold, shows like Pitchmen, a docudrama on the Discovery Channel, gave us a little, but highly-edited look at the process of developing an infomercial – a three-minute+ length TV commercial that was honed to perfection by Anthony Sullivan and the late Billy Mays.

This show broadened the nature of marketing communications by starting with the marketing – following actual inventors and their inventions.  First selling ideas to manufacturers most familiar with selling directly to consumers, then pricing and offers, the design of the infomercial, the final results.

At least this show demonstrated the unique direct marketing structure of the infomercial – not just its length, but the tried and true way which provided demonstrations, elicit testimonials from satisfied users and make a “wait, that’s not all” promise.

Other shows have also come close to presenting the art of advertising : The Apprentice, Shark Tank, Undercover Boss, Full House, Who’s the Boss and Melrose Place. But these are all episodic television that I have to admit I haven’t seen, or don’t remember the tie to the industry. And then of course, couched in the fury of the sixties as well as sudsy soap opera is the acclaimed Mad Men – and the Don Draper school of client handling. 

The latest television show about advertising to come along is “The Pitch” which according to a recent Advertising Age article (http://adage.com/article/agency-news/advertising-agencies-buying-pitch/228907/) is a prospective AMC network reality show that looks to real advertising agencies to compete for a new business assignment from an actual client.

  is a prospective AMC network reality show that looks to real advertising agencies to compete for a new business assignment from an actual client.

Only no real advertising agency is yet to sign on. Why?

The creative process is often an inexplicable one. Even when we can explain where the big idea comes from, the irony is that no self-respecting ad agency would ever want anyone –- consumer, client or prospective client --  to peel back the curtain and see the wizard.  The greatest part of making great ads is that they come from great people with trusted ideas.

Once you turn on the cameras, the mystique, the conflict, the reality shared is gone.

So here’s the paradox – the guys that pay for our television can’t (or won’t) be best served as the story for future TV plot lines. They don't make fine television, only the finest persuasive arguments in which to buy. Ad people are a little like vampires: they can sell the concepts on television but they just can’t be shown in that TV mirror that tries to reflect them.