Last week, I attended the Communicate Conference in Dubai, and I made a bold statement that shocked many: the huge majority of the work in advertising today is worthless garbage that barely deserves to get paid!
After many discussions outside the main stage and over WhatsApp, with a good friend from a major agency asking if I had gone mad, I do stand by my statement. However, the written format of this column will help me further elaborate on that provocation.
I do unequivocally believe that depending on the maturity of a market, 80 percent to 95 percent of the content out there does not require an agency. This is visual pollution at best!
The quality five to 20 percent of output is where creative agencies need to focus. Agencies should have the courage to drop, once and for all, that 80 percent to 95 percent of extra weight, and work only on what really matters with the clients who understand that only strong brands fuel growth. This is a very tough choice on paper, but an easy one from a business-strategy standpoint considering where we are headed with AI.
To prove my point, let me share an example from outside our industry. In 2012, HSBC made a radical strategic shift by focusing on wealth only. The transformation was brutal, with thousands of branches shut down, millions of clients ejected, withdrawals from dozens of markets enacted overnight, etc.
Even their iconic tagline “The World’s Local Bank” had to go, thus proving the 180-degree transformation! The result: their assets went from $398 billion in 2012 to $2.1 trillion in 2025! And their stock price jumped by 122 percent over that same period, from £6.47 to £14.37. That should tell us something.
Our clients’ real wealth is their brands. Let’s go for the HSBC approach and focus on the wealth of brands. Let’s stop wasting our time selling the equivalent of penny stocks to unqualified amateurs who actually believe that a post will actually grow their brand!
I do advocate a radical shift for our industry toward a pure private banking approach: 100 percent focused on clients, and 100 percent focused on growing brands in the most complex ecosystem ever. And by the way, that also means a remuneration system that is tied to our clients’ growth!
Creativity is still the most powerful force in business. Let’s focus on that to build our clients’ wealth!
I know what agencies can do for brands. We help them build factories instead of just moving crates. Let’s make the radical shift and drop the fat now. Alternatively, and to use another banking metaphor, we seem to currently be headed toward becoming ATMs!
#MakeAdvertisingGreatAgain
