I have to agree, there are too many knee jerk campaigns currently cluttering up the advertising landscape. Unfortunately it's often the large blue chip companies that are to blame. Their marketing departments are often hugely fragmented and each individual client seems to continually miss the bigger picture while doing their best to increase sales in their particular area. One wonders how often these clients sit together and re-evaluate the bigger business problems rather than just trying to increase their sales that quarter. If we're not careful we're going to bury the very people we want to target under a pile of advertising messages, none really distinguishable from the other. As a famous New York agency said in the 1960's. Think small.

Speaking from the other side, (where beige is the new black, chinos are considered dress down attire and the fluorescent strip lighting sets the scene for 'the client' to grow businesses, drive revenue and watch the pennies pile into the bottom line), if you believe in the power of good creative, then you are like a marshmallow thrown out of a tour bus; finding yourself in Pompeii. In an ideal world, Banham is totally right. However, when you are working in a marketing team, if you are turned on by amazing creative, and more importantly, like you are saying, creative campaigns that actually make a difference; make an impact in the ever increasingly cluttered world of TV, press, posters and, of course not forgetting (the buzz thing of today) interactive advertising, then you are like a buoy in the middle of an ocean...a tiny little island! Advertising is nothing new, but, unfortunately, neither are the people who work client side in businesses across the land, They clearly want results, they want to hit their targets, and they want to look good in front of their line managers, (You never know, if they achieve this, in addition to their bonus, they may get out of their soulless office blocks to have a few bevies in the local pub....ummm...now that’s incentive!) Anyway, where was I....the way I see it is that marketeers are on the edge of the businesses. Yes, they can run big budgets, they manage agencies, they care about the progress of the business as much as the finance director or the CEO, BUT at the end of the day they 'are the colours people'. A bit wacky; the lively bunch that make the ads, while everyone else gets on with the hard work. They come to the 'wacky ones' with a business problem (only because they have to mind, and only after they have pretty much answered their own brief themselves - because they are very clever of course)...then they want something within the next few weeks (if not days) to get the desired results. Granted, sometimes great things can be pulled out of the proverbial bag, but more often than not, sadly I agree that the out come, as you say, is 'poorly executed, knee-jerk reactions', that are totally irrelevant and uninteresting to the average Joe. So, what can be done? Firstly, to all creative minds out there please just remember. There are some creatives in this industry that will fight the good fight for amazing work - work that will not only win awards, but that will also achieve results. These guys won't care that daily they grate on all the poor account managers’ ears - as they relentlessly push back on timelines, budget restrictions, and the pre-formulated idea, that exists only in the client’s head, of what it is they need. These creatives will keep battling on. A slave to their work, and perhaps, as an industry we need a few more of these irrepressible characters, who hold within their hearts the passion displayed by many great artists of the past. (I am not advising that you cut off your ears next time a GAD says that the client didn’t buy the idea). Anyway, as it is, many creatives, I fear, seem to have forgotten to remember why they trained for years, why they got paid pittance (if anything) when they got their first job, and why they get up every day to while away the hours on s**t briefs, that they know will be answered with something equally uninspiring. Please, please remember why you do it; always push for the best, and believe in better. The other strand of what I see to be a problem with a double pronged solution is – and this will probably fall on deaf ears - for all those on the client side of the industry. Why did you go into marketing? If, like Emily says, your marketing department is hugely fragmented and continuously missing the bigger picture, why not do something about it. Unify the vision, and work out what it is that you all need to do to really - as corny as it sounds - make a difference. Another thing that we can all do is educate our colleagues. If you regularly show the wider teams awesome ad campaigns, new things that are out there and pushing the boundaries; brands that are behaving differently etc etc, then when you present creative internally, to get final sign off, half the battle is already won. This might seem naive, but I really believe that it is that simple. Banham is right, and there is no excuse for poor work. One thing on our side is that business is full of competitive egos, and so if they are regularly shown new / exciting / creative work from other brands, not only direct competitors, then at least when they have knee jerk reactions to immediate competitor activity they, with any luck, will develop creative competitiveness as well. They will become allies of the marketing department, as opposed to cynical observers of the ‘non-workers’. Think of it like feeding a child baby food for its first six months (bear with me on this one); all it wants is baby food. Start the baby on solids, and then try to give it baby food. Ummm, messy. So as clients, in marketing, we should see poor advertising as the baby food. It is our job to spoon feed the solids, and soon the ‘clever business boys’ will only want the stuff the other big kids have. Cute. Rant over.

Too much of a rant I'm afraid. Think you've proven the point - far too much clutter and rambling here - people won't, and I haven't, read it!

Fair point, and apologies - just expressing frustrations.

Unfortunately digtal may have made a rod for its own back.  In being so much more inexpensive than traditional media, brand owners can be like kids in a sweet shop... trying every sticky confection that catches their eye, and still having plenty of pocket money left