Sometimes I get feedback that I write of an idealistic world, either one whose time has gone or one whose time should be there, but just isn’t, in 2025.
And so the question arises. When you’re in a place that doesn’t value what you bring to the table, what should one do?
Advertising is a meeting of minds. That creates a culture of optimism and out of that is born brave work clients want. They pay well for said brave work that really moves the needle and thus to quote the first Everest Creds Slide, “in our clients’ success, lies our own.”
So what do you do when your environment changes?
Either there’s a new CEO who doesn’t care about making great Advertising; it’s just about taking on any client at any price to make the books look good rather than the work of the agency.
Or the great agency of yesterday gets a super massive account and suddenly bloats three times its original size. Suddenly there’s fear and insecurity in the corridors. Politics rears its ugly head. What if we lose all this overnight? And from being an agency focused on great work, it descends into an agency focused on processes that allegedly minimise risk rather than getting the best ideas out there as before.
Either way, when the vibe changes, what should you do?
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Umesh Shrikhande, my much beloved ex CEO always said, ‘All of life’s problems have only two responses. One can get up. Or, one can shut up.’
Getting up is easier when you’re younger. Your CTC isn’t a problem. You have no responsibilities besides your own bills in that sense. And yet, some of Advertising’s most enduring successes are people who have gotten up when the occasion demanded that a line be drawn in the sand; a rubicon of thus far and no farther.
You can also choose to shut up. Buckling down and focusing upon the work is always going to earn you the respect of the client, if nobody else within your system. Eventually, good things happen to good people and the clients follow them wherever they may go.
Life is short. Be in a place where what you bring to the table is much respected. Money comes and goes, but your integrity can’t be bought. Should porcine laughter be filing your ears, comfort yourself with two thoughts; it’s not for much longer and once you’ve moved on, the place tends to crumble under the weight of its own hubris. Till next Sunday!
Rayomand J Patell is an advertising veteran and InspiRAYtion is a weekend column on everything about advertising and marketing.