Gorillas, Trucks and Money

To continue this little sequence, yesterday I noted the high profile of advertising agencies in the 1980s, and today I noticed that a similar sentiment was in the copy of Marketing Week that's on my desk now. From Jonathan Durden's article: "Charles and Maurice Saatchi pierced the public consciousness and came to represent hope and success in the same way as Sir Richard Branson or Rupert Murdoch. They even came close to buying Midland Bank, which was remarkable in its audacity and ambition."

Leaving aside the irony in lumping together Saatchi and Branson who seemed to me completely opposed politically, socially, and legally in the battle for virgin atlantic traffic, the majority of the article asked the question: are there really no heroes in advertising today?

But there is perhaps an icon for advertising in the 21st century, at least according to Scamp. It's the title of a public article, so I doubt that it is much of a revelation:

Juan Cabral does earn a million pounds a year. And he's worth every penny.

I like the headline. It conveys a fact with an opinion very concisely. And the style is familiar.

Scamp goes on to explain why advertising is a bit like "writing, acting, music and art. Musicians and artists are prepared to earn next-to nothing for years, in the hope that they could one day become Mick Jagger or Damien Hirst." Though in my view that's a pretty poor argument for inequality.

And they are ultimately judged on client sales and profits anyway.