Arts & Commerce: Lighten Up

Advertising does not cure cancer. It rarely affects world peace. For all the attempts to classify it as a “science,” advertising has essentially evolved from two snake oil salesmen on opposite corners yelling louder and making bolder claims. Today, there are more corners to yell from—radio, TV, the Internet—but the principle remains.

Yet you’d never know it, judging from the self-important seriousness pervading our industry.

Lighten up!

When did we lose our sense of humor and start taking ourselves so seriously? Is it the fault of the agencies that try to justify their fees? Or is it the clients that promise too many benefits because they over-estimate the value of their products?

Maybe it’s our collective fear of a media that concocts controversy over the simplest matters.