Burt Rosen, a former client of mine who was as an astute mentor for the brief time I got to work with him, and an astute human as observed from a distance proposed: 

The short answer: Creative became a commodity and a claim - not an aspirational outcome. Accountants took over and the value of marketing has been diminished, as a result, good, risk-taking creative went the way of the dodo. When teenagers declare themselves “Creative Directors” on TikTok and then generate millions of $$$ and “Consultants” (aka, accountants) are designing campaigns, why shouldn’t an entire industry that relies on the word “creative” be diminished as a result?

I don’t get to call myself a brain surgeon (and get to operate). But alas - EVERYONE is a marketer.  

Here’s one scenario that plays out in hundreds of companies around the world every minute. Of every day. And frames the whence from which creative direction really comes in today’s world. 

Let’s consider ourselves part of a small/mid SaaS company - ready for explosive growth…maybe. Their setup: They have a CEO who is for all intent and purposes, in charge of marketing, because she fancies herself creative. You’ve got a consultancy, who does business stuff and makes ads for them. And you’ve got the creatives. 

Now, this is where one might point out that the CMO and the Marketing Team have a seat. 

Not at this table. THIS scenario is one where the business (CEO, Executive Team, COO - anyone who doesn’t have experience in or oversight of marketing) has decided they’re marketing experts. So, the CMO/Marketing team have been rendered mute. And moot. 

The CEOs - the People Buying Shit

The death of good creative? I blame fashion. Specifically, I blame Z. Cavaricci. A denim brand from the late 80’s that every cool kid had to have. And the result was, all the cool kids looked the same. They all had pegged jeans. Big hair. And too many pockets. They looked like a pleated army, ready to declare war on the mall.

Now let me tell you - members of modern business leadership were definitely Z. Cavaricci kids. So, they let their fashion instincts take over and do the exact same thing their competitors are doing, because they think that’s what success looks like. So they ask their Consultants to give them something like THAT. 

Am I joking? Maybe a little - but there is something to the fashion of mediocrity, and how it’s contagious. A little success doesn’t guarantee a big success, but everyone tries to look like the brand who just got a little success and leapfrog them - but you never overjump someone by doing the exact same thing. 

Consultants: People Selling Shit

Consultancies have taken over agencies from without and from within. McKinsey runs governments, everyone is a “CONSULTANT” instead of a “BOUTIQUE” and accountants are doing creative. And that’s not bad. They literally do math to assemble ads based on what works.

The problem with that is twofold. Anything produced is only predicated on what’s existed to date. Not what could exist, outside of the data set. So, it turns out both unoriginal and repetitive. But it works. At least well-enough that the sales guys shut up. 

Creatives: Not That Special, Eh? 

Creatives got too self righteous. Or too precious. Feelings were hurt too easily and there was a distinct level of un-feng sheiness coming from the bowels of the studio. At some point, creative agencies lost completely when they didn’t get the memo that strategy came first, so they got left behind. 

Ideas didn’t support strategy. Or were simply designed to bolster someone’s portfolio. An award became more important than selling shit. 

Really, it’s because the middle class got too poor to support their children as artists, so their kids became Art Directors.

Essentially, Creative Agencies either became craven, and thus became “Consultants” or were too worried about sacrificing their “artistic integrity” to admit that it’s okay the agency world (and the world writ large) is full of prostitutes. That’s okay - Tyler Durden was never real. 

*Required plug

How to fix it? I presented one very distinct, made up (mostly) scenario - and the solution to this one is pretty specific, based on factors like the real capabilities of the team to step up and step back. But by that instance, all of the problems are general, but the fixes are specific. 

But for that, you’re going to have to pay.