Advertising as a Creative Industry: Regime of Paradoxes

De da, Izabela
Book
Ad e ising as a C ea i e Indus y: Regime o Pa adoxes
Rou ledge Resea ch in he C ea i e and Cul u al Indus ies
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Taylo & F ancis G oup
Sugges ed Ci a ion: De da, Izabela (2024) : Ad e ising as a C ea i e Indus y: Regime o Pa adoxes,
Rou ledge Resea ch in he C ea i e and Cul u al Indus ies, ISBN 9781003263128, Rou ledge,
London,
h ps://doi.o g/10.4324/9781003263128
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/281325
S anda d-Nu zungsbedingungen:
Die Dokumen e au EconS o dü en zu eigenen wissenscha lichen
Zwecken und zum P i a geb auch gespeiche und kopie we den.
Sie dü en die Dokumen e nich ü ö en liche ode komme zielle
Zwecke e iel äl igen, ö en lich auss ellen, ö en lich zugänglich
machen, e eiben ode ande wei ig nu zen.
So e n die Ve asse die Dokumen e un e Open-Con en -Lizenzen
(insbesonde e CC-Lizenzen) zu Ve ügung ges ell haben soll en,
gel en abweichend on diesen Nu zungsbedingungen die in de do
genann en Lizenz gewäh en Nu zungs ech e.
Te ms o use:
Documen s in EconS o may be sa ed and copied o you pe sonal
and schola ly pu poses.
You a e no o copy documen s o public o comme cial pu poses, o
exhibi he documen s publicly, o make hem publicly a ailable on he
in e ne , o o dis ibu e o o he wise use he documen s in public.
I he documen s ha e been made a ailable unde an Open Con en
Licence (especially C ea i e Commons Licences), you may exe cise
u he usage igh s as speci ied in he indica ed licence.
h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/
Ad e ising as a C ea i e
Indus y
A he c oss oads o cul u e and comme ce, he ad e ising indus y is a egime
o pa adoxes. This book examines he place o ad e ising in oday’s c ea i e
indus ies, explo ing he majo challenges ad e ise s con on as hey engage
wi h o he c ea i e sec o s. Izabela De da, au ho , media schola , and indus y
expe , o e s insigh s in o how he indus y keeps decons uc ing i s own
c ea i e p ocesses and collabo a i e models as i a emp s o s ay ele an .
Th ough ex ensi e case s udies and in e iews wi h indus y p o essionals
and hough leade s, his book examines he sec o ’s s uggle o adap o new
business models and o mone ize c ea i i y in oday’s media landscape, om
e-engaging audiences h ough media mo e ypical o a s and en e ainmen
o managing in ica e c oss-sec o al c ea i e collabo a ions. F om edesigning
wo kplaces o sa is y he expec a ions o he younges gene a ions o c ea i es
o econside ing he pa adigm o con en ional c ea i e eams, he ad e ising
sec o has swi ly adjus ed o he seismic changes in oday’s media landscape.
The book will be o in e es o schola s and s uden s o c ea i e media,
ad e ising, and media s udies, as well as hose in e es ed in unde s anding
he changing complexi ies and la es inno a ions o he c ea i e indus ies.
Ad e ising p o essionals, a is s, and policymake s will ind ele an
insigh s and possible solu ions o he majo challenges acing he ad e ising
indus y oday.
Izabela De da is Assis an P o esso in Media & C ea i e Indus ies a he
E asmus School o His o y, Cul u e and Communica ion, E asmus Uni e si y,
he Ne he lands. She is also an ad e ising p o essional, o me head o
en e ainmen a Ha as SE, and a ju y membe o majo ad e ising es i als,
such as Cannes Lions o Eu obes .
Rou ledge Resea ch in he C ea i e and
Cul u al Indus ies
Se ies Edi o : Ru h Ren schle
This se ies b ings oge he book-leng h o iginal esea ch in cul u al and
c ea i e indus ies om a ange o pe spec i es. Cha ing de elopmen s in
con empo a y cul u al and c ea i e indus ies hinking a ound he wo ld, he
se ies aims o shape he esea ch agenda o e lec he expanding signi icance
o he c ea i e sec o in a globalised wo ld.
The Venice A senal
Be ween His o y, He i age, and Re-use
Edi ed by Luca Zan
Managing Cul u al Join Ven u es
An Iden i y-Image View
Tanja Johansson, Annukka Jy ämä and Kaa i Kii sak-P ikk
Public Rela ions as a C ea i e Indus y
Elisenda Es anyol
Co-Leade ship in he A s and Cul u e
Sha ing Values and Vision
Wendy Reid and Hilde Fjell æ
Cul u al Wo k and C ea i e Subjec i i y
Recen alising he A is C i ique and Social Ne wo ks in he Cul u al Indus ies
Xin Gu
Ad e ising as a C ea i e Indus y
Regime o Pa adoxes
Izabela De da
Fo mo e in o ma ion abou his se ies, please isi : www. ou ledge.com/Rou ledge-
Resea ch-in- he-C ea i e-and-Cul u al-Indus ies/book-se ies/RRCCI
Ad e ising as a C ea i e
Indus y
Regime o Pa adoxes
Izabela De da

Fi s published 2024
by Rou ledge
4 Pa k Squa e, Mil on Pa k, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Rou ledge
605 Thi d A enue, New Yo k, NY 10158
Rou ledge is an imp in o he Taylo & F ancis G oup, an in o ma business
© 2024 Izabela De da
The igh o Izabela De da o be iden i ied as au ho o his wo k has been
asse ed in acco dance wi h sec ions 77 and 78 o he Copy igh , Designs
and Pa en s Ac 1988.
The Open Access e sion o his book, a ailable a www. aylo ancis.com,
has been made a ailable unde a C ea i e Commons CC-BY license.
Funded by E asmus Uni e si y Ro e dam.
T adema k no ice: P oduc o co po a e names may be adema ks o
egis e ed adema ks, and a e used only o iden i ica ion and explana ion
wi hou in en o in inge.
B i ish Lib a y Ca aloguing-in-Publica ion Da a
A ca alogue eco d o his book is a ailable om he B i ish Lib a y
ISBN: 978-1-032-20301-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-20304-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-26312-8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003263128
Typese in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVan age, LLC
Fo Sa a
Con en s
Acknowledgmen s ix
In oduc ion: be ween cul u al and indus ial 1
1 Ad e ising X c ea i i y 13
2 Ad e ising X inno a ion 31
3 Ad e ising X en e ainmen 50
4 Ad e ising X o he c ea i e sec o s 67
5 Ad e ising: egime o pa adoxes 81
Index 90
4 In oduc ion
as c ea i e and inno a i e a i s e y co e; (2) he indus y’s con inuing explo-
a ion o ways o make ads appea less like ads and de eloping a gen e o
hyb id messages in hei ques o he a en ion o hype awa e consume s; and
(3) he ensions and dynamics wi hin he indus y, ela ed o he dual na u e o
he sec o .
The wo k o his book is deeply a uned o indus y p ac ice. I syn hesizes
(and ex ensi ely quo es) accoun s om indus y p o essionals and hough
leade s, and c i ically engages wi h ele an case s udies o make sense o he
e e -e ol ing dynamics o he sec o . Nei he a e iew o cu en ends no
a “how o” guide, his book is p ima ily a ge ed a schola s and s uden s o
c ea i e media, ad e ising, and media s udies, and hose who a e in e es ed in
unde s anding he changing dynamics and la es complexi ies o he c ea i e
indus ies. None heless, i will be o in e es o ad e ising p o essionals, a is s,
and policymake s, who will gain insigh s in o he majo challenges con on ing
he indus y oday and hea di ec ly om he inno a i e p ac i ione s o e ing
solu ions. Mo e speci ically, hei examples encompass how he indus y is:
• Mone izing c ea i i y in compe i i e media and business landscapes and
he ela ed need o new business models;
• Re-engaging audiences in a wo ld o con en abundance, ad block-
e s, ad e ising- es ic ing pla o ms, and consume mis us h ough
app oaches mo e ypically associa ed wi h a s and en e ainmen ;
• A ac ing and e aining esh c ea i e alen and es ablishing c ea i e cul-
u es o sa is y he needs and expec a ions o he younges gene a ions o
c ea i es;
• Managing he in icacy o c oss-sec o al collabo a ions and econside ing
he pa adigm o con en ional c ea i e eams in he ad e ising sec o .
The esea ch on which his book is based combined an analysis o 54 in-
dep h in e iews, which we e hen expanded h ough a ge ed esea ch and
discou se analysis on o e 200 ade pape publica ions, policy documen s,
indus y epo s, whi e pape s, and publicly a ailable in e iews (mos com-
ing om logs and podcas s). The in e iewees o he esea ch we e d awn
om wo g oups. The i s g oup is composed o senio igu es in c ea i e
agencies (including bo h ne wo k and independen agencies) in he capaci ies
o managing di ec o s, execu i e di ec o s, and c ea i e di ec o s, all o whom
we e awa ded a leas once wi h majo indus y c ea i i y awa ds—Cannes
Lions, Clio Awa ds, o Eu obes . The majo i y a e mul iawa d winne s, wi h
16 o hem ecei ing he G and P ix awa d a Cannes Lions a leas once
du ing hei ca ee , which dis inguishes hem as expe s. The second g oup
is composed o a is s, p oduce s and p ojec manage s coming om a wide
ange o o he c ea i e sec o s ha collabo a e wi h he ad e ising indus y
(TV, ilm, music, a , and museum sec o s), wi h expe ience in con ibu ing o
a leas h ee ad e ise -ini ia ed p ojec s o comme cial b ands.

In oduc ion 5
Me hodologically, he esea ch adhe es o he c i ical media indus ies
s udies app oach since i pe mi s examina ion o he pa adoxical con lic s
be ween c ea i e and social exp ession and he indus y’s inancial and powe
in e es s.17 Th ough g ounded ins i u ional case s udies, including an explo a-
ion o indus y p ac ices, ne wo ks, and pe cep ions, he wo k examines he
connec ions be ween b oade economic de elopmen s and ins i u ional s ug-
gles and goals, and he indus y p ac ices and discou ses in which hese a e
exp essed. This app oach, while main aining he de ailed and c i ical pe spec-
i e o cul u al s udies, c ea es a link o he poli ical economy mac o iew on
powe ela ions and adds a c i ical angle on how he mac ode elopmen s o
he ad e ising indus y a e nego ia ed wi hin he indus y i sel .
Wha ’s in his book
As he policymake s’ de ini ions o c ea i e indus ies’ cen e on he gene a-
ion and comme cializa ion o c ea i i y, ideas, and knowledge, he i s chap-
e explo es ad e ising c ea i i y. E en hough i does no aim o p o ide a
new de ini ion o c ea i i y, i sheds ligh on how p ac i ione s comp ehend
and execu e c ea i i y in he sec o oday. In doing so, he chap e uses c ea-
i i y as an excuse and a s a ing poin o explo e some o he cu en issues
ha ad e ising is demons a ing. The chap e opens by discussing he ole
o c ea i i y in ad e ising and highligh ing he ensions ha can o en exis
be ween clien s and agencies. These a e linked no only o he challenge o
b inging c ea i i y o he o e on o clien s bu also o he sec o ’s s uggle
o adap o new business models and mone ize c ea i i y in oday’s media
landscape, as he adi ional ou pu -based model is no longe iable. The
chap e also explo es he p oblems wi h building new c ea i e cul u es ha
would i he demand o new gene a ions o alen .
The second chap e discusses inno a ion as ano he d i ing o ce in he
ad e ising indus y. I explo es how he sec o needs o cons an ly o e
new ideas and app oaches o keep engaging and pe suading consume s, and
o apidly adjus o e ol ing ma ke s. I also explo es how he ad e ising
indus y, pushed by he ma ke si ua ion, mus expand i s scope o se ices o
suppo i s clien s and ind new e enue sou ces. A he same ime, ad e is-
ing inno a ion is no only linked o he capabili ies o c ea i e eams. I is
also ela ed o agencies’ in e nal cul u es and b and a i udes owa d c ea i e
ad e ising— hei openness o inno a i e ideas and willingness o ake isks.
Hence, he chap e also looks in o he issues o con incing clien s o inno a-
i e ideas and c ea ing en i onmen s conduci e o inno a ion.
Mo ing owa d analysis o how ad e ising in e sec s wi h o he c ea i e
sec o s, he hi d chap e explo es i s ela ions wi h audio isual en e ain-
men . The chap e looks in o how ad e ising and en e ainmen ha e s a ed
o con e ge in he ea ly 2000s, wi h ma ke e s beginning o shi hei ocus
om mass awa eness o c ea ing mo e compelling con en ha people wan o
6 In oduc ion
consume. I explo es how b ands ha e become s o y elle s, and why b anded
en e ainmen (and b and-sponso ed en e ainmen ) has become an impo an
engagemen ool. I also in es iga es why ad e ise s need o ac mo e like
execu i e p oduce s, and how ad e ising can lea n om Hollywood, no only
in e ms o s o y elling bu also in i s app oach o he c ea i e p ocess.
The ou h chap e u he del es in o he in e sec ion o ad e ising and
he c ea i e indus ies. I discusses how b ands use a s-cen e ed collabo a-
ions as ools o apping in o cu en social issues and embedding he b and
o i s message in o a (popula ) cul u e. In addi ion, he chap e conside s
he complexi ies ha a ise in na iga ing ela ionships wi h a is s and using
in asec o al collabo a ions as means o d i ing in-agency engagemen and
a ac ing new alen .
In he concluding chap e , ad e ising is explo ed as a egime o pa a-
doxes. As he indus y g apples wi h he ension be ween es ablished p ac ices
and he need o luidi y and cons an change, dominan alues s uggle o
main ain hei hold. Key ensions include hose su ounding c ea i e e ec-
i eness, a is y, collabo a ion, and he no ion o “cool”, which speaks o he
cu en s a e o ad e ising wi hin he la ge ealm o he c ea i e indus ies.
Con ex ualizing ad e ising as indus ial and cul u al
Be o e explo ing he ela ion be ween ad e ising and he c ea i e indus ies,
i is necessa y o do some g oundwo k by conside ing how c ea i e indus ies
a e unde s ood and why ad e ising’s place among hem emains in ques ion.
Ex ensi e esea ch and discussion examine he c ea ion o go e nmen al
policies and p og ams o assis he sec o s seen as pa o he c ea i e indus-
ies. The e has also been much deba e abou how cohesi e he c ea i e indus-
ies a e, especially gi en he dual na u e o he p ocesses occu ing wi hin
c ea i e sec o s. Fo ins ance, an a is is a cul u al p oduce o wo ks o a ,
which a e objec s o excep ional aes he ic and a is ic wo h. He is also an
en ep eneu who in en s i ems ha a e subsequen ly sold o cus ome s.18 As
a esul , his c ea ions a e bo h a componen o a socie y’s cul u e and a pa
o i s economic sys em. Such dualism is a ea u e o he c ea i e economy
(and, as ollows, he c ea i e indus ies) ha exhibi s economic o cul u al
cha ac e is ics depending on he con ex . I is no di e en om ad e ising.
E en hough de ini ions di e sligh ly om coun y o coun y, he c ea-
i e indus ies can be unde s ood as a ange o economic ac i i ies ha a e
conce ned wi h he gene a ion and comme cializa ion o c ea i i y, ideas,
knowledge, and in o ma ion. F om he ea ly momen s o he pa adigm’s c ea-
ion by Aus alia’s go e nmen unde Paul Kea ing in he ea ly 1990s,19 i s
popula iza ion and ul ima e embodimen by he UK’s Depa men o Cul u e,
Media and Spo (DCMS), he ension be ween he comme cial and cul u al
exis ed in he discou se abou he c ea i e indus ies. DCMS’s inaugu al doc-
umen s apped in o hen-buzzy hinking o new economic and echnological
In oduc ion 7
exci emen , he cul o you h, and ne e -ending o ganiza ional uphea al.20
E en hough he “new economy” ul ima ely los s eam, he concep o c ea-
i e indus ies ou las ed i and, suppo ed by go e nmen al bodies, ound a
new li e in he 2000s. P omising he new ade po en ial o “B i ish c ea i -
i y”, DCMS deli e ed a classi ica ion o c ea i e indus ies ha cu en ly lis s
nine subsec o s: (1) ad e ising and ma ke ing, (2) a chi ec u e, (3) c a s, (4)
p oduc design, g aphics, and ashion design, (5) ilm, TV, ideo, adio, and
pho og aphy, (6) IT, so wa e, and compu e se ices, (7) museums, galle -
ies, and lib a ies, (8) music, pe o ming, and isual a s, and (9) publishing.21
These ound accep ance as a ealis ic de elopmen model o pushing inno a-
ion and mone izing c ea i e powe s in nume ous coun ies ac oss he wo ld
wi hin only a ew yea s.22
While i is e iden ha he cul u al indus ies p ese e cul u e a hei
co e— ha is, he an h opological concep ha comp ises human alue sys-
ems and ins i u ional amewo ks23— he wo k o he c ea i e indus ies
delibe a ely in eg a es c ea i i y as a “use ul” o m o cul u e in o a a ie y
o economic and social policy ini ia i es. The c ea i e indus ies amewo k
ecei ed mixed eac ions as i igh away indica ed go e nmen s’ in en ions o
ie cul u al p oduc ion o a new economic agenda and, he e o e, mix a s wi h
poli ics in wha was labeled a “globally con es able policy ield”.24 As in he
case o Aus alia’s “C ea i e Na ion” policy, designed o assis in embodying
new IT p ospec s and he expanding wa e o global cul u e o e ed by digi al
media, he policy was ma ke ed as a cul u al s a egy al hough i was mos ly
an economic agenda.25 E en hough i emphasized cul u e’s impo ance o
na ional iden i y and de ined cul u e mo e b oadly han in ea lie concep ions
by including ilm, adio, lib a ies, and o he a eas, i ocused much on he
economic po en ial o cul u al ac i i y and a s. I claimed:
Cul u e c ea es weal h. B oadly de ined Aus alian cul u al indus ies gen-
e a e 13 billion dolla s a yea . Cul u e employs . . . Cul u e adds alue;
i makes an essen ial con ibu ion o inno a ion, ma ke ing and design.
The le el o c ea i i y subs an ially de e mines he abili y o adap o new
economic impe a i es. I is a aluable expo in i sel and an essen ial
accompanimen o he expo o o he commodi ies. I a ac s ou is s and
s uden s. I is essen ial o economic success.26
Policymake s sough o de elop angible p oo ha he c ea i e indus ies a e
“good o he economy”.27 By including he UK’s so wa e sec o — he la ges
single con ibu o o employmen and ea nings—among he c ea i e indus-
ies, he DCMS was able o inc ease he sec o ’s employmen by 500,000 and
income by £36.4 billion in he ea ly 2000s. Hence, while he 1998 Mapping
Documen s assessed he indus y’s income a £57 billion, he 2001 e sion
inc eased i s alue o £112.5 billion, o 5% o GDP.28 The ac ha he c ea i e
indus ies’ e enues mo e han doubled be ween he 1998 and 2001 edi ions
8 In oduc ion
was a ibu able, a leas in pa , o he ac ha he wo we e “no di ec ly
compa able”, and he di e en coun ing me hods migh explain a la ge po -
ion o he ise.29 Simila ly, ad e ising was also coming in handy in boos ing
he p o i abili y o a young indus y e en hough as a sec o i sel ad e is-
ing was eeling om he allou o he do .com bubble c ash in 2000, which
esul ed in a d op in sha eholde alue.30
A he same ime, he p omise o being “good o cul u e” b ough o ligh
he c i icism ha he c ea i e indus ies p esen an o e ly simplis ic na a i e
linking cul u e and economy, he eby unde mining he a gumen ha cul u e
needs public unding. By ex ension, he concep has in oduced skep icism
abou he deg ee o which he c ea i e indus ies can help esol e he long-
s anding con adic ions be ween cul u e and he economy a mo e concep ual
o heo e ical le els.31
The in oduc ion o he c ea i e indus y amewo k has led o he de el-
opmen o nume ous concep ualiza ions aiming a e ining, cla i ying, and
imp o ing unde s anding o he c ea i e indus ies. Many esul ed in g oup-
ing and modeling sec o s in o clus e s, some building implici hie a chies,
sugges ing ha some sec o s a e mo e a he hea o he indus y han o he s,
bu each in ui i ely le ad e ising a he ou e ci cles o he model. This is
exempli ied in Da id Tho sby’s “concen ic ci cles model”, which loca es he
c ea i e a s (unde s ood as li e a u e, music, pe o ming a s, and isual a s)
a he co e, de ining hem as he “locus o o igin o c ea i e ideas”.32 These
a e ollowed by cul u al indus ies (he i age se ices, publishing, and sound),
hen eco ding ( ele ision, adio, ideo, and compu e games), and inally
“ ela ed se ices” (ad e ising, a chi ec u e, design, and ashion) placed a he
ou e ci cles. Simila ly, in The Wo k Founda ion’s p oposi ion, o iginal p od-
uc s a e pu a he hea o he model, ollowed by cul u al indus ies aimed a
comme cializa ion, c ea i e indus ies wi h hei unc ional o ien a ion (such
as ad e ising, design, a chi ec u e), and hose selling “expe iences” ( heme
pa ks, museums, and a galle ies) a he ou e mos edge.33
The c i e ia o skills and labo embedded in mos o hese de ini ions
ame he c ea i e indus ies as “ hose indus ies which ha e hei o igin in
indi idual c ea i i y, skill, and alen and which ha e a po en ial o weal h
and job c ea ion h ough he gene a ion and exploi a ion o in ellec ual p op-
e y”.34 This has b ough addi ional c i ique on ad e ising’s place in he ci -
cle, wi h some a guing he need o ocusing on he co e a s wo k o ce. The
issue a hand, hey a gue, is ha he key c ea i e asks o ad e ising, such
as c ea i e w i ing and a design, a e al eady co e ed and classi ied in o he
occupa ions.35 In hei iew, copyw i ing should no be seen as a unique skill
on i s own bu a he belongs o a a ie y o w i ing alen s, and a design and
a di ec ion belong o a b oade design ca ego y, he same way ha designe s
would be he d i ing c ea i e o ce o ideo gaming. As a esul , some would
sugges excluding ad e ising as a subs an i e sec o o he c ea i e indus y
and connec ing i wi h a do ed line o he applied a s ca ego y.
In oduc ion 9
In andem wi h he dynamic e olu ion o c ea i e oles in ad e ising
agencies (o c ea i e agencies, gi en he e e -b oadening scope o hei
se ices), i is easy o obse e ha he sec o ’s adi ional key c ea i e
s akeholde s—copyw i e s and designe s—no longe exhaus he lis o c ea-
i e alen , making he oles ha d o ca ego ize wi hin adi ional “c ea i e”
oles spec um. Indeed, he DCMS (and simila go e nmen al bodies in o he
coun ies) ca ego izes businesses and p o essions as c ea i e based on wha
he o ganiza ion c ea es and wha indi iduals pe o m.36 This app oach causes
di icul ies ha a e no immedia ely appa en . The o e all numbe o c ea i e
employees is de e mined om he sum o all people wo king in c ea i e sec-
o s, whe he o no hey a e c ea i ely engaged, which means ha accoun -
an s, secu i y gua ds, o e en cleane s wo king o a c ea i e agency, eco d
label, conce hall, o hea e a e conside ed and coun ed unde he same
umb ella o c ea i e s a .37
On he o he hand, some app oaches o cha ac e izing he c ea i e indus-
ies seem o oman icize a o a ’s sake,38 whe e c ea o s ocus on o iginal-
i y, echnical p o essional skills, and he ha mony o hei c ea i e p oduc s
and dep io i ize p o i . They see c ea o s as hose who a e willing o se le
o lowe wages han hose o e ed by “humd um” jobs jus o be able o
“c ea e”.39 Following his logic, he o -p o i o ien a ion o ad e ising, would
disquali y i om being conside ed a c ea i e indus y as i s ul ima e goal o
selling a p oduc o se ice de ac s om he pu e a is ic exp ession ound
in indus ies such as ilm, li e a u e, and isual a s. Howe e , con e sely,
i can be a gued ha Hollywood’s blockbus e -p oducing machine is mo e
in e es ed in e enues han in a is ic and cul u al alue, gi en he endless
p oduc ion o sequels, a poin ha was a key cha ac e is ic o Ho kheime
and Ado no’s classic c i ique o cul u al indus ies.40
E en hough bu eauc a ic cul u al policy lies a he hea o he c ea i e
indus ies and lays open o c i icism ha i is oo closely associa ed wi h new
economy hinking o e ec i ely ep esen he genuine essence o c ea i i y,
he c ea i e indus y’s co e dis inc ion has p o en o be obus . This is because
i mains eams he economic wo h o cul u e, media, and design by ecogniz-
ing ha c ea i i y is a key inpu in o mode n economies ha exhibi cul u ali-
za ion, digi iza ion, and inely designed goods and se ices.41
When we conside ad e ising as a hyb id o m o comme cial and cul u al
p oduc ion, he e eme ges an an agonis ic ension be ween p omo ion and
c i icali y, be ween i s unc ion as a ma ke ing ool and i s mo e di e se po en-
ial as a medium o c ea i e expe imen a ion and cul u al c i ique. Howe e ,
ad e ising should also be seen as a b oade se o cul u al p ac ices, going
beyond he adap a ion o he es he ics o cul u al p oduc s o being “cul u al
in a ious aspec s” as exp essed by John Sinclai .42 Ad e isemen s, like o he
cul u al ex s, a e ba ome e s o socie al change. Due o hei deep oo s in he
cul u al con ex , b ands such as Nike, Do e, and Ben & Je y’s mi o ba ely
pe cep ible changes in he alues, mo ali y, and beha io o he social g oups

10 In oduc ion
o whom he message is di ec ed. As ad e ise s a ge mul iple g oups, hey
equen ly wish o mi o hei a ge audiences. In ha sense, ad e ising is
a e lec ion o popula cul u e, wi h ads ein o cing ends in ashion, music,
and language. None heless, he indus y also has an abili y o shape popula
cul u e by c ea ing and eeding back in o a ising ends, o en imes dic a ing
wha is desi able and ashionable, o e en socially accep able. As such, ad e -
ising agency employees occupy a unique posi ion as cul u al in e media ies.43
They a e esponsible no only o c ea ing ad campaigns ha appeal o a ge
audiences bu also o eeding back o hose audiences he ends and in lu-
ences ha hey ha e obse ed. This way, ad e ising agencies play a key ole
in shaping and e lec ing he e e -changing ace o popula cul u e ope a ing
a he blu ed lines be ween mul iple sec o s o he indus y.
A he same ime, as a sec o ope a ing wi hin he cul u al con ex , he
ad e ising indus y has he capaci y o me ge goods and se ices wi h cul-
u al associa ions ha gi e hem meaning and alue beyond hei unc ional
bene i s. In he media ion o hings (as coined by Sco Lash and Celia Lu y),44
ad e ise s di e en ia e p oduc s one om ano he , gi e hem memo y and
pe sonali y, and u n hem in o b ands, which allow people o na iga e h ough
he complex and o e sa u a ed eali y o he consume goods ma ke . Going
u he , as b ands a e no ea u es o p oduc s bu expe iences,45 ad e is-
ing c ea es in e aces o communica ion be ween b ands and consume s ha
allow hose e en ul in e ac ions o happen46 and gi e hem meanings beyond
he basic uses o a p oduc .47 In e ec , whe he we like i o no , ad e ising
plays a signi ican ole in os e ing consume li e acy in ou socie y.
No es
1 K auss, D., & Haggis, P. (Di ec o s). (2018). 5B [Film]. Hwy61, Sa ille P oduc-
ions, /8 Filmwo ks.
2 Rooney, D. (2019, May 18). ‘5B’: Film e iew | Cannes. The Hollywood Repo e .
h ps://www.hollywood epo e .com/mo ies/mo ie- e iews/5b-cannes-2019-
1212008/.
3 Reddish, D. (2018, No embe 5). Di ec o Dan K auss on AIDS doc ‘5B’: “His o y
is, in a e y igh ening way, epea ing i sel .” Quee y. h ps://www.quee y.com/
di ec o -dan-k auss-doc-5b-his o y- igh ening-way- epea ing-20181105.
4 O’Ba , W. M. (2011). C ea i i y in ad e ising. Ad e ising & Socie y Re iew,
11(4). h ps://doi.o g/10.1353/as .2011.0006.
5 The shi does no imply ha he indus y has abandoned push communica ion, bu
a he ha i is expe imen ing wi h new me hods o audience engagemen in o de
o p o ide mo e genuine alue o audiences.
6 Se azio, M. (2013). You ad he e: The cool sell o gue illa ma ke ing. New Yo k
Uni e si y P ess.
7 C aw o d, M. B. (2016). In oduc ion, A en ion as a cul u al p oblem. In Wo ld
beyond you head: On becoming an indi idual in an age o dis ac ion. Fa a ,
S aus & Gi oux.
8 Pine, B. J., & Gilmo e, J. H. (2020). The expe ience economy: Compe ing o cus-
ome ime, a en ion, and money. Ha a d Business Re iew P ess.
In oduc ion 11
9 Kunz, R., Elsässe , F., & San omie , J. (2016). Spo - ela ed b anded en e ainmen :
The Red Bull phenomenon. Spo , Business and Managemen : An In e na ional
Jou nal, 6(5). h ps://doi.o g/10.1108/sbm-06-2016-0023.
10 Red Bull Mediahouse. (n.d.). Abou . Red Bull Mediahouse. Re ie ed Sep embe 8,
2022, om www. edbullmediahouse.com/en/ne wo k/ ed-bull-s udios/a .
11 Kunz, R., Elsässe , F., & San omie , J. (2016). Spo - ela ed b anded en e ainmen :
The Red Bull phenomenon. Spo , Business and Managemen : An In e na ional
Jou nal, 6(5). h ps://doi.o g/10.1108/sbm-06-2016-0023.
12 Simila ly o Se azio’s app oach o unde s anding gue illa ma ke ing as “a camou-
lage on wo le els: (1) I sh ouds he ad e ising message in unexpec ed media
spaces, and (2) i also sh ouds he undamen al p ojec o consume managemen ,”
he o ms discussed in his book, ha de eloped om he me ging o he comme -
cial and cul u al, can be conside ed as a sub ype o gue illa ma ke ing.
13 E en hough he end is commonly conside ed o be a new app oach o hink abou
ma ke ing communica ion, ad e ising was al eady expe imen ing wi h blending
ads and en e ainmen decades ago— o example, in b and-sponso ed en e ain-
men on Ame ican adio in he 1940s and TV in he 1950s.
14 Dona on, S. (2005). Madison & Vine: Why he en e ainmen and ad e ising indus-
ies mus con e ge o su i e. McG aw-Hill.
15 Ibid.
16 Al hough his cul u al-ad e ising p oduc blend canno , by any s e ch o he imagi-
na ion, be ega ded as he mos p e alen o m o ad e ising, i mus be acknowl-
edged as a dis inc ca ego y.
17 Ha ens, T., Lo z, A. D., & Tinic, S. (2009). C i ical media indus y s udies:
A esea ch app oach. Communica ion, Cul u e & C i ique, 2(2), 234–253. h ps://
doi.o g/10.1111/j.1753-9137.2009.01037.x.
18 Louden, S. (2017). The a is as cul u e p oduce : Li ing and sus aining a c ea i e
li e. In ellec .
19 Depa men o Communica ions and he A s (1994, Oc obe ). C ea i e na ion:
Commonweal h cul u al policy. h ps://weba chi e.nla.go .au/awa/20031203235148/
h p://www.nla.go .au/c ea i e.na ion/con en s.h ml.
20 Lo ink, G., & Rossi e , N. (2007). MyC ea i i y eade : A c i ique o c ea i e
indus ies. Ins i u e o Ne wo k Cul u es.
21 UK Pa liamen . (2017). C ea i e indus ies sec o epo . Pa liamen .uk. Re ie ed
Augus 23, 2022, om www.pa liamen .uk/globalasse s/documen s/commons-
commi ees/Exi ing- he-Eu opean-Union/17-19/Sec o al-Analyses/10-C ea i e-
Indus ies-Repo .pd .
22 Ross, A. (2007). Nice wo k i you can ge i : The me cu ial ca ee o c ea i e indus-
ies policy. In G. Lo ink & N. Rossi e (Eds.), MyC ea i i y eade : A c i ique o
c ea i e indus ies (pp. 17–40). Ins i u e o Ne wo k Cul u es.
23 K oebe , A. L., Kluckhohn, C., Meye , A. G., & Un e eine , W. (1952). Cul u e:
A c i ical e iew o concep s and de ini ions. The Museum.
24 Cunningham, S. (2009). C ea i e indus ies as a globally con es able policy
ield. Chinese Jou nal o Communica ion, 2(1), 13–24. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/
17544750802638814.
25 Moo e, I. (2014). Cul u al and c ea i e indus ies concep —a his o ical pe spec i e.
P ocedia—Social and Beha io al Sciences, 110, 738–746. h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.
sbsp o.2013.12.918.
26 C ea i e Na ion: Commonweal h cul u al policy, Oc obe 1994, Depa men o
Communica ions and he A s (now O ice o he A s), 1994.
27 Banks, M., & O’Conno , J. (2009). A e he c ea i e indus ies. In e na ional Jou nal
o Cul u al Policy, 15(4), 365–373. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/10286630902989027.
12 In oduc ion
28 Depa men o Digi al, Cul u e, Media & Spo . (1998, Ap il 9). C ea i e indus ies
mapping documen s 1998. GOV.UK. Re ie ed Sep embe 3, 2022, om www.go .
uk/go e nmen /publica ions/c ea i e-indus ies-mapping-documen s-1998.
29 Hea ield, J. (2005). The c ea i i y gap. ETP L d.
30 Ibid.
31 Ibid.
32 Th osby, D. (2004). Economics and cul u e. Camb idge Uni e si y P ess.
33 Wo k Founda ion. (2007). S aying ahead: The economic pe o mance o he UK’s
c ea i e indus ies. Au ho .
34 Depa men o Digi al, Cul u e, Media & Spo . (2001, Ap il 9). C ea i e indus ies
mapping documen s 2001. GOV.UK. Re ie ed Sep embe 3, 2022, om www.go .
uk/go e nmen /publica ions/c ea i e-indus ies-mapping-documen s-2001.
35 Wiesand, A., & Sönde mann, M. (2005). ( ep.). The “C ea i e Sec o ”—an
engine o di e si y, g ow h and jobs in Eu ope. An o e iew o esea ch indings
and deba es p epa ed o he Eu opean Cul u al Founda ion. Eu opean Cul u al
Founda ion.
36 Lo ink, G., & Rossi e , N. (2007). MyC ea i i y eade : A c i ique o c ea i e
indus ies. Ins i u e o Ne wo k Cul u es.
37 Ibid.
38 Compa e: Ca es, R. E. (2002). C ea i e indus ies: Con ac s be ween a and com-
me ce. Ha a d Uni e si y P ess.
39 Ibid.
40 Ho kheime , M., & Ado no, T. W. (1972). Dialec ic o enligh enmen . He de and
He de .
41 Ha ley, J., Po s, J., Cunningham, S., Flew, T., Keane, M., & Banks, J. (2013). Key
concep s in c ea i e indus ies. SAGE.
42 Sinclai , J. (2018). Ad e ising as a cul u al indus y. In K. Oakley & J. O’Conno
(Eds.), The Rou ledge companion o he cul u al indus ies. Rou ledge.
43 Ibid.
44 Lash, S., & Lu y, C. (2011). Global cul u e indus y: The media ion o hings. Poli y
P ess.
45 Ibid.
46 Malik, S. (2005). In o ma ion and knowledge. Theo y, Cul u e & Socie y, 29–49.
h ps://doi.o g/10.4135/9781446213377.n3.
47 Lash, S., & U y, J. (2002). Economies o signs and space. Sage.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003263128-2
This book has been made a ailable unde a CC-BY license.
2
1 Ad e ising X c ea i i y
“C ea i i y”, says Josh G ossbe g, McCann’s execu i e c ea i e di ec o , “by
i s na u e can’ ha e a de ini ion”.1 Oddly enough, as much as c ea i i y is one
o he mos desi able social compe encies, i is also one o he mos challeng-
ing o pin down.2 Hence, in oday’s discou ses, no only a e people labeled as
c ea i e bu also p ocesses, spaces, and p oduc s.3 Mo eo e , he pe cep ions
o c ea i i y a y depending on whom we alk o.4 Indus y judges’ iews
a y om hose o cus ome s, s uden s, and indus y leade s, and he gene al
public’s pe cep ions change depending on hei backg ounds.5 E en c ea i es’
di e ences hinge on hei unc ion inside an o ganiza ion.6 None heless, i
appea s ha schola s ha e eached some ag eemen on he concep o c ea-
i i y in ad e ising.7 I is appa en ha many academics s udying c ea i i y
acknowledge ha o iginali y, no el y, and newness mus be p esen in a leas
one aspec o ad e ising o call i c ea i e.8 Ye , uniqueness is insu icien ,9
as alues o use ulness,10 p oblem sol ing, si ua ional app op ia eness, o goal
o ien a ion a e also necessa y ea u es o c ea i e agencies’ p oduc s.11
This app oach o c ea i i y seems o be much e lec ed in p ac i ione s’
iews as hey o en imes see c ea i i y as a unc ional ool ha helps hem
o achie e hei wo k goals, mo e han a pe sonal skill o a alue on i s own:
“c ea i i y is sol ing a p oblem . . . in he bes way possible”,12 and i is he
“a o inding [a] la e al solu ion o [a] linea p oblem”13 o “[c ea i i y is]
some hing ha we use o c ea e di e ence o b ands and p oduc s and se -
ices. We c ea e ele an di e ence o he clien s ha we wo k o ”.14
E en hough de ini ions o c ea i i y, in gene al, highligh no el y and
o iginali y as hei uni e sal ea u es,15 i is wo h conside ing goal o ien a ion
as a ac o ha di e en ia es c ea i i y in ad e ising (and, in consequence,
possibly di e en ia es ad e ising om o he c ea i e indus ies). While sec-
o s de i ed om he cul u al indus ies migh employ c ea i i y o go beyond
mas e y o c a s o he b illiancy o ideas, in ad e ising, c ea i i y is always
ela ed o an ex e nal s akeholde ’s business aims. The e o e, i we conside i
in connec ion o a clien ’s p oblem, ad e ising c ea i i y can be mo e easily
di e en ia ed om en e ainmen o he a s. Ye , such an app oach does no
allow o a clea dis inc ion be ween ad e ising and c ea i i y applied ac oss
20 Ad e ising X c ea i i y
has enabled us o inally ge a handle on he audiences, so now i comes
as second na u e.
In hei mission o o e comp ehensi e se ices o ma ke e s, media agencies
inc easingly become media conglome a es o a ull ange o se ices. This
end has a di ec impac on c ea i e agencies ha a e seeing hei businesses
unde mined by he expanding ope a ions o hei compe i o s. I is pa icula ly
impo an o acknowledge ha media agencies began o enc oach on he e i-
o ies adi ionally ese ed o ad e ising agencies (among o he s). As Josh
G ossbe g exp essed:
I ’s all abou who con ols he money in a wei d way . . . Media has won he
whole ba le. Like, I hink I would no be su p ised i no be o e long media
companies will own he c ea i e as well, because you spend a million dol-
la s making a TV comme cial, ha ’s a ounding e o on you b oadcas
budge . Awesome, igh ? Le ’s h ow ha in [ o a clien ] o ee.
As media agencies inc easingly de elop specialized se ices, hey mo e in o
he a ea o con en p oduc ion and, he e o e, a e also becoming mo e o mi-
dable i als o ad money. E en hough hey may no see hemsel es as media
o con en p oduce s,51 bu —as Napoli and Caplan claimed— ha hey a e.52
A he same ime, hey ope a e on a di e en business model wi h ex ensi ely
highe budge s han c ea i e agencies, po en ially meaning ha hey can
expand hei scope o se ices o o e c ea i e wo k in packages along wi h
media planning and buying, he eby keeping all he clien s’ business unde
hei oo . They can e en add ou pu p oduc ion ee o cha ge o he execu ed
campaigns, as G ossbe g indica es.
Howe e , no only media agencies unde mine he business o c ea-
i e agencies; he lines be ween ad e ising, media, ma ke ing, and PR a e
inc easingly blu ed wi h no clea dis inc ion o esponsibili ies be ween a i-
ous kinds o agencies. This makes he ma ke place inc easingly di icul o
c ea i e agencies. Some indus y inside s link his o he agmen a ion o
he media ma ke and a ge audiences since he e a e coun less ways and
pla o ms o consume s o access media in oday’s media ecosys em. I is,
he e o e, no su p ising (e en hough many c ea i es c i ique he app oach
as “a was e o ime and e o ”) ha ad e ise s “shop a ound”, using he
se ices o mul iple kinds o specialized en i ies, a he han spending he
majo i y o hei budge s on one kind o ac i i y (as hey used o in he golden
e a o TVCs). Media agencies o en unc ion as a glue o all b and ac i i-
ies and, he eby, ake p ecedence in leading clien s' hinking and choices. As
G ossbe g con inues:
Maybe i ’s jus abou a ge ing now and less abou messaging. I I could
ix one hing abou he ad e ising indus y, I would say i is ha we as

Ad e ising X c ea i i y 21
ad e ise s ha e gi en away wha i is ha we sell, and we’ e de alued i .
I hink wha we sell is, yes, sma a ge ing. And yes, i ’s sma s a egy.
Bu eally wha we sell is communica ions ha speak o people and mo i-
a e hem. And a lo o imes I hink we ha e gi en ha away, and we don’
de end wha ha is, and he alue o i highly enough.
C ea i e agencies a e, he e o e, unde inc easing p essu e o adap and p o-
ide mo e comp ehensi e se ice, o en wo king on b and wo k o e en
p oduc de elopmen . Fo some c ea i es, his en ails exci ing new chances
o use hei c ea i i y in no el con ex s, bu i may also lead o in e nal and
clien —agency con lic s, necessi a ing he es ablishmen o a mo e inno a i e
wo kplace en i onmen .
This ans o ma ion is upse ing o many leade s, as hey belie e ha i has
upended he s a us quo wi h ega d o who holds exclusi e owne ship o e
c ea i e wo k commissioned by clien s. The “old sys em”, in which a single
c ea i e eam was esponsible o all aspec s o a campaign om s a egy o
execu ion, is no longe he no m. Ins ead, campaigns a e o en di ided among
mul iple agencies, each wi h i s own specialized ocus. This agmen a ion
has led o g ea e compe i ion among c ea i es and has made i mo e di icul
o any one eam o lay claim o he en i e c ea i e ision o a gi en p ojec .
While some see his as a posi i e de elopmen ha encou ages collabo a i e
e o wi h mo e di e se oices and pe spec i es (discussed u he in Chap-
e 3), o he s, like G ossbe g, wo y abou hei posi ion in he ecosys em:
I hink ha we as an agency wo ld ha e gi en away ha so o mo al
high g ound abou wha i is ha we p oduce. Like, once upon a ime, you
would go o an agency because o who he c ea i es and accoun people
we e, because o who he pe sonali ies we e. And I hink we’ e so o
e ased ha , and I hink ha aluing wha we do, he abili y o see a cli-
en ’s business and see wha s o y i is, ha we a e, how we wan people o
ela e o us o ha clien . Tha ’s wha we’ e so o h own ou a li le bi
o de alued.53
C ea ing wi hin he ma ke ’s complexi y
In a compe i i e ma ke wi h nume ous indus y o ganiza ions supplying
o e lapping se ices and ying o limi ed clien money, c ea i e agencies
mus now also compe e wi h b and clien s who a e inc easingly b inging ma -
ke ing ac i i ies in-house and consul an s enc oaching on hei domain. Agen-
cies mus necessa ily look o new e enue s eams and c ea e mo e alue o
hei clien s in o de o make a e u n on hei in es men s. In u n, i is no
uncommon o see ha business models and p oduc inno a ions a e co-c ea ed
oge he by a b and and an agency. In such cases, he agency is e ec i ely ac -
ing as a esea ch, de elopmen , o business consul an o he clien . This is
22 Ad e ising X c ea i i y
a a c y om he adi ional ole o he agency as a p o ide o media space
and c ea i e b and messaging. I we conside he scope o se ices o c ea-
i e agencies oday, we see ha ad e ising bodies now posi ion hemsel es
as mo e well- ounded business ad iso s, compe ing o clien s no only wi h
o he c ea i e agencies bu also wi h consul ing agencies. “Agencies ha e o
s ep in o a di e en model, which is abou ma ke ing, consul ing, and mak-
ing su e ha hey unde s and da a managemen and o ches a ing pla o ms”,
a gues Bob Ray, wo ldwide CEO o DWA, which is owned by Me kle.54 E en
hough agencies and hei pa en companies a e apidly expanding hei s a e-
gic business se ices and echnology in eg a ion capabili ies, he oad is s eep,
and he economics a e di icul .
Wi h in es men going owa d bo h gea ing up agencies wi h consul ancy
expe ise and he o he way a ound—consul ing co po a ions building c ea-
i e s uc u es— he ue dis inc ion o a b and ma ke e may be less abou
alen and mo e abou business connec ions. High-p o ile acquisi ions by
bo h sides a he beginning o he 2020s highligh he ush o shi pe cep ion
and a ain pa i y in hese c ucial compe encies. Accen u e’s 2019 acquisi ion
o amed independen agency D oga555 on he consul ing side o he ledge ,
o example, challenges he no ion ha consul ancies canno p o ide a pla -
o m o c ea i i y. Bo h o ganiza ions a e as cau ious o highligh cul u al
i and c ea i e capabili ies as hey a e o make he a gumen o comme cial
compe i i eness.
C i iques o hese me ge s exp ess no only a lack o cul u al i bu also
poin ou ha many join agencies s a ed as design i ms o o med h ough
me ge s be ween consul ancies and designe s. As a esul , pessimis s sug-
ges ha hese agencies equen ly change he isual iden i y o hei clien s’
b ands, owing o he agencies’ p io expe ience in design, a he han deli e -
ing highly ele an consume expe iences ha ha e a uly meaning ul busi-
ness impac .
The g owing con e gence be ween he consul ancy and agency wo lds
does no necessa ily go smoo hly on he agency side ei he . As ad e ising
agencies need o compe e in an inc easingly complex ad e ising ecosys em,
he in icacy o ad e ising- ela ed jobs and businesses gene a es ension
ela ed o wha he indus y is oday and he scope o he se ices ha a e
o e ed. As Josh G ossbe g exp essed:
I hink i [ he lack o clea iden i y o ad e ising agencies] is led, in a wei d
way, o a lack o ocus on wha i is wha we do. Bu a he same way, i ’s
like kind o heal hie as a c ea i e because I ge o play wi h e e y hing. All
hese hings ha used o ge me h own ou o he oom be o e, you know.
O , as Nicole a S e anidou, a co- ounde and CCO a Tinke Tailo , said,
“I ’s abou he b and oday. We need o communica e he b and. I doesn’
always pan ou o be ad e ising. . . . I could be a new p oduc ; i could
Ad e ising X c ea i i y 23
be any hing. I ’s s ill c ea i e wo k”. E en hough he wo k in ad e ising
has always equi ed massi e lexibili y and he abili y o lea n quickly,56
he complexi y ha now comes s anda d wi h ad e ising, design, consul -
ing, and digi al se ices leads some imes o unce ain y. Al hough he a ied
asks a e exci ing, some c ea i es eel hey could be handled be e else-
whe e: “As a c ea i e di ec o , I wan o own a lo o hings, ha , p obably,
I shouldn’ . Like, I eel like ‘okay, I’ e go enough o he backg ound o
do hings ha I maybe wouldn’ ha e in he pas . Bu he e a e imes when
I should e y well gi e i o e o somebody else’” as G ossbe g con inues
his di aga ions.
C ea i es appea o ha e “a lo e–ha e ela ionship” wi h he cons ain s
imposed by s a egic conside a ions on ad e ising.57 P e ious esea ch shows
ha c ea i es alue clien s who gi e hem he eedom o expe imen wi h
new ideas, bu hey also hough he e was an inadequa e challenge un il hei
wo k was d i en by a igid s a egy.58 Despi e he ac ha comp ehensi e
se ices, mo e consul ing wo k, and business-o ien ed, numbe s-d i en asks
should be bene icial in e ms o de ining bounda ies and gi ing di ec ion, i
also b ings s uggles ela ed o he c ea i e p ocess. In he cu en cul u e,
whe e c ea i es a e expec ed o inno a e cons an ly, asks ha ocus on open-
ended p ojec s may be mo e challenging o agencies o plan59 compa ed o
asks wi h speci ic, p eag eed deli e ables.60 When he ou pu is unspeci ied,
i migh ange om de eloping a new p oduc o in en ing a unique way
o communica ing o coming up wi h a new pla o m o message deli e y.
Unde such condi ions, c ea i e di ec o s ha e ouble de e mining wha al-
en s and esou ces will be equi ed o b ing hei p ojec o comple ion. A he
same ime, c ea i es mus keep hemsel es engaged in a as -paced, demand-
ing se ing.61 They do his by adap ing hei engagemen s o hei cus ome s’
changing demands (a p ocess e e ed o as mo phing by Lau ey, Be ends,
and Huysman)62 while allowing hei clien s o pa icipa e in c ea i e wo k
on hei own (mobiliza ion).63 As a esul , clien s ge wha hey wan , bu he
na u e o he inno a i e unde aking has changed—each p ojec in ad e is-
ing lays he ounda ion o u u e p ojec s and opens new pa hs o u he
conside a ion.64
C ea i i y wi hou c ea i e alen
“I we don’ con inue o p o e ha c ea i i y di ec ly a ec s he bo om line
o business, we won’ ge he in es men . I we don’ ge he in es men , hen
we won’ pull in he alen . I we don’ pull in he alen hen i ’s a slippe y
slope o whe e he indus y will, I hink, need a lo o help”, says Susan C e-
dle, he global chie c ea i e o ice a FCB Global, ci ed in he Cannes Lions’
C ea i i y Repo . She links he business aspec s o a changing ad e ising
en i onmen wi h he indus y’s inc easing issue o a ac ing and e aining
c ea i e s a .
24 Ad e ising X c ea i i y
Mo e han a ool o he ad e ising indus y, c ea i i y needs o be unde -
s ood as a ea u e o a c ea i e pe son, “who egula ly sol es p oblems, ash-
ions p oduc s, o de ines new ques ions in a domain in a way ha is ini ially
conside ed no el bu ha ul ima ely becomes accep ed in a pa icula cul u al
se ing”, acco ding o Ga dne .65 As Mihaly Csikszen mihalyi concep ualized,
“c ea i i y esul s om he in e ac ion o a sys em composed o h ee ele-
men s: a cul u e ha con ains symbolic ules, a pe son who b ings no el y
in o he symbolic domain, and a ield o expe s who ecognize and alida e
he inno a ion”.66 C ea i e agencies a e complex social se ings ha make
space o c ea i i y o h i e, bu hey a e also people-d i en businesses. They
equi e a s eady supply o a e y speci ic kind o s a (c ea i es) wi h expan-
si e endencies— eady o explo e, seek no el y, ake isks,67 and p epa ed o
ake on he e e -changing asks and unc ions equi ed o ope a e in dynamic
en i onmen s. To o e hei cus ome s challenging, inno a i e hinking ha
p opels hei b ands and companies ahead, ad e ising c ea i es need o con-
inually deli e in usions o esh ideas.
The pos pandemic “g ea esigna ion” ha a ec ed many sec o s, wi h
wo ke s ee alua ing hei p io i ies and expec a ions, only exace ba ed an
al eady bleak alen e en ion si ua ion. Speaking o agency leade s abou wha
hei company’s mos p essing issues a e, he p oblem o a ac ing and e ain-
ing new alen comes up ime and ime again. Also, acco ding o esea ch
wi h mo e han 700 ma ke ing p o essionals conduc ed by Hays ec ui ing
agency and he Cha e ed Ins i u e o Ma ke ing, mo e han 60% o ma ke e s
planned o change jobs in 2021. Acco ding o hei epo , ca ee expec a ions
ha e changed d ama ically since he COVID-19 pandemic began. Employees
desi e g ea e wo k–li e balance ha enhances hei independence.68
The p oblem is no simply abou mone a y in es men , as men ioned by
C edle, o wo k–li e balance, and commu e- ee hyb id wo kplaces. The
ad e ising indus y, which ook p ide in being o wa d- hinking and adap a-
ble and o e ing a s imula ing wo king en i onmen , compa ed o o he indus-
ies, no longe appea s as appealing o many people. As Nixon and C ewe
poin ed ou al eady in 2004, he eedom, in o mali y, and glamou o wo k
in ad e ising a e exagge a ed.69 Ra he , i is cha ac e ized h ough he lens o
hie a chical o ice s uc u es, high p essu e, long wo king hou s, and limi ed
c ea i e con ol. Also, he social meaning o being an indus y associa ed wi h
coolness, machoism, and wo kaholism no longe esona es wi h younge gen-
e a ions.70 As one US-based senio execu i e explained:
Twen y yea s ago, e e y a school o a college kid wan ed o wo k in
ads. Wo king in ads mean some hing and mean big. You could e en say
ha i had i s snobbish p es ige. Now? They can mo e clea ly see ha ou
indus y is no all gli e and champagne, and he cul u e in ads can be
oxic. And hey jus don’ wan o be pa o ha . Long wo king hou s ha
we used o see as dedica ion o ou jobs, hey see as no pe sonal li e. And
Ad e ising X c ea i i y 25
hey wan o ha e li e, e en i hey make less, which was unbelie ably a e
o see ew yea s back.
High p essu e and he expec a ion o on-demand c ea i i y con ibu e o bu n-
ou among he sec o ’s employees. The (pe cei ed) lack o job secu i y in ad e -
ising and he equen p esence o agency poli ics educe he in e nal d i e
equi ed o c ea i e wo k. Inc easingly, alen seeks jobs ha i be e wi h hei
pe sonal alues. Twen y- wo pe cen o he sec o ’s employees wan o seek a
new p o essional pa h in sea ch o a “highe pu pose”.71 This also holds ue
o many young people en e ing he job ma ke . As Nikhil Na ayanan, o me
c ea i e di ec o a Ogil y India, now a Ta a Consul ancy Se ices, explains:
We we e loyal o wo k, bosses, ca ee , e c. As a esul , we no malized and
su ende ed o oxici y in he indus y. The younge gene a ion is loyal o
hei men al heal h, o ganiza ional e hics, employe pu pose, au hen ici y,
wo k—li e balance, e c.—some hing ha ad agencies a e s uggling o p o-
ide. They a e, in ac , igh ing he oxici y we inad e en ly endo sed. I isn’
ha he younge gene a ion is disloyal. They a e jus loyal o di e en hings.
O , as a London-based execu i e c ea i e di ec o exp essed, “wi h p essing
issues like clima e issues, pandemic, wa con lic s and b ands g eenwashing,
c ea ing emo ional bonds be ween consume s and snack b and does no seem
o be p essing enough o ca e abou ”. Many young c ea i es look o s a -
ups, which o e po en ially lowe pay and longe hou s, bu come wi h he
p omise o g owing wi h he business and seeing he impac o hei wo k.
Al e na i ely, because con ac wo k is h i ing again, many a e lea ing s a
jobs o eelance. In ac , an es ima ed 50% o he ad indus y could be ee-
lance wi hin he nex decade.72 O he s become, as James Coope labels hem,
“a mchai en ep eneu s”, who d eam o lea ing bu a e no eady o gi e up
on he s eady paycheck, secu i y, and ela ed li es yle.73
The ac ha ad e ising agencies ha e a p oblem wi h a ac ing and
e aining alen leads o se e al consequences, bo h o he agencies hem-
sel es and o hei ela ionships wi h clien s. “Bo h in e nally and clien -side,
agencies a e acing he challenges ha come wi h ha ing new eam membe s,
loss o legacy knowledge, and shi s in wo k me hodologies”, says Lo en
Blandon, global head o lea ning, g ow h, and expe iences a VMLY&R. As
expe ienced employees lea e and a e no easily eplaced, he a e age le el o
expe ience and expe ise wi hin he agency is a isk o dec easing, which is
also isible o clien s. As Jessica Spence, p esiden o b ands a Beam Sun-
o y, explained in he documen a y Kill you da lings, which explo es an issue
o alen de achmen :
I hink his o ically, he iew was he big agency ne wo ks, ha was hei
gua an ee [ ha hey ha e op alen and a pipeline o make su e hey o e

26 Ad e ising X c ea i i y
hem o hei clien s]. And I don’ hink ha ’s ue anymo e . . . And I hink
ha ’s because he indus y wen down a pa h o hinking i was some hing
you could scale . . . They a e no longe magne s o alen .
No es
1 J. G ossbe g, pe sonal communica ion, Ap il 20, 2022.
2 Goldenbe g, J., Le a , A., Mazu sky, D., & Solomon, S. (2009). C acking he ad
code. Camb idge Uni e si y P ess.
3 S e nbe g, R. J., & Luba , T. I. (2009). The concep o c ea i i y: P ospec s and pa -
adigms. In R. J. S e nbe g (Ed.), Handbook o c ea i i y (pp. 3–15). Camb idge Uni-
e si y P ess; Edwa d, N. (2011). Psychologia wó czości. Gdańskie Wydawnic wo
Psychologiczne.
4 Koslow, S., Sasse , S. L., & Rio dan, E. A. (2003). Wha is c ea i e o whom and
why? Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 43(1), 96–110. h ps://doi.o g/10.2501/
ja -43-1-96-110.
5 Whi e, A., & Smi h, B. L. (2001). Assessing ad e ising c ea i i y using he c ea i e
p oduc seman ic scale. Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 41(6), 27–34. h ps://doi.
o g/10.2501/ja -41-6-27-34.
6 Hi schman, E. C. (1989). Role-based models o ad e ising c ea ion and p oduc-
ion. Jou nal o Ad e ising, 18(4), 42–53. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/00913367.1989.
10673166.
7 Koslow, S., Sasse , S. L., & Rio dan, E. A. (2003). Wha is c ea i e o whom and
why? Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 43(1), 96–110. h ps://doi.o g/10.2501/
ja -43-1-96-110.
8 S e nbe g, R. J., & Luba , T. I. (1996). In es ing in c ea i i y. Ame ican Psycholo-
gis , 51(7), 677–688. h ps://doi.o g/10.1037/0003-066x.51.7.677.
9 Mum o d, M. D., & Gus a son, S. B. (1988). C ea i i y synd ome: In eg a ion,
applica ion, and inno a ion. Psychological Bulle in, 103(1), 27–43. h ps://doi.
o g/10.1037/0033-2909.103.1.27.
10 Ro henbe g, A., & Hausman, C. R. (1976). The c ea i i y ques ion. Duke Uni e si y
P ess.
11 MacKinnon, D. W. (1965). Pe sonali y and he ealiza ion o c ea i e po en ial.
Ame ican Psychologis , 20(4), 273–281. h ps://doi.o g/10.1037/h0022403; Fol-
lowing O’Quin & Beseme ’s w i ing, c ea i e p oduc s should be unde s ood in a
libe al and inclusi e sense o e e o bo h ideas and obse able ou comes. (O’Quin,
K., & Beseme , S. P. (2020). C ea i e p oduc s. In M. A. Runco & S. R. P i zke
(Eds.), Encyclopedia o c ea i i y (pp. 413–422). Academic P ess.)
12 L. Enebeis, pe sonal communica ion, Janua y 5, 2022.
13 Odendaal, P., & Clay on, S. (2014). C ea i i y: F om a o in elligence. In D. Fian-
daca, A. Andjelic, & G. Kay (Eds.), Hacke , make , eache , hie : Ad e ising’s nex
gene a ion. C ea i e Social.
14 B. Ko s en, pe sonal communica ion, Feb ua y 24, 2022.
15 Amabile, T. M. (1996). C ea i i y in con ex : Upda e o he social psychology o
c ea i i y. Rou ledge; Boden, M. A. (1990). The c ea i e mind: My hs & mecha-
nisms. Weiden ield and Nicolson; Leadbea e , C. (1999). Li ing on hin ai : The
new economy. Viking; Mock os, C., & Csikszen mihalyi, M. (1999). Pa ou :
c ea i i y a wo k. The social cons uc ion o c ea i e li es. In A. Mon uo i & R. E.
Pu se (Eds.), Social c ea i i y. Hamp on P ess.
16 S eine , M., & P e en hale , F. (2015). C ea i i y econside ed—so you i m is c e-
a i e, bu how much? A ans-sec o al and con inuous app oach o c ea i e indus-
ies. Regional S udies, Regional Science, 2(1), 275–289. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/2
1681376.2015.1016097.
Ad e ising X c ea i i y 27
17 Cla ke, K., & Koçak, K. (2021, Decembe 7). Eigh yea s a e Egyp ’s e olu-
ion, he e’s wha we’ e lea ned abou social media and p o es . The Washing on
Pos . Re ie ed Sep embe 4, 2022, om www.washing onpos .com/news/monkey-
cage/wp/2019/01/25/eigh -yea s-a e -egyp s- e olu ion-he es-wha -we e-lea ned-
abou -social-media-and-p o es /.
18 Goldmann, A. J. (2021, Feb ua y 11). Thea e s go digi al o alk abou li e (and
dea h) in he pandemic. The New Yo k Times. Re ie ed Sep embe 4, 2022, om
www.ny imes.com/2021/02/11/ hea e /we he -li e-s e be aum.h ml.
19 Compa e: Hu man, J. (2016). The case o c ea i i y: The link be ween imagina i e
ma ke ing & comme cial success. Cannes Lions.
20 Yang, X., & Smi h, R. E. (2009). Beyond a en ion e ec s: Modeling he pe suasi e
and emo ional e ec s o ad e ising c ea i i y. Ma ke ing Science, 28(5), 935–949.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1287/mksc.1080.0460.
21 Jin, H. S., Ke , G., Suh, J., Kim, H. J., & Sheehan, B. (2022). The powe o c ea-
i e ad e ising: C ea i e ads impai ecall and a i udes owa d o he ads. In e na-
ional Jou nal o Ad e ising, 41, 1521–1540. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/02650487.2
022.2045817; Lehne , K., Till, B. D., & Ca lson, B. D. (2013). Ad e ising c ea-
i i y and epe i ion. In e na ional Jou nal o Ad e ising, 32(2), 211–231. h ps://
doi.o g/10.2501/ija-32-2-211-231; Sheinin, D. A., Va ki, S., & Ashley, C. (2011).
The di e en ial e ec o ad no el y and message use ulness on b and judgmen s.
Jou nal o Ad e ising, 40(3), 5–18. h ps://doi.o g/10.2753/joa0091-3367400301;
Smi h, R. E., Chen, J., & Yang, X. (2008). The impac o ad e ising c ea i i y on he
hie a chy o e ec s. Jou nal o Ad e ising, 37(4), 47–62. h ps://doi.o g/10.2753/
joa0091-3367370404; Yang, X., & Smi h, R. E. (2009). Beyond a en ion e ec s:
Modeling he pe suasi e and emo ional e ec s o ad e ising c ea i i y. Ma ke ing
Science, 28(5), 935–949. h ps://doi.o g/10.1287/mksc.1080.0460.
22 Chen, J., Yang, X., & Smi h, R. E. (2014). The e ec s o c ea i i y on ad e is-
ing wea -in and wea -ou . Jou nal o he Academy o Ma ke ing Science, 44(3),
334–349. h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s11747-014-0414-5.
23 Ang, S. H., & Low, S. Y. (2000). Explo ing he dimensions o ad c ea i -
i y. Psychology & Ma ke ing, 17(10), 835–854. h ps://doi.o g/10.1002/1520-
6793(200010)17:10; Till, B. D., & Baack, D. W. (2005). Recall and pe suasion:
Does c ea i e ad e ising ma e ? Jou nal o Ad e ising, 34(3), 47–57. h ps://doi.
o g/10.1080/00913367.2005.10639201.
24 Dahlen, M., Roseng en, S., & Ka sbe g, J. (2018). The e ec s o signaling mone a y
and c ea i e e o in ads. Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 58(4), 433–442. h ps://
doi.o g/10.2501/ja -2018-013; Dahlén, M., & Lange, F. (2005). Ad e ising weak
and s ong b ands: Who gains? Psychology & Ma ke ing, 22(6), 473–488. h ps://
doi.o g/10.1002/ma .20069.
25 Ko e , A. J., James, W., & Sonne , B. S. (1997). To whom do ad e ising c ea i es
w i e? An in e en ial answe . Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 37(1); Vaughan, K.,
Beal, V., & Romaniuk, J. (2016). Can b and use s eally emembe ad e ising mo e
han nonuse s? Tes ing an empi ical gene aliza ion ac oss six ad e ising awa eness
measu es. Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 56(3). h ps://doi.o g/10.2501/ja -2016-
037; Wes , D., Koslow, S., & Kilgou , M. (2019). Fu u e di ec ions o ad e ising
c ea i i y esea ch. Jou nal o Ad e ising, 48(1), 102–114. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080
/00913367.2019.1585307.
26 S one, G., Besse , D., & Lewis, L. E. (2000). Recall, liking, and c ea i i y in TV
comme cials: A new app oach. Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 40(3), 7–18.
h ps://doi.o g/10.2501/ja -40-3-7-18.
27 Chen, J., Yang, X., & Smi h, R. E. (2014). The e ec s o c ea i i y on ad e is-
ing wea -in and wea -ou . Jou nal o he Academy o Ma ke ing Science, 44(3),
334–349. h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s11747-014-0414-5; Lehne , K., Till, B. D., &
28 Ad e ising X c ea i i y
Ca lson, B. D. (2013). Ad e ising c ea i i y and epe i ion. In e na ional Jou nal
o Ad e ising, 32(2), 211–231. h ps://doi.o g/10.2501/ija-32-2-211-231.
28 Baack, D. W., Wilson, R. T., & Till, B. D. (2008). C ea i i y and memo y e ec s:
Recall, ecogni ion, and an explo a ion o non adi ional media. Jou nal o Ad e -
ising, 37(4), 85–94. h ps://doi.o g/10.2753/joa0091-3367370407.
29 Hi shbe g, E. (2008, Augus 25). Comme cial a mus be bo h. Ad Age. Re ie ed Sep-
embe 4, 2022, om h ps://adage.com/a icle/awa ds-08/comme cial-a /130130.
30 Cannes Lions. (2022). C ea i e e ec i eness lions. Cannes Lions.
31 Sho e, T. W. (1907). The c a o he ad e ise . Fo nigh ly Re iew, May 1865–
June 1934, 81(482).
32 Robinson, T. (2019, June 3). Why c a ma e s in ad e ising. C ea i e Re iew.
Re ie ed Sep embe 7, 2022, om www.c ea i e e iew.co.uk/why-c a -ma e s-in-
ad e ising.
33 Hu man, J. (2016). The case o c ea i i y: The link be ween imagina i e ma ke -
ing & comme cial success. Cannes Lions.
34 Lang on, P. (2018, Ap il 30). Is c a dead in ad e ising? Campaign B ie . Re ie ed
Sep embe 7, 2022, om h ps://campaignb ie .com/pa -lang on-is-c a -dead-in-a/.
35 Hu man, J. (2016). The case o c ea i i y: The link be ween imagina i e ma ke -
ing & comme cial success. Cannes Lions.
36 In ad e ising, c ea i e p o essionals a e in o mally known as “c ea i es.” This
encompasses copyw i e s, a di ec o s, c ea i e di ec o s, and b oadcas p oduce s—
he adi ional oles conside ed o be on he c ea i e side o ad e ising (Mo i-
a y & Vandenbe gh, 1984). Howe e , as he ma ke e ol es, an inc easing numbe
o oles can be conside ed “c ea i e.” E.g., people who specialize in de eloping
ad campaigns o hose who ocus on digi al ma ke ing may also be conside ed
c ea i es. (Mo ia y, S. E., & Vandenbe gh, B. G. (1984). Ad e ising c ea i es
look a c ea i i y. The Jou nal o C ea i e Beha io , 18(3), 162–174. h ps://doi.
o g/10.1002/j.2162-6057.1984. b00380.x).
37 Odendaal, P., & Clay on, S. (2014). C ea i i y: F om a o in elligence. In D. Fian-
daca, A. Andjelic, & G. Kay (Eds.), Hacke , make , eache , hie : Ad e ising’s nex
gene a ion. C ea i e Social.
38 And eson, M. (2016, Oc obe 11). The end o ‘c ea i i y as a se ice’. Medium.
com. Re ie ed Sep embe 7, 2022, om h ps://medium.com/expe iencea ini y/
he-end-o -c ea i i y-as-a-se ice-2a8e6ba2d825.
39 Ibid.
40 Hall, B. F. (2002). A new model o measu ing ad e ising e ec i eness. Jou nal o
Ad e ising Resea ch, 42(2), 23–31. h ps://doi.o g/10.2501/ja -42-2-23-31.
41 Ibid.
42 Hu man, J. (2016). The case o c ea i i y: The link be ween imagina i e ma ke -
ing & comme cial success. Cannes Lions.
43 Dahlén, M., Roseng en, S., & Tö n, F. (2008). Ad e ising c ea i i y ma -
e s. Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 48(3), 392–403. h ps://doi.o g/10.2501/
s002184990808046x.
44 an Logge enbe g, M. J. C., Enslin, C., & Te blanche-Smi , M. (2019). Towa ds a
de ini ion o b anded en e ainmen : An explo a o y s udy. Jou nal o Ma ke ing
Communica ions, 27(3), 322–342. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/13527266.2019.1643395.
45 P a , A. C. (2006). Ad e ising and c ea i i y, a go e nance app oach: A case s udy
o c ea i e agencies in London. En i onmen and Planning A: Economy and Space,
38(10), 1883–1899. h ps://doi.o g/10.1068/a38261.
46 Tu ow, J. (2011). The daily you. Yale Uni e si y P ess.
47 Magui e, J. S., & Ma hews, J. (2012). A e we all cul u al in e media ies now? An
in oduc ion o cul u al in e media ies in con ex . Eu opean Jou nal o Cul u al
S udies, 15(5), 551–562. h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/1367549412445762.
Ad e ising X c ea i i y 29
48 C onin, A. M. (2004). Regimes o media ion: Ad e ising p ac i ione s as cul u al
in e media ies? Consump ion Ma ke s & Cul u e, 7(4), 349–369. h ps://doi.o g/10
.1080/1025386042000316315.
49 Willig, I. (2021). F om audiences o da a poin s: The ole o media agencies in
he pla o miza ion o he news media indus y. Media, Cul u e & Socie y, 44(1),
56–71. h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/01634437211029861.
50 Jensen, H., & Sund, K. J. (2017). The jou ney o business model inno a ion in
media agencies: Towa ds a h ee-s age p ocess model. Jou nal o Media Business
S udies, 14(4), 282–298. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/16522354.2018.1445158.
51 Willig, I. (2021). F om audiences o da a poin s: The ole o media agencies in
he pla o miza ion o he news media indus y. Media, Cul u e & Socie y, 44(1),
56–71. h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/01634437211029861.
52 Napoli, P., & Caplan, R. (2017). Why media companies insis hey’ e no media
companies, why hey’ e w ong, and why i ma e s. Fi s Monday, 22(5). h ps://doi.
o g/10.5210/ m. 22i5.7051.
53 J. G ossbe g, pe sonal communica ion, Ap il 20, 2022.
54 Benes, R. (2019, May 6). How a e ad agencies compe ing wi h consul ancies?
Inside In elligence. Re ie ed Oc obe 16, 2022, om www.inside in elligence.
com/con en / o-s ay-compe i i e-ad-agencies-mimic-consul ancies.
55 Accen u e. (2019). Accen u e in e ac i e comple es acquisi ion o C ea i e Agency,
DROGA5. News oom. Re ie ed Oc obe 16, 2022, om h ps://news oom.accen-
u e.com/news/accen u e-in e ac i e-comple es-acquisi ion-o -c ea i e-agency-
d oga5.h m.
56 Ba one, M. J., & Jewell, R. D. (2013). How b and inno a i eness c ea es ad e -
ising lexibili y. Jou nal o he Academy o Ma ke ing Science, 42(3), 309–321.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s11747-013-0352-7.
57 Koslow, S., Sasse , S. L., & Rio dan, E. A. (2003). Wha is c ea i e o whom and
why? Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 43(1), 96–110. h ps://doi.o g/10.2501/
ja -43-1-96-110.
58 Ibid.
59 Lau ey, N., Be ends, H., & Huysman, M. (2017). C ea i i y as a se ice: How
c ea i e agen s os e a liminal expe ience. Academy o Managemen P oceedings,
2017(1), 15620. h ps://doi.o g/10.5465/ambpp.2017.261.
60 Ibid.
61 Cohende , P., Lle en, P., & Simon, L. (2014). The ou iniza ion o c ea i i y. F on-
ie s in E olu iona y Economics, 120–141. h ps://doi.o g/10.1515/9783110509205-
002; Pa io a, G., & Hi sch, P. M. (2016). Mains eaming inno a ion in a wo lds:
Coope a i e links, con en ions and amphibious a is s. O ganiza ion S udies, 37(6),
867–887. h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/0170840615622062.
62 Lau ey, N., Be ends, H., & Huysman, M. (2017). C ea i i y as a se ice: How
c ea i e agen s os e a liminal expe ience. Academy o Managemen P oceedings,
2017(1), 15620. h ps://doi.o g/10.5465/ambpp.2017.261.
63 Ibid.
64 Ibid.
65 Ga dne , H. E. (2011). C ea ing minds. Basic Books.
66 Csikszen mihalyi, M. (1997). C ea i i y: Flow & he psychology o disco e y &
in en ion. Ha pe & Row.
67 Ibid.
68 Je e son, M. (2021, May 18). Two- hi ds o ma ke ing employe s plan o hi e his
yea as Co id ails o . Ma ke ing Week. Re ie ed Sep embe 7, 2022, om www.
ma ke ingweek.com/ma ke ing-employe s-hi e/.
69 Nixon, S., & C ewe, B. (2004). Pleasu e a wo k? Gende , consump ion and wo k-
based iden i ies in he c ea i e indus ies. Consump ion Ma ke s & Cul u e, 7(2),
129–147. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/1025386042000246197.
36 Ad e ising X inno a ion
ha could g ow hei businesses, o example, by coming up wi h p oduc
inno a ions. This is well e lec ed in he awa d ca ego ies a ad e ising (o
a he , c ea i e) es i als. Along wi h inno a ion awa ds wi hin medium,
channel, o consume expe ience ca ego ies, he ca ego y o “p oduc inno-
a ion” has aken dominance as he new “bes in show” awa d. Winning
en ies ake a ious o ms— om in en ing a ho e boa d ha looks and
wo ks like one s aigh ou o Back o he Fu u e23 (CHI & Pa ne s24 o
Lexus ca manu ac u e ) o p o o yping homes ha a e capable o wi hs and-
ing i e, lood, and cyclone (Leo Bu ne Sydney o Sunco p insu ance com-
pany).25 Meanwhile, i is ha d o ind awa d winne s who won on he me i s
o hei communica ion alone.
E en hough agencies inc easingly inno a e hei clien s’ p oduc s as pa
o hei se ices— o loud applause a awa d shows— he new p oduc s a e
a ely mo e han buzz-make s. As Szczepaniak c i ically a gued:
Mos o he hings winning Cannes Inno a ion Awa ds would ail a any
majo s a up e en . . . . Spec acula solu ions a e ewa ded, bu i is mo e
a ce ain po en ial, bu no he ac ha i is eally implemen able. I is mo e
he p omise han angible solu ion.
The e o e, mo e o en han no , hese p oduc s a e simply PR s un s wi hou
any eal conside a ion o hei po en ial agains he eal ma ke .
The ans o ma ion o c ea i e ideas in o angible and use ul p oduc s and
se ices is a key p oblem in inno a ion managemen 26 and new en u e de el-
opmen .27 In he case o ad e ising, he low associa ion be ween c ea i i y
and inno a ion ( o he clien ’s p oduc o business) can be explained by he
ac ha con e ing c ea i e ideas in o inno a ions en ails, as p e iously dis-
cussed, a e wo dis inc and some imes an agonis ic p ocesses: idea gene a-
ion and i s implemen a ion.28 Idea gene a ion na i ely and in ui i ely inds
i s place in he c ea i e indus ies en i onmen as i is in ima ely linked o
explo a o y ac i i ies29 ha necessi a e expe imen a ion, dis up ou ines, and
challenge con en ional assump ions. Idea implemen a ion, on he o he hand,
is associa ed wi h exploi a i e ac i i ies30 and as such equi es a mo e s uc-
u ed p ocess, e iciency, goal ocus, and ou ine execu ion. As much as ideas,
p o o ypes, o e en limi ed se ies consume p oduc s may be deli e ed by
ad e ising agencies, he sec o a ely deli e s solu ions ha can p o e hei
alue on he ma ke . Hence, we could easily jump o he conclusion ha he
ad e ising sec o ails a inno a ion, as i seems o be unable o implemen i s
ideas. Howe e , conside ing he ac ual easons why clien s ypically u n o
agencies, idea ion can be seen as he smalles con ibu ion agencies make
o clien ’s success. Ins ead, inno a ions (e en nonimplemen able ones) need
o be seen as b and- and image-building ools,31 making he adop ion and
e en ion cons i u e he cen al alue. The e o e, he inno a i e po en ial o

Ad e ising X inno a ion 37
he c ea i e indus ies is o c ea e consume demand o new goods,32 which is
he end goal o he p ocess. We can hen a gue ha he ad e ising indus y, in
ac , excels a deli e ing all h ee s ages o he inno a ion ajec o y: o igina-
ion, adop ion, and e en ion.
In i s ole o b and building and c ea ing demand o p oduc s, ad e is-
ing’s inno a i e powe is equen ly no in de eloping echnological o chan-
nel inno a ions bu a he in linking p e iously unconnec ed ideas o helping
inno a ions achie e isibili y and he abili y o each b oade ma ke s. Ra ely
does he sec o i sel in en a new echnological solu ion, which is no wi hin
he scope o i s business compe encies. Ra he , i has an eye o in en ions
ac oss a ious ma ke s, b ings hem o he public iew, o e s he g ound (and
budge ) o es ing and expe imen a ion, and igge s b oade discussion. As
Ko s en e lec s:
I you y o look ha [AI-cen e ed so wa e solu ions] up on he Mic o-
so websi e, i ’s no e y appealing. Bu i you hink abou an idea, like
he Nex Remb and , whe e you ake ha echnology and you w ap i in o
some hing ha people ind e y in e es ing o engage wi h, hen i migh
become some hing wi h a b oade appeal and easie o adop o a b oade
audience. . . . I gi e hem some lo e and a en ion.
An example o a echnology ha was b ough o he public eye h ough ad e -
ising is he i ual eali y headse , which was o iginally de eloped o gaming
pu poses and has since been adap ed o use in o he a eas, such as heal hca e
and educa ion. Ad e ising played a ole in aising awa eness o echnol-
ogy and building mains eam appeal. In 2015, The New Yo k Times c ea ed
a ma ke ing campaign ha included a VR app and a ilm di ec ed by VRSE.
wo ks’ Im aan Ismail and The New Yo k Times’ Ben Solomon (who was a pa
o he Times eam ha won he Puli ze P ize o In e na ional Repo ing in
2015 o on -line epo ing abou Ebola in A ica).33 Called The Displaced,
he 11-minu e ilm ch onicles he expe iences o h ee e ugee child en om
some o he mos wa - a aged egions on Ea h. By mailing ou 1.1 million
Google Ca dboa d headse s o hei p in subsc ibe s, The New Yo k Times
b ough a niche echnology o he mass ma ke on an unp eceden ed scale.
Jenna Pi og, a New Yo k Times con ibu ing edi o who c ea es VR ideos,
explained in an in e iew o Nieman News ha he eam was pleasan ly su -
p ised by he audience’s eac ion:
We eally didn’ know wha he eac ion would be. The e’s so much on-
boa ding associa ed wi h his ilm. You ha e o ind you ca dboa d iewe
in you Sunday pape , and download he app, and download he ilm, and
us us and pu you phone in he Ca dboa d iewe , and ge you head-
phones on. Bu we we e jus blown away by he esponse.34
38 Ad e ising X inno a ion
E en hough his inno a ion is a guably mo e abou jou nalism han ad e is-
ing, he en y made i s case as a p omo ional campaign. Ju y p esiden Jae
Goodman explained du ing he pos show p ess con e ence: “The c ea ion o
he NYT VR app— ha in and o i sel ca apul s The New Yo k Times [as a
b and], known as he G ey Lady, in ou opinion, 100 yea s o wa d”.35
Inno a ing while nobody belie es
As p e iously discussed, he pu pose o inno a i e p ojec s in ad e ising
is usually linked o c ea ing buzz a ound he b and, deli e ing a message o
consume s, di e en ia ing om o he b ands on he ma ke , a ousing public
in e es , and inc easing he image and p es ige o he b and.36 E en hough
he bene i s o inno a ing and deli e ing c ea i e solu ions seem o be clea
o b ands, clien s o en imes hesi a e o gi e a g een ligh o bold and no el
ideas by hei c ea i e pa ne s. Bas Ko s en admi s ha , e en hough he cli-
en asked o connec a and cul u e sponso ship wi h he inno a i e na u e
o hei business, hey did no ini ially wan o go ahead wi h he idea o he
Nex Remb and :
When I p esen ed he idea o ING, hey said, “Well, no, we don’ wan o
do his. We wan o gi e a gi o he Rijksmuseum as so o a celeb a ion
o ou pa ne ship. And we don’ know i he idea o his pain ing is e e
going o be some hing in e es ing o good, so we don’ wan o buy a gi
ha we don’ know i i ’s going o be a good gi .” So, I said, “Well, okay,
I can see ha .” Bu I knew somewhe e ha his idea needed o see he ligh
o day.
Thus, he agency kep pushing, wo king on he p ojec wi hin i s own
esou ces, pa ne ing wi h Mic oso , and going ahead wi h he i wi hou he
clien ’s in ol emen . Only when i was abou 80% comple e, wi h a clea
sense o how i would look, hey did go back o ING and ge he p ojec
app o ed.
Simila ly, den suACHTUNG!’s Me yn Ten Dam ecalls wo king on
one o hei mos awa ded campaigns. Volkswagen, he Ge man ca manu-
ac u e , was one o he mos popula au omobile b ands in he Ne he lands
o decades. E en hough Volkswagen is o en conside ed a amily ehicle
b and, he company asked i s agency o come up wi h a unique s a egy o
de elop b and sympa hy among amilies in o de o sus ain sco es on c u-
cial b and alues and show he inno a i eness o he company. The c ea i e
eam wo ked a ound he somewha ob ious, ye equally ele an consume
insigh ha se en ou o en child en use sc eens du ing long ips, making
hem ixa ed on de ices and obli ious o hei su oundings. Mos pa en s,
howe e , eel bad abou ha , as hey belie e ha amily d i es a e an ideal
ime o bonding and an oppo uni y o encou age hei child en o open up.
Ad e ising X inno a ion 39
As a esul , he eam sea ched o ideas o design an expe ience ha aimed a
educing sc een ime in he ca , spa king child en’s imagina ion, and making
in e ac ion in he ehicle easie . They de eloped Road Tales (o a he Snel-
weg Sp ookjes), a o m o loca ion-based audiobooks se in speci ic loca ions
ha u n oadways and objec s a ound hem in o engaging s o ies. To do his,
he eam behind he campaign scanned he comple e Du ch highway sys em
(5000 kilome e s) o de ec housands o objec s along he mo o ways. As
a nex s ep, hey collabo a ed wi h a numbe o a is s and awa d-winning
child en’s book au ho s (bo owing expe ise om ano he c ea i e sec o ) o
c ea e a s o y elling expe ience ha el bo h unique and pe sonal. The expe-
ience was accessible h ough an app ha pa en s could connec o he ca ’s
sound sys em o play an in e ac i e na a i e and hen pu he phone aside,
making child en engaged in high-quali y s o ies o -sc een, and making a el
i sel mo e i id and exci ing.37
Ten Dam ecalls he p ocess ha hey wen h ough wi h he clien :
They didn’ belie e in i . They belie ed in one o he o he ideas mo e. And
we belie ed in his idea be e . [So,] we made a li le demo, s a ing om
hei main o ice. So, we jus ook a ew objec s, we asked he oiceo e
o speak. And we had o pu he ma ke ing di ec o li e ally in he backsea
o he Volkswagen, e en gi ing him some candies ha we bough o he
a el. And ha ’s how we con inced him he was going o do his.
Those si ua ions a e no unique. When alking o c ea i e leads abou he b a -
es and mos inno a i e wo ks ha hey ha e ealized in ecen yea s, a s ik-
ing heme ecu s like a cho us: i s , he clien did no like o ejec ed he idea,
and i ook much wo k o con ince hem o he wise. Some c ea i es link hese
di icul ies wi h he ac ha , in he ma ke in which hey ope a e, he e is no
adi ional space o he explo a ion and de elopmen o new ideas because
hey need o wo k wi hin he clien s’ limi ed budge s, and clien s a e o en
only willing o spend on “p o en” solu ions. O he examples show he issue
o a lack o con idence in con incing key s akeholde s o implemen highly
c ea i e solu ions. As he S a e o C ea i i y 2022 epo by Cannes Lions
indica es, 29% o b ands and 24% o agencies eel e y o ex emely con i-
den in con incing hei CFOs o clien s, espec i ely, o in es in high-quali y
c ea i i y, while only 15% o agencies eel highly con iden in hei clien s’
abili y o apply comme cially success ul c ea i i y.38
Howe e , no e e yone belie es in pushing ha d and going he ex a mile
o con ince clien s o buy inno a i e ideas. “The e is no pe suasion. I spend
a lo o ime and ene gy on wo king and connec ing wi h people ha I know
a e open o his ype o hing and do no was e my ene gy selling he boldes
ideas o people I know ha he e will be no s ong suppo om hem, no
hei o ganiza ions; hey wouldn’ be b a e enough o do such hings” says
Szczepaniak. He con inues, “ he second le el is inspi ing, no educa ing, bu
40 Ad e ising X inno a ion
inspi ing o he s. The e, we con ince ha i is wo h ying, i is wo h looking
o bolde ways. And i wo ks”. Szczepaniak led he eam esponsible o he
G and P ix winning campaign o he Glass Lion o Change, an awa d ha
“celeb a es cul u e-shi ing c ea i i y”.39 The campaign, The Las E e Issue,
was a special issue o You Weekend (o iginally, Twój Weekend), Poland’s mos
popula adul magazine, wi h a ci cula ion o o e 50,000 copies pe issue.
In Decembe 2018, he i le became a ailable o sale and was immedia ely
bough by he agency oge he wi h h ee b ands, wo clien s o VMLY&R,
and one news po al. The collabo a ing pa ne s bough i o publish one mo e
issue, ans o ming You Weekend in o a con e sa ion-spa king magazine ha
p omo ed di e se and p og essi e na a i es o eminini y and con on ed he
cul u e o sexism and gende inequali y. The las issue sales made i he bes -
selling issue o he magazine in en yea s. Szczepaniak explains he p ocess o
onboa ding clien s o he campaign:
The e was no need o con ince anyone o do so. I ook maybe an hou
o come up wi h he idea and a e an hou , we al eady had he consen o
he i s b and ha said i was going in o i . No p esen a ions; phone-call
decision. We eached ou o people whom we knew would be eady o do
such a hing.
Clea ly, inno a ion in ad e ising is linked no only o he capabili ies o
c ea i e eams bu also o b and a i udes owa d c ea i e ad e ising,40 hei
openness o new ideas, and willingness o ake isks,41 which, in u n, links
o he o ganiza ion’s in e nal cul u e, app oach, and p ocesses.42 Las bu no
leas is an agency’s abili y o manage i s s akeholde s and engage people,
o ganiza ions, and b ands.43 Schola s ha e a gued ha o mal and in o mal
mechanisms o go e nance ac as complemen s o inno a ion in he sec-
o .44 The join ac i i ies be ween he agency and i s clien s a e o en a ic-
ula ed on he basis o o mal p ocedu es, p edesigned p ocesses, and qui e
igid schemes like wo k lows, which a e buil o ake in o accoun bo h he
agency’s and he clien ’s con ibu ions o he p oduc ion p ocess.45 The c u-
cial unc ion o he accoun manage s and di ec o s is o ac as ga ekeepe s
o he in e ac ion be ween he agency and he clien .46 This links o some
issues ha a ise o bo h c ea i es and clien s: he s ic s uc u e—on bo h
hie a chical and p ocedu al le els—limi s he agency’s abili y o in ol e he
clien in oles o co-diagnose , co-designe , co-p oduce , co-implemen o ,
co-ma ke e , and co-de elope 47 and, he e o e, hu s open communica ion
and space o inno a ion.
Clien –agency ela ionship models a e he subjec o ex ensi e esea ch
ha explo es single, mul i, and dedica ed agency models, hei dynamics,
and managemen .48 Howe e , he di icul y o execu ing c ea i e ideas in
he inc easingly agmen ed ma ke sugges s limi ed con idence ha c ea-
i e eams alone can d i e business e ec i eness. Especially, wi hin smalle ,
Ad e ising X inno a ion 41
bou ique agencies, whe e he se ice is o ien ed owa d ad ising and p ob-
lem sol ing,49 he igid seques a ion o c ea i e wo k inside he agency is
inc easingly eleased in a o o g ea e inpu om he clien . As G eg Hanh,
a ounde and chie c ea i e o ice a Mischie —an agency named A-Lis
2022 #1 by AdAge50—explained:
All he way om when I s a ed in ad e ising, he e was always his,
“don’ show hem un il i ’s eady”; “Don’ show hem un il you know i ’s
been app o ed.” I doesn’ ha e o be pe ec when we b ing i o people.
We ha e a ph ase ha we use in some o ou con e sa ions wi h ou clien s
is ha we’ e no like he Tada! agency, we’ e he Aha! Agency. We will
come and b ing you li le insigh s along he way. Ve sus he big show and
e eal a he end. The clien s a e expe s in a lo o s u .51
Simila ly, as he execu i e c ea i e di ec o o a Sydney-based independen
c ea i e agency explained:
The issue wi h many ne wo k agencies is ha he agency pi ches o he
clien . Clien likes wha he sees and chooses he agency. Bu i was he las
ime he saw his eam. I is because he agency ook wha hey belie ed
we e hei bes people o win he clien , bu somebody else will be han-
dling he accoun . This is unbelie able o me. We need o us each o he .
And how can we build he us i we open like ha ?
Some decla e going as a as choosing clien s based on “chemis y”, alues
alignmen , and pe sonal p e e ence: “We don’ ake on clien s we don’ like as
people”, as Hanh exp essed.52 O he s in es ime o seed cu iosi y and a can-
do-be e a i ude in clien s, who a e assessed based on hei po en ial o gi -
ing he space o deli e inno a i e wo k, as ea lie poin ed ou by Szczepaniak.
Aiming o he impossible
Why would c ea i e agencies push so badly o inno a ion and s a e-o - he-
a c ea i e wo k, wi h massi e in es men s o hei own esou ces bu no
p omise o e u n? I may ha e some hing o do wi h he c ea i es’ egos ha
push o awa d-winning campaigns and ha e a need o c ea i e exp ession,
bu he e seem o be mo e p agma ic easons, oo. The anking o c ea i e
agencies in a ious majo ad e ising compe i ions, such as Cannes Lions, he
One Show, Clio Awa ds, The D um, and o he s, is a signi ican conside a ion
a ec ing b and decisions,53 which, in u n, means ha hese e en s unc ion
as a sc eening mechanism o businesses o selec he bes agency o hem.
These shows and es i als can be an impo an ool o agencies o build hei
epu a ion and a ac mo e clien s. Consequen ly, enhancing he c ea i i y o
hei wo k is a p ac ical s a egy o hem o build hei businesses.

42 Ad e ising X inno a ion
Also impo an in oday’s indus y clima e is he ac ha winning an
awa d can also help o a ac and e ain op alen . Po en ial employees will
be a ac ed o an agency wi h a p o en eco d o success, and he awa ds
can help an inc easing p oblem o b inging new c ea i e powe . Mo eo e , as
Bas Ko s en explains, awa ds and buzz we e no di ec ly he mos sa is ying
ou comes o him in he case o he Nex Remb and . I was how he p ojec
empowe ed his eam and ueled i s u u e wo k:
I come o lea n ha c ea i i y is a lo abou sel -con idence. And ac u-
ally, belie ing in an idea is hal he job. So, I hink hese p ojec s helped
o ins ill con idence in he whole o he agency, ha any hing is possible.
Which is an in aluable mindse o ha e in a c ea i e agency. Because i
you belie e in you own idea, hen you walk up bi s ha de when you go
in o he mee ing oom, and you’ e willing o go a bi ha de on he clien ,
when he says no. And i you belie e in an idea, I hink i ’s almos you
du y, o no le anyone s op you in b inging i o li e. I hink ha ’s wha i
does. I hink i uels ha con idence.
In his sense, ecogni ion o c ea i i y (and inno a ion, unde s ood as imple-
men ing c ea i i y in o speci ic execu able p ojec s) can help an agency o
mo i a e and manage i s c ea i e powe , especially conside ing ad e ising
a job, whe e c ea i es cons an ly need o seek app o al om clien s and
accoun s. The ecogni ion becomes a quali y ma k and a ac o con ibu ing o
building he c ea i e iden i y o he alen .54 Indus y awa ds a e a g ea way o
gain pee app ecia ion and p o essional ne wo king as hey demons a e ha
he winne adhe es o ideals ha a e mo e impo an han hose o he ad e is-
ing indus y as a whole. In addi ion, unlike egula day- o-day employmen ,
c ea i e ewa ds a e pe manen , and he plaque o ophy signi ies “c ea i e
pe manence”.55
Making space o inno a ion
Alex Jenkins, edi o o Con agious Magazine, pu s i succinc ly when he
ecalls a cus ome elling him, “I didn’ wan o pay o my agencies o expe i-
men and de elop as o en as I needed hem o”.56 I is clea ha he e a e
challenges ha agencies ace when i comes o inno a ion. Many c ea i e
agencies s uggle o de elop an inno a ion pipeline and p o ide hei clien s
wi h no el solu ions on a egula and la ge scale. One o he bigges chal-
lenges poin ed o by p ac i ione s is clien s’ o e all disin e es in inding bold
and un ypical solu ions. The p oblem can be linked o he ac ha b and and
ma ke ing manage s a e also accoun ing o he esul s agains ela i ely sho
pe iods o limi ed ma ke ing budge s. Bo h esul in he lack o ime and
esou ces ha clien s a e willing o in es in inno a ion. The e is also a lo
o p essu e pu on he agencies o deli e esul s quickly, which means ha
Ad e ising X inno a ion 43
hey need o be able o show clien s de eloped p oposi ions oge he wi h he
alue o inno a ion quickly and e ec i ely. Finally, he e is he challenge o
gene al skep icism owa d inno a ion as deli e ed by agencies, as discussed
ea lie . As expe s ha e poin ed ou , he po en ial o esol ing issues in o de
o enable inno a ion is p esen e en in he ace o limi ed ini ial esou ces.
S uc u al and cul u al appoin men s ha a e independen o such a achmen
can, in hei iew, pa e he way o inno a ion o ake place.
Es ablishing senio leade ship o inno a ion
Some expe s, like Daniele Fiandaca, poin ou ha i is essen ial o agencies
o ha e a boa d-le el membe esponsible o inno a ion in o de o i o be
success ul.57 They poin o a lack o esponsibili y o inno a ion a he senio
le el as one o he main easons why o ganiza ions s uggle o be inno a-
i e since many see his wo k as he domain o mid-le el s a o “inno a ion
eams”. This means ha inno a ion can be easily o e looked o sidelined when
i comes o decision-making and budge ing. Wha is needed is a clea commi -
men om he senio eam ha inno a ion is a p io i y, and hey a e willing
o d i e he necessa y changes o gi e inno a ion isibili y and impo ance.
On he o he hand, some a gue ha inno a ion should no happen in isola ion
o silos, bu e e yone in he agency should ha e an oppo uni y o inno a e
wi hin hei espec i e domains. When a single pe son in an agency is solely
esponsible o inno a ion, hey a e o en disconnec ed om he e e yday
wo k o he company. In p ac ice, an appoin ed “inno a ion” pe son may only
be engaged wi h p ojec s he agency pe cei es as s a egic o plans o p esen
a an indus y con e ence and may ha e limi ed abili y o inspi e eams wo k-
ing on day- o-day p ojec s. As a esul , hey may be mo e he “ ace” o inno-
a ion han he ac ual d i ing o ce. Wha is in e es ing, p e ious s udies on
he ole o op managemen ound ha independen boa ds o di ec o s we e
associa ed wi h a highe a e o co po a e inno a ion.58 Fu he mo e, a s udy
by Hamb ick and Mason59 showed ha op managemen eams wi h a s ong
commi men o hei o iginal esou ces we e less likely o pu sue inno a i e
s a egies, which sugges s ha es ablishing senio leade ship o inno a ion
may no be su icien i hose indi iduals a e s ill wedded o he s a us quo.
Building a cul u e ha in i es c ea i i y and inno a ion
While esponsibili y o inno a ion migh eside wi h someone senio , o an
agency o emb ace inno a ion, i needs o pe mea e h oughou he agency,
which equi es a speci ic o ganiza ional cul u e. Many c ea i es conside
inno a ion o be a blend o explo a ion and expe imen a ion, a un and play-
ul ac i i y ha hey enjoy. The e o e, i is key o he agencies o c ea e an
en i onmen ha gi es in e nal and ex e nal mo i a ion, would uel “pas-
sion” and suppo “wan ing o” o e “ha ing o” a i udes.60 Thus, being
44 Ad e ising X inno a ion
in ol ed in de eloping no el ideas, inno a i e, and i s -o - hei -kind p o-
jec s can se e as a ool o ueling c ea i i y and mo i a ing alen o push
hemsel es mo e. “I ’s unny ha some o my a o i e p ojec s a e hose ha
ne e go g een ligh . I s ill lo e hem [laugh e ]. And I ha e hem in a olde
‘ oo cool o be done’”, explains a c ea i e di ec o o one o he London-
based ne wo k agencies. Ko s en explains ha he also sees a business alue
in his eam o wo k on inno a i e ideas e en (o especially) when hey a e
no di ec ly ela ed o cu en clien wo k:
I jus keep hem on a sepa a e ack. You couldn’ make a li ing on his.
Bu hey could inspi e he wo k ha you’ e doing o you clien s in he
u u e. So ha ’s why I keep doing ha and keep pushing mysel o pu
ene gy in o hose p ojec s [ ha a e done ou side he scope o wha was
eques ed by he clien s].
Simul aneously, he e is a need o os e an agile cul u e, as agencies ope -
a e in an e e -changing en i onmen in which lexibili y, eac i eness, and
adap abili y a e keys. In o de o encou age an en i onmen ha is conduci e
o inno a ion, p ac i ione s belie e ha i is impo an o gi e employees he
eedom o explo e new ideas and ools, and o in i e explo a i e app oaches.
By doing so, agencies can c ea e an en i onmen in which employees eel
com o able aking isks and ying new hings. This no ion also appea s in
academic esea ch ha suppo s he idea ha a lexible wo kplace cul u e is
necessa y o os e ing inno a ion. Fo example, a s udy by Malik and col-
leagues ound ha agile wo k p ac ices we e associa ed wi h highe le els
o c ea i i y and inno a ion.61 In addi ion, a s udy by Sanna Ke onen-Oksi
on digi alized, se ice-based wo king cul u es62 ecognizes inno a ion- ela ed
c ea i i y as a skill ha we all na u ally possess and should be de eloped wi h
he suppo o he wo kplace. The e o e, inno a ion should be seen as a ea-
u e ha builds on bo h pe sonal mas e y o he employee’s hough p ocesses
and beha io al pa e ns in ela ion o hei own capaci ies o c ea i i y and
inno a ion (such as building c ea i e con idence, men ioned by Ko s en)
and he o ganiza ions’ capaci y o os e employee g ow h in bo h indi idual and
eam-based c ea i e and inno a i e capaci ies. Hence, e en hough i migh
sound ob ious and easily implemen able, in o de o os e inno a ion, agen-
cies need o c ea e a wo kplace cul u e ha is open o change and p o ides
employees wi h he oppo uni y o explo e new ideas.
Finding ime ou side igh deadlines and ensu ing budge
o inno a ion
Wha becomes clea is ha he p ima y ba ie o inno a ion is ypically “ ime
and money”— ha is, he amoun o ime equi ed o gene a e new ideas and
he esou ces necessa y o b ing hem o ui ion. I becomes inc easingly
Ad e ising X inno a ion 45
impo an o agencies o ha e a dedica ed inno a ion budge ha is no
di ec ly ied o any clien accoun bu a he is se exclusi ely o esea ch
and de elopmen . As in o ma ion echnologies a e always e ol ing, conse-
quen ly, he e is always a need o new in o ma ion skillse s. Agencies need o
keep in es ing in hese a eas no only o main ain hei compe i i e ad an age,
op imize hei c ea i e ou pu , and s ay ahead o he cu e when i comes o
o e ing inno a i e solu ions o clien s bu also in o de o nu u e hei c ea-
i e alen . As he managing di ec o o a Helsinki-based agency explained:
Le ’s say I hi ed a CD [c ea i e di ec o ] 15 yea s ago. And he s ill is in he
agency. Think abou how wo ld has changed o e hose yea s. How can
I expec people o keep up wi h all ech and science and educa e junio s? I
I don’ in es , hey will s ay in he TV o Facebook e a o e e .
Many c ea i es poin ou ha he as -paced na u e o he indus y makes i
di icul o hem o ind ime o inno a ion o o keep a pipeline o “side-
p ojec s” as hey a e cons an ly p essu ed by inc easingly igh deadlines:
“[ he c ea i es] ha dly ge he headspace o wo k on excep ional ideas”63;
“ he e is opp essi e need o speed”64; and “we need ime: ime o p ocess
he p oblem, ime o hink abou solu ions, ime o e alua e ideas, and ime
o execu e hese c ea i e solu ions”.65 O he s poin ou ha he e is a need o
de eloping new ways o wo king, as he collabo a i e app oach o c ea i e
wo k, compa ed o he siloed wo k o c ea i e eams, has been ound o be
mo e e ec i e. Dawid Szczepaniak explained his app oach o managing c ea-
i e eams: “wha used o be 2–3 days is oday one hou , bu I see his 1-hou
ime o he igh people a he able [as] mo e e ec i e han 2–3 days o a c ea-
i e eam si ing and con empla ing”. This is likely due o he collabo a i e
na u e o he p ocess, which allows o di e en people wi h di e en skills
and pe spec i es o come oge he o c ea e some hing ha is g ea e han he
sum o i s pa s; hey a e able o build o o each o he . As will be discussed
u he in he ollowing chap e s, he collabo a i e wo k models known in
o he c ea i e indus ies, such as ilm, slowly become an a ea o in e es o
he ad e ising indus y as well, bu no only in he con ex o e iciency.
No es
1 Based on in o ma ion ecei ed om he agency and exis ing p ess eleases.
2 Ha ley, J., Po s, J., Cunningham, S., Flew, T., Keane, M., & Banks, J. (2013). Key
concep s in c ea i e indus ies. Sage.
3 Tang, M., & We ne , C. H. (2017). Handbook o he managemen o c ea i i y and
inno a ion: Theo y and p ac ice. Wo ld Scien i ic.
4 Amabile, T. (2018). C ea i i y in con ex : Upda e o he social psychology o c ea-
i i y. Rou ledge.
5 Thompson, V. A. (1965). Bu eauc acy and inno a ion. Adminis a i e Science
Qua e ly, 10(1). h ps://doi.o g/10.2307/2391646.
52 Ad e ising X en e ainmen
how o p oduce mo e engaging and en e aining con en . Fo example, TBWA
Helsinki o e ed Finnish audiences o he coun y’s bigges comme cial
b oadcas e MTV3 a si com i onically i led B ändä i ,17 which can be ans-
la ed as Buy This. This sc ip ed show old he s o y o a ic ional ad agency,
which was wo king wi h some o TBWA’s eal clien s o p oduce TV spo s.
The audience could ollow he ials and ibula ions o a ic ionalized c ea-
i e p ocess, seasoned, na u ally, and wi h nume ous gags. Howe e , he
“ ic ional” comme cials we e ac ually p oduced and ai ed di ec ly a e he
show. This no only managed o embed b anded messaging in o p ime- ime
p og amming bu also ac ually made audiences wan o see he comme cial
b eak— iewe s s ayed o he comme cials in o e 70% o cases.18 As Juha-
Ma i Raunio, agency lead and one o he minds behind B ändä i , explained
a e he campaign won G and P ix En e ainmen a he 2014 Eu obes
es i al:
Fo b ands, en e ainmen is an essen ially an un apped medium o ell-
ing meaning ul s o ies o a b oad audience. Ad e ising’s a en ion alues
[measu es o audience a en ion] a e declining yea a e yea , while he
need o high-quali y con en is soa ing. And when i ’s done igh , i is
esul ing in a win-win si ua ion o bo h cus ome s and b ands.19
In 2014, Lego came o he o e on o b anded en e ainmen , c ea ing he
“hyb id ilm”, The Lego Mo ie, a compu e -anima ed ad en u e-comedy
di ec ed and w i en by Phil Lo d and Ch is ophe Mille , combined wi h
ad e ising. Based on he Lego line o cons uc ion oys, he ilm ells he
s o y o an o dina y Lego mini igu e who inds himsel p ophesied o sa e
he wo ld om a y annical business magna e who plans o glue e e y hing
in he Lego wo ld in o one homogeneous piece. The Lego Mo ie’s success
comes in o e ing e e y piece o he cu en b anding puzzle, including su -
ace-le el sub e sion. No only does he ilm c ea i ely p aise i s own as ,
di e si ied, and endless uni e se bu i also celeb a es he alue o play and
c ea i i y while mocking he aux posi i i y o cu en co po a e schlock (as
in he o iginal song, “E e y hing is an as ic!” ha , inciden ally, was nomi-
na ed o an Osca ).20 A majo ma ke ing challenge o he Lego eam is o
make hei p oduc s exci ing o child en ( hei co e a ge g oup o he majo -
i y o blocks lines) hough i is adul s who con ol home budge s and make
pu chases. This is some hing ha he mo ie also add essed—while he Lego
Mo ie is h illing en e ainmen o kids, i is s ill appealing o adul s.21 All
hings conside ed, he mo ie became a a e example o b and wo k ha gained
he hones in e es o audiences, who no only exp essed he wish o wa ch his
101-minu e comme cial bu also bough egula -p iced cinema icke s o see
i , esul ing in $468,266,122 wo ldwide g oss icke sales.22 Mo eo e , he
b and expe ienced a sales jump o 14% in 2014 a e he elease o he mo ie23

Ad e ising X en e ainmen 53
and 25% in 2015,24 demons a ing ha b ands can deli e Hollywood-quali y
en e ainmen ha consume s a e willing o pay o . The app oach has pushed
he bounda ies o wha is possible in e ms o b anded con en and aken he
concep o b anded en e ainmen o a whole new le el.
Howe e , Lego was no he only one apping in o he idea o elling s o-
ies ou side he 30-second ad o ma . In he Real Beau y Ske ches campaign,
o example, Do e aimed o show women how beau i ul hey a e based on
he complimen s o o he s. P oduce s asked a numbe o women o desc ibe
hemsel es o a ske ch a is and hen had a s ange desc ibe hem as well.
The ideo sp ead o e he In e ne wi h o e 60 million iews on YouTube.25
In Red Bull’s S a os campaign, Felix Baumga ne , an Aus ian skydi e ,
jumped om “space” (o , a he , he s a osphe e’s al i ude o abou 39 kilo-
me e s o 24 miles). This ea se he wo ld eco d in skydi ing and made
him he i s man o b eak he sound ba ie ela i e o he su ace wi hou he
assis ance o a ehicle. His a emp was ollowed by 9.5 million people li e
on YouTube.26 O conside Chipo le, wi h i s s op-mo ion sho ilm Back o
he S a , which ollows he s o y o a a me as he g adually u ns his amily
a m in o an indus ial animal ac o y be o e ealizing his mis akes and choos-
ing a mo e sus ainable pa h. The ilm gained o e 300 million ea ned media
imp essions.27
Following he success ul deli e ies o hose and simila campaigns, i
was no long be o e coun less numbe s o b ands began expe imen ing wi h
building expe iences.28 Almos o e nigh , all b ands el he u ge o ell s o-
ies, c ea ing con en ha mimicked en e ainmen , in eg a ing p oduc s in o
sc ip ed and nonsc ip ed TV, and explo ing he opening wo ld o engagemen
and in e ac ion wi h o line and online communi ies.
Rising o be a s o y elle
We ha e all he da a in he wo ld o suppo ha con en consump ion is up on e e y
de ice, e e y demog aphic, e e y egion in he wo ld. E e y human who has access
o a de ice is wa ching mo e con en on i wi h each successi e yea . Bu a he same
ime, ad a oidance is also up on e e y de ice, e e y demog aphic, e e y egion. So,
i we’ e consuming mo e con en han e e , bu we’ e a oiding ad e ising a highe
a es han e e , hen he uppe unnel is b oken.29 Like, so, i you can’ c ea e mo e
o a hing ha ’s being a oided mo e, you ha e o c ea e mo e o wha ’s ac ually
being consumed. So, he ma ke dynamic alone is wha o ces all ma ke e s o ha e
o se iously conside c ea ing con en ha a ac s and engages an audience a he
han in e up s i . —Jae Goodman, Obse a o y
In 2015, a one o he ad e ising indus y’s awa d es i als, he e was
a panel discussion abou b anded con en . Du ing ques ions om he
54 Ad e ising X en e ainmen
audience, one pe son s ood up and asked why, i e e y b anded con en
campaign in ol es expe s in he ield, is he e so much bad con en com-
ing om b ands? I is a e y ai ques ion. Pa o he answe may be ha
b anded con en is a ela i ely young gen e and ha means i is ma ked by
a lo o ial and e o ; he e a e bound o be g owing pains. In ac , he i s
b anded con en p ojec o he mode n ad e ising e a da es only o 2001:
BMW’s sho mo ie se ies di ec ed by Guy Richie, The Hi e. The e is mo e
o i , equi ing in-dep h inqui y in o he indus y’s app oach o en e ain-
men con en deli e y.
B anded en e ainmen is “a communica ion e o ha employs a com-
pelling au hen ic na a i e o achie e b and esonance”.30 I should be com-
pelling enough ha consume s would be eady o pay o he con en wi h
hei ime o money. As such, i can be inclusi e o nume ous o ms and
o ma s: sho ideos, in eg a ion o p oduc messages in o o iginal p o-
g amming, magazines, adio b oadcas s, mo ies, music and gaming indus y
ie-ins, ad e ising- unded p og aming, and many mo e.31 Because i s inhe -
en na a i e p ope ies aim o es ablish a s ong emo ional connec ion wi h a
a ge audience and hus e oke consume engagemen , b anded en e ainmen
is conside ed one o he mo e compelling b and communica ion ools ha can
meaning ully con ibu e o b and na a i e.32
Along wi h he inc easing issues o eaching and g abbing he a en ion
o audiences, he e has been a co esponding inc ease in b anded con en and
en e ainmen -cen e ed campaigns. Coun less b ands ha e emb aced he s a -
egy, seeing i as a way o connec wi h consume s on a mo e pe sonal le el.
Howe e , as wi h any ea ly pe iod o b oad accep ance, a ious c i iques a ose.
The mos p e alen ones all a wo nonexclusi e poles— i s , b anded con en
and en e ainmen a e new angled concep s cooked up by digi al ma ke e s, who
apply hem wi hou ega d o b oade ma ke ing s a egies o b and goals; sec-
ond, b anded con en lacks ac ual alue o consume s and people will ejec
o e ly comme cial con en .33 Some, like Den suACHTUNG!’s ounde and
c ea i e di ec o , Me yn Ten Dam, would go as a as calling ou b ands o
ecklessness in ollowing he end. He poin s ou ha maybe no all p oduc s
should ac ually y o en e ain us, especially i hei ole in consume s’ li es is
s ic ly unc ional.
The p oblem o en seems o be oo ed in a gene al misconcep ion ha
b ands see s o ies as an inhe en ly success ul o m. “The ma ke dynamic
demands ha all b ands a his poin need o c ea e con en ha a ac s and
engages a he han jus in e up . They mus do i in a way ha ’s au hen ic o
hei b and and business[es] jus can’ jus ell some andom s o y and hope
o he bes ”, explains Jae Goodma, (ex-)CEO o Obse a o y Agency. This
ela es o he la ge p oblem ha businesses s a ou ha ing all he w ong
mo i a ions o begin wi h— hey do no wan o ha e a mo e engaging dia-
logue wi h consume s by o e ing hem he con en hey desi e, bu a he
Ad e ising X en e ainmen 55
hey a e d i en by he ea ha adi ional ad e ising is obsole e.34 As Sco
Don a on poin ed ou al eady in 2002:
Ma ke e s a e ho on he idea o p oduc placemen . . . . They’ e con inced
hemsel es ha gi ing i a new name (p oduc in eg a ion) quali ies i as a
c ea i e concep a he han a ecycled de ice om TV’s ea lies days. . . .
Some hing is missing om he equa ion in he new ma ke ing ma h: he
consume .35
The disconnec ion om audiences can be linked o he ac ha inc easingly
sa y consume s can easily sense he con en ’s inau hen ici y as jus ano he
p omo in di e en w appings. This, in u n, can be linked wi h he b ands’ gen-
e al app oach o con en de elopmen —a c ea i e p ocess—which, in mos
cases, does no di e much om adi ional ad e ising. As Goodman poin s ou :
P oduc s and b ands ac di e en ly in en e ainmen . While on he b and
side he e is a emp a ion o “o e b and”, which is d i en by a desi e o ge
maximum exposu e o he p oduc , he sub le y is key. Pushing he b and
o p oduc oo much can ake iewe s ou o he s o y, and i is no only
some hing ha Cannes judges a e o en quick o poin ou when a clien is
“showing” oo much, bu i ’s some hing ha anyone who wa ches can see.
A he same ime, i is impo an o no e ha b anded en e ainmen as a s a -
egy does no seem o be doomed o ailu e, as he e a e b ands (o a he agen-
cies and c ea i es) ha manage o o e come he c ea i e ensions ha come
wi h he ad e ising-en e ainmen con en con e gence. Howe e , hose who
mas e ed b and en e ainmen as a new kind o gen e end o app oach he
c ea i e p ocess in a as ly di e en way han adi ional ad e ising.
Lea ning om Hollywood
“I agencies wan o succeed a b anded en e ainmen , hey need o hink
mo e like he compe i ion. And, no I’m no alking abou o he agencies. I’m
alking abou Hollywood,” u ged Michael Wiese in 2010.
When we hink abou ad e ising o ma s as media gen es, a 30-second
TV ad is a e y di e en medium han o -en e ainmen gen es, such as
si coms o documen a ies. The e o e, i should no come as a su p ise ha
hey need di e en se s o skills. E en hough he sho s o ies o e ed wi hin
30 seconds can be compelling and en e aining in hei own igh , he o ma
does no o e much space o sub le y o slowly un olding na a i es. I s p i-
ma y pu pose is o deli e a p oduc o b and message, dis inguish he b and
om o he s, and sell. Ad w i e s, hus, need o mas e he skill o dis illing
he “essence” o a pi ch. Ad e ising p o essionals who manage o deli e
56 Ad e ising X en e ainmen
success ul b anded en e ainmen p ojec s (whe e success is de ined as a com-
bina ion o comme cial success and audience sa is ac ion) sha e he opinion
ha quali y b anded en e ainmen is ha d o deli e wi hin adi ional ad e -
ising models and p ocesses, and call o a di e en app oach. C a ing TV ads
is a unique and speci ic expe ise, and he e is a clea indica ion ha c ea i es
who usually deli e ads in he adi ional 30-second o ma canno necessa ily
concep ualize, w i e, and di ec longe en e ainmen o ms.
The 5B p ojec in oduced in he opening o his book is a ull-leng h docu-
men a y, di ec ed by Osca nominee Dan K auss and Osca winne Paul Haggis,
which ells he s o y o he i s dedica ed HIV wa d bu is also a p ime exam-
ple o b and-sponso ed con en ha ollowed a Hollywood p oduc ion p o ocol.
The mo ie p emie ed in he main selec ion o he Cannes Film Fes i al in 2019
and is one o he e y ew ilms holding a 100% a ing on he Ro en Toma oes
a ing pla o m. Ye , no ma e how good he p oduc ion was, o how upli ing
he he oic ac s o he nu ses we e, he bi e swee his o y cen e ing on ue s o-
ies o dea h, ea , and social os acism is no a na u al en i onmen o a b and
p esence. Indeed, no b and is isible o men ioned in he opening c edi s, no in
any o he 94-minu e un- ime. Tha he mo ie was cen al o a Johnson & John-
son campaign is unique in he ad e ising scene, in he sense ha i was b and-
ini ia ed and b and-sponso ed, bu he e is no di ec o implici link o he b and
p esen in he p oduc ion. Ye , he b and conside ed i e ec i e and majo ly
success ul. On he social cause le el, he ilm was linked o he b oade b and’s
mission—i was a s a egic mo e aimed a building a s onge emo ional con-
nec ion wi h s akeholde s om he medical sec o , which is key o he b and’s
business. As Sa ah Colama ino, hen Vice P esiden o Co po a e Equi y a
Johnson & Johnson, explained in Sa ille P oduc ions Pu pose Podcas :
We we e a a c i ical momen , whe e we we e ansi ioning he Johnson &
Johnson b and o wha mos s akeholde s knew, as a baby company, o
eally a heal h ca e company, and a heal h ca e company ha eally had
he po en ial o change he ajec o y o heal h. So ha s a egic i was
pe ec , bu i also i wi h wha he company had done o many yea s. I
was a company o many yea s ha has been dedica ed o he ec ui men ,
e en ion and de elopmen o nu ses.36
Colama ino poin s ou ha he s uggle o many ma ke e s in deli e ing
en e ainmen -based p ojec s is a deeply oo ed belie ha he b and needs o
be a he o, as hey a e used o hinking wi h adi ional ad e ising:
I ’s an oppo uni y, bu i ’s a challenge, whe e we’ e all used o making
su e ha ou b and name is ou he e. Fi s and o emos , you ha e o hink
eally di e en ly. When you do a piece o b and pu pose ilm, you’ e go
o hink abou gi ing ise o he issue. And hen su ounding ha ilm, once
i ’s done wi h he kinds o messaging ha a e bes o you b and.
Ad e ising X en e ainmen 57
In e es ingly, he p ac i ione s in ol ed in he de elopmen and p oduc ion o
such cases epea edly men ion ha wha hey do is no p oduc placemen o
b anded con en /en e ainmen , as i is commonly classi ied. They a he label
i b and pu pose ilm, b and sponso ed en e ainmen , o b and en e ain-
men , depending on who you ask, o highligh he dis inc ion. E en hough i
is a guably a simple seman ic dis inc ion, he e is a clea pu pose and mean-
ing behind his di e gence, which indica es a b oade pa adigm shi . P oduc-
ions such as 5B decons uc b anded con en o he poin o being as dis an
om adi ional ad e ising as possible. I is “no ad e ising” as Se azio37
labels gue illa ma ke ing, no (only) in he sense o applying me hods ha
all ou side he scope o adi ional ma ke ing s a egies bu by delibe a ely
a oiding con ex s in which i migh be easily iden i ied as a adi ional o m
o ma ke ing. The e o e, he nominal change om b anded en e ainmen o
b and en e ainmen , on he one hand, b ings o wa d he ac ha he con en
is in ended o p o ide en e ainmen , and i is coming om a b and. Ye , a
he same ime, i aims o s ee away om nega i e conno a ions ha openly
b anded o ms may b ing.
Howe e , he di e ences do no end a he seman ic le el. The key di e -
ence be ween ypical b and-cen e ed con en and b and en e ainmen lies in
he en i e app oach o he p ojec and i s de elopmen and p oduc ion p ocess,
which ollows he p incipals o Hollywood a he han adi ional ad e ising.
“In he ad wo ld”, Rupe Maconick, a ounde and execu i e p oduce a
Sa ille P oduc ions, explains: “[in adi ional ad e ising] you always wan
o sell an idea. Tha ’s wha e e yone does. We sell he model, and emb ace
he model, and hen ollow a ilm and TV p ocess ha ha e a de elopmen
phase”. He desc ibes he di e ence based on he 5B example: “we mined o
a unique s o y. . . . We [Sa ille P oduc ions] we e like he jou nalis and a
newspape ; he b and and he agency we e like he edi o s o a newspape ”.
He con inued:
You ind a g ea di ec o because you ound a g ea s o y. We wan some-
body who’s e y expe ienced wi h docs, we wan somebody [who has]
ne e done an ad i possible. We also ecommend he di ec o has some
le el o edi o ial con ol o inal cu . [When he ilm is done] we help
wi h dis ibu ion, we’ll b ing in a sales agen , we’ll help ge i in o ilm
es i als. And we’ll b ing in a documen a y es i al PR. . . . And people
wan o wa ch i .
The p ocess ha makes a di e ence
Maconick is no alone in seeing he need o ad e ise s o beha e mo e like
Hollywood p oduce s. Nume ous expe s ope a ing wi hin he blu ed lines o
ad e ising and en e ainmen sugges ha ma ke e s should ake cues om
na i e en e ainmen c ea o s because hey see alue in en e ainmen -wo ld

58 Ad e ising X en e ainmen
p ac ices and managemen o c ea i e p ocesses, which can help o ad e ise
bo h by making b ands’ messages mo e isible and appealing o audiences
and by helping he ad e ising indus y imp o e i s c ea i e cul u e. E en
hough his book does no aim o p o ide a “how o” guide, acing how b and
en e ainmen p ac i ione s pe cei e new p ac ices un eils how ad e ising
achie es his new sync e ism.
Need o en e ainmen s a egy
As p e iously discussed, since audiences ha e become less ole an o ad e -
ising and a oid wa ching comme cial con en wi h he use o ad-blocking
so wa e and ad- ee s eaming pla o ms, b ands ha e become mo e in e -
es ed in p oducing con en ha does no ely on in e up ion o in usion.
Howe e , expe s see he need o a undamen al change o hinking abou
how his can be achie ed:
As a b and you ha e a s a egy o in luence s and social media, ha you
didn’ ha e ha 15 yea s ago. You now need a s a egy o each people
on s eaming pla o ms in an e ec i e way. Le ’s c ea e hings ha peo-
ple wan o wa ch. And he s eame s will wan o buy hem because he
audience wa ches hem. E e y s eame has he same hing, hey ha e
ilm and TV.
De eloping a b and en e ainmen s a egy equi es ime, pa ience, and a di -
e en pe cep ion o how ma ke ing esul s can be achie ed since b and en e -
ainmen needs o be conside ed as con ibu ing mo e o he ma ke ing uppe
unnel han he ins an esul s o pe o mance ma ke ing. Hence, i an ad e ise
is used o “buying iews” o paying o “eyeballs” in b oadcas —and ge ing
compensa ed by TV s a ions when a spo does no pe o m as p omised38—o
paying o online engagemen and pe o mance, hen hey expec immedia e
and di ec a ibu ion.39 Ra he , hey need o conside b and en e ainmen as
a ool ha deli e s esul s and builds connec ions wi h consume s o e ime.
S o y coming be o e media planning and dealmaking
In he las 20 yea s, media planning and buying by media agencies g ew in
impo ance in he ad e ising landscape. Fo yea s he backwa e o he indus-
y, media agencies now use inancial le e age o in luence he media sys em
owa d new ways o analyzing audiences and de ining a success ul cam-
paign.40 Along wi h ha , hey also ake he ini ia i e in planning campaigns,
deciding wha ad o ma s o use, and whe e and how ads should be placed.
Pushing media domina ion o e con en -making, ad agencies he e o e o en-
imes ma ch c ea i e wo k wi h hei planning. By no delimi ing he o ma
i s ( o e.g., 30-, 60-, o 90-second TV ad o 2-minu e YouTube ideo), media
Ad e ising X en e ainmen 59
agencies allow o he s o y o come i s and hen ind he igh ools o mos
e ec i ely deli e he message o a ge audiences.
The same holds ue o allowing he s o y o ake he lead o e he choice
o alen —o en imes in luence s wi h millions o ollowe s. As expe s
sugges , hey may gua an ee access o a ge audiences, bu hey do no
always e lec he p ojec ’s cha ac e . “B ands end o s a ou hinking hey
can buy hei way in o alen , and ha will be enough o make hei con-
en g ea . Su e, mos s a s ha e hei p ice, bu i hey’ e no commi ed
o he p ojec beyond he paycheck, i will show in he wo k”41 as B endan
Shields-Shimizu om The Obse a o y Agency explains. The e o e, as
p ac i ione s s ess, i becomes impe a i e o a ach names ha ha e he
abili y o b ing he ac ual s o y o li e and connec wi h he audience o ell
an au hen ic s o y.
De elopmen p ocess o e “wow” e ec
A majo i y o adi ionally s uc u ed agencies coope a e wi h hei clien s
on wha we could call he “wow” e ec . The model o coope a ion is one
whe e clien s b ie he agency, which hen wo ks in disconnec ion om he
clien un il hey e u n wi h a inal se o ecommenda ions (as discussed in
Chap e 2). In his model, he clien is on he sideline and no much in ol ed
in he ini ial idea ion and de elopmen p ocess. Wha he expe s sugges ,
howe e , is he necessi y o building mu ual us be ween agencies and
clien s o en e ainmen -based p ojec s o succeed. The de elopmen p ocess
needs o e lec adi ional TV o ilm de elopmen , wi h ex ensi e esea ch
and mul iple people in ol ed in w i ing a s o y ha will no only engage audi-
ences bu also ma ch he clien ’s needs. This equi es collabo a ion, equen
mee ings, addi ional esou ces, and “ us ing he p ocess” as he p ac i ione s
epea edly exp essed. As Maconick explained ega ding he example o col-
labo a ion wi h Johnson & Johnson on he 5B mo ie:
In ou s o y, we said, we need wo mon hs o do a deep di e wi h a eam
o abou a dozen people, who we e documen a y esea che s, essen ially
jou nalis s, and we will hun o a unique s o y ha no one’s e e hea d
o . I will ap in o all o you ma ke ing goals and all you b and pu -
pose. I won’ eel like an ad. We mined o a unique s o y; i has o be
be e han wha ’s on Ne lix, o hey wen by o Amazon o i has o
be he op 1% o docs. We p esen ed hem ideas e e y week [so i could be
discussed and e ol e], which was all based a ound hei [J&J’s] ma ke -
ing objec i es and b and pu pose. And a e abou a mon h, we ound
he ue s o y.
The changing ole o clien s in ad e ising (as in mo e adi ional ad p oduc s)
co esponds wi h esea ch on coc ea i e p ocesses and inno a ion in c ea i e
60 Ad e ising X en e ainmen
and design-in ensi e sec o s. I becomes clea ha inc eased clien in ol e-
men is key o designing and implemen ing success ul inno a ions and links
di ec ly o g ea e oppo uni ies o de eloping new p oduc s and solu ions.42
Those who a e hea ily in ol ed in he p ojec de elopmen s ages a e mo e
likely o suppo he p ojec du ing i s inancing and p oduc ion phase as hey
may see hemsel es as co-c ea o s and co-owne s o he p ojec .43 Howe e ,
i is impo an o men ion ha bo h se ice p o ide s (in his case c ea i e
agencies) and clien s may wan o manage he coc ea ion, bu , in some cases,
less collabo a ion may ac ually boos he quali y o he inished esul .44
The e o e, o c ea i e agencies, he managemen o clien in ol emen can
become an impo an ool o imp o ing he chance o g eenligh ing c ea i e
and inno a i e p ojec s.
Collabo a ion and pa ne ship o e compe i ion
The adi ional agency c ea i e p ocess is e y compe i i e, wi h eams igh -
ing o come up wi h he winning idea and indi iduals o c ea i e eams o
wo—a di ec o and copyw i e —compe ing o c edi . In con as , conside
he c ea i e p ocess o a ilm s udio: mo iemaking usually akes hund eds o
people and many weigh in o shape he idea. Goodman explains he way hey
wo k in Obse a o y Agency (which used o be a subsidia y o C ea i e A -
is s Agency, hence o h CAA):
Ou eeling was always ha we would ake a mo e ‘w i e s oom’
app oach. . . . Le ’s say you had 10 c ea i es wo king on some hing— i e
eams. The c ea i e di ec o ’s job would be o hea ideas om all i e
eams, and hen pick one o wo. So, you’ e au oma ically jus wildly ine -
icien . . . . E e y hing was a compe i ion o ideas. And so, he hough ha
we had going in o CAA was le ’s ope a e mo e like en e ainmen . . . . So,
he pe son who had he idea migh no be he pe son who builds on he
idea, migh no be he pe son who w i es up he idea, migh no be he pe -
son who p esen s he idea, migh no be he pe son who goes and inds he
p oduce o he idea migh no be in i , which is by he end o he p ojec ,
you migh ha e 25 people who ouched i .
The w i e s’ oom ha Goodman poin s ou is a concep ha o igina ed in
Hollywood, whe e sc eenw i e s wo k oge he o de elop ilm o ele ision
sc ip s.45 I is a highly c ea i e and highly collabo a i e place, whe e w i e s
o en bounce ideas o each o he and make all he majo decisions abou he
show— om s o ylines o cha ac e de elopmen — o come up wi h he bes
possible sc ip s. As a s uc u e ha p omo es a c ea i e spi i and encou ages
collabo a ion wi hin eams, he w i e s’ oom is a model ha may be seen
as an al e na i e o he adi ional in-agency model. Some ad e ising agen-
cies a e looking o conside and adop his model, acco ding o Lionel Cu ,
Ad e ising X en e ainmen 61
co- ounde , and CEO o MNSTR, a F ench independen agency specializing
in s o y elling-cen e ed b and wo k:
I was in a ca e in Pa is, and I’ e seen some [people], hey we e w i ing a
s o y o an episode, and he e we e i e a ound he able. And hey we e
all ge ing he ideas, and somebody was expanding hem. I hink we should
be mo e and mo e looking in o en e ainmen di e en ly, and he way hey
wo k, and he way hey p ocess. I is my ambi ion o wo k like his. And
we will ha e common owne ship o ha , meaning ha we can dis ibu e,
hen gene a e e enue, bu also ac like an ad e ising.
While he adi ional model o he c ea i e eam is s ill dominan in he indus-
y, i is inc easingly being supplan ed by a mo e collabo a i e app oach. As
he landscape o ad e ising changes, so oo does he way c ea i i y wi hin he
indus y is achie ed, whe e, once c ea i i y was seen as a mo e isola ed dis-
cipline, in he sense ha i elies on an indi idual’s skills and alen . Today, i
is inc easingly seen as an essen ial componen o e ec i e eam managemen .
This shi has been d i en by he need o g ea e collabo a ion and pa ne ship
be ween di e en ( apidly g owing) disciplines and oles wi hin ad e ising, as
well as ecogni ion o he impo ance o collabo a ing wi h o he c ea i e sec-
o s. As a esul , c ea i i y is becoming in eg al o he p ocess o managemen .
This shi has po en ial implica ions o he way in which c ea i e agencies
ope a e, wi h a g ea e emphasis on c ea i i y as a coc ea i e alue.
Gi ing up con ol and owne ship
Goodman sha ed an anecdo e wi h me:
You know, like he e is his e y old joke ha e e y copyw i e has [a]
hal - inished sc ip , igh ? We we e wo king on a majo en e ainmen p o-
jec o a majo b and ha has one o he bes ad agencies in he wo ld. And
when we we e mee ing o alk abou he en e ainmen p ojec , he e y
well-known chie c ea i e o ice who had come up h ough he business
as a copyw i e s ood up. And she said, well, I wan o w i e he mo ie,
and he clien o his mega b and hen said: “Well, I unde s and ha , we
unde s and ha , bu we’ e going o ha e an Academy Awa d winning
sc eenw i e w i e he sc eenplay”.
The ad e ising indus y is one ha has long been based on he indi idual’s
c ea i e genius. The idea o he lone a is and wo-people pa ne ships, wo k-
ing in a enzy o inspi a ion o c ea e some hing meaning ul, is one ha
popula cul u e has pe pe ua ed o decades.46 E en hough collabo a i e
app oaches a e inc easingly common in c ea i e agencies, o some c ea i e,
he idea o gi ing away (pa ial) c ea i e con ol o e he execu ed p ojec
68 Ad e ising X o he c ea i e sec o s
A he same ime, as ads e ol e in o new o ms along wi h he changing
media landscape, simila o he en e ainmen -based hyb ids discussed in
a p e ious chap e , indus y p o essionals u ilize he echniques o a i-
ous c ea i e sec o s o decons uc ad e isemen s, conceal hei pe suasi e
na u e, and appeal o audiences. Take, o example, an ad e isemen o
he se ies Money Heis , a Spanish c ime d ama, which ook a o m o a
sculp u e. Loca ed in he high- a ic loca ion in he Old Town o C acow,
i shows he cha ac e is ic mus ache mask ha appea s in he se ies, esem-
bling he ace o Sal ado Dali. The mask s ood igh nex o (almos mock-
ing) he sculp u e E os Benda o by Igo Mi o aj, an a is enowned o
his agmen ed sculp u es o he human body, equen ly made o sizable
public ins alla ions. Ne lix’s sculp u e is accompanied by he insc ip ion
“The is eal a ”. Like gue illa ma ke ing ha mee s audiences in unex-
pec ed places (as demanded by Se azio)18 and “s eals” hei a en ion, his
ad e demons a es ha “ he medium is he message”.19 The wo k elies
on he elemen s o unexpec edness and sensa ionalism o d aw a en ion
and d i e cu iosi y,20 and plays wi h he audience’s abili y o ecognize
he symbolism o he mask, decode he message, and link i p ope ly wi h
a TV show—con ibu ing o he eeling o accomplishmen o hose who
manage o do so. Bu he b ands’ mo i a ions seem o exceed he need o
unexpec edness and sensa ionalism. Pa icia Au de heide, s a es:
I is easy o see why comme cials ha e imi a ed music ideos. . .
I is no me ely ha ad e ise s like he pleasu e-happy a i ude ha he
[music] ideos p omo e . . . I is also ha music ideo ne e deli e s a ha d
sell . . . Ins ead, i equa es he p oduc wi h an expe ience o be sha ed, pa
o a wond ous leisu e wo ld.21
Howe e , apping in o consume s’ desi e o leisu e and escapism o deli e
an o e all pleasu able expe ience is only one side o he coin. Engagemen
wi h a ious c ea i e indus ies allows b ands o ap in o cul u al ends, link
o social issues, and build a mo e au hen ic oice in communica ion wi h hei
a ge audiences. Hence, his chap e looks beyond how c ea i es bo ow ools
and aes he ics om he a s wo ld and ollows wo no ions ha become sig-
ni ican aspec s o exchange occu ing be ween ad e ising and o he c ea i e
sec o s. I ollows how ad e ising akes ad an age o he cul u al and social
po en ial o cul u al p oduc ion o apping in o cu en socie al p oblems and
connec ing wi h speci ic a ge s o build mo e au hen ic na a i es ( ha can
a ac bo h audiences and alen ). Simul aneously, e en hough i clea ly does
no exhaus he b ead h and dep h o he p ac ices o exchange, he discus-
sion builds on he selec ed examples o ad e ising in e ac ing wi h he a s o
explo e how a ious c ea i e egimes ine i ably clash wi h each o he , leading
o con lic s and ensions in coc ea i e p ocesses.

Ad e ising X o he c ea i e sec o s 69
Taking a s and
On June 9, 2018, a ew hou s be o e he s a o es i i ies o he Equal-
i y Pa ade in Wa saw, Poland, a wa e -ligh holog am was illumina ed in he
colo s o he ainbow lag. The symbol o equal igh s and lo e appea ed on
Zbawiciela Squa e, a hip, cen al Wa saw loca ion known o being a ga h-
e ing place o he capi al’s libe al and a sy c owd. The scene was a ec-
ea ion o an a ins alla ion by Juli a Wójcik: a ainbow o iginally made o
mul icolo ed lowe s, which i s appea ed in Wig y o suppo he walls o
he local Camaldolese monas e y. La e , i was p esen ed in B ussels, in he
squa e in on o he Eu opean Pa liamen , as pa o he “Fossils and Ga -
dens” a ins alla ion, on he occasion o he Polish p esidency in he Eu opean
Union. Finally, i landed in Wa saw in 2012 and e e since has unc ioned as
a symbol o LGBT p ide. As such, i became an objec o me ciless a acks
by oo ball hooligans and neo- ascis ci cles o whom he ainbow ead as a
“ aggo ainbow” and, in consequence, was bu ned down se en imes in h ee
yea s and ebuil wi h he in ol emen o he public. The e u n o he Rain-
bow in 2018 was ini ia ed by Ben & Je y’s, he ice c eam b and, in collabo a-
ion wi h he Lo e Does No Exclude Associa ion and Volun ee s o Equali y
Founda ion, so ha i could no longe be des oyed. I was in ended o aise
awa eness o he iola ion o LGBT igh s in Poland.
In e es ingly, he o iginal a piece was no mean o be symbolic o LGBT
equali y bu was in ended o be poli ics- ee. As he a is he sel explained:
Rainbow appea ed a he ime o o ganizing many e en s: on June 2, 2012,
he Equali y Pa ade ook place, in a momen we will ha e Co pus Ch is i,
and hen he opening o Eu o 2012. I i s in some way wi h all hese
e en s, which makes i emphasize my main assump ion: ha “Rainbow”
should no be socially o poli ically engaged, ha i would be comple ely
ee om any imposed meanings. Simply pu — o be beau i ul.22
E en hough cause engagemen was no he o iginal pu pose o he a ins al-
la ion, i g ew o be a symbol o he igh o equali y in he eyes o socie y o ,
as Wójcik he sel once called he Rainbow, a li mus es , pe ec ly measu ing
social mood in Poland,23 and he b and a ached i sel o his acqui ed symbol-
ism. The a is ga e pe mission o comme cial ac i a ion, making he a wo k
an indi ec ly b anded ad e ising medium o i s sponso .
In he wa e o hip consume ism, which has eme ged in opposi ion o a-
di ional “mindless” consume ism (consump ion o consump ion’s sake),24
equali y mo emen s a e inc easingly ep esen ed h ough b ands ac ing as
sa io s in he name o equali y.25 “Woke” ma ke ing by Ben & Je y’s is no
an isola ed case bu a he a majo end in ad e ising wi h b ands apping
in o all kinds o social issues. Wi h as many as 70% o cus ome s26 eeling
70 Ad e ising X o he c ea i e sec o s
ha b ands should ake a public s ance on social and poli ical issues and 66%
who us ha b ands can e ec meaning ul change,27 businesses a e ecogniz-
ing he necessi y o adjus hei ma ke ing ac ics in a hype poli ically awa e
b and en i onmen . The no ion is clea ly appa en in he 2022 Cannes Fes-
i al winne s, wi h 28 o 32 o he G and P ix winning campaigns ocusing
on accessibili y, gende equi y, public heal h, clima e change, and poli ical
ac i ism.28 Tapping in o cu en social issues is a ma ke ing s a egy d i en by
bo h oppo unism and necessi y, as VMLY&R’s Dawid Szczepaniak explains:
I is now e iden ha his is he easies way o c ea e a campaign ha
s ands ou , pa adoxically. The wo ld is in he si ua ion i is, and his is
he answe o wha is happening. This is ully jus i ied; i is impossible o
p e end ha e e y hing a ound us is ine, and b ands ha e o eac o i .
One ou s anding p ac ice is commodi y ac i ism, a consolida ion o poli i-
cal and social objec i es wi h consume beha io whe e ac i ism is achie ed
h ough b anded capi alis ames. This means ha indi iduals u ilize b and
consump ion o exp ess hei iden i y poli ics.29 As poli ics becomes mo e pe -
sonal, c owd cul u es collide, and “hip consume ism” eme ges.30 Hence, b ands
can ake a poli ical s and beyond jus “pos u ing” o “ i ue signaling”, by
a emp ing o g ow e enue and ap in o new ma ke s by pande ing o he social
conscience o consume s.31 A he same ime, b ands keep ecei ing c i icism
o using social jus ice and eco he o ic o comme cial gain. When done poo ly,
such messaging appea s insince e and me i s accusa ions o “woke-washing”
and “ okenism”.32 This can be seen as symp oma ic o he ad e ising indus y:
I wo y abou a g owing end o companies and agencies—e en hose no
di ec ly esponsible o global clima e change—chasing he shiny ad e -
ising objec o “pu pose” wi hou commi ing o conc e e ac ion. This is
dange ous o consume s and o he global good. I ha ’s no a gumen
enough, i also posi ions ad e ising p o essionals and agencies as un us -
wo hy messenge s. We canno allow ou sel es o become he indus y
ha c ied “pu pose,”33
wa ns Amelia Penniman, a s a egic communica ions di ec o a Bully Pulpi
In e ac i e. Some, like Szczepaniak, aise he poin o he po en ial a igue o
engaged ma ke ing:
This is whe e he u ning poin will inally come. I is ine i able ha i
mus soone o la e igge some kind o eac ion ha b ands and people
will be so i ed o he whole mass o campaigns ha help in a shallow,
insince e way. Soone o la e , i will make he ecipien s i ed, and we will
e u n o campaigns ha a e cle e , humo ous, and pe haps wi hou his
aspec o sa ing he wo ld.
Ad e ising X o he c ea i e sec o s 71
E en hough Ben & Je y’s has a long his o y o suppo ing causes ha a e
impo an o i s employees and leade s h ough i s philosophy o “ac i ism-
in used capi alism”,34 such aspi a ional au hen ici y and “ ealness ini ia i es”
o en appea as suga -coa ed a emp s o include he audiences in a consume -
is cul u al ma ix.35 B ands like he ice c eam p oduce , he e o e, a emp o
pa ne wi h o he c ea i e sec o s ha can help hem come ac oss as since e
in hei a emp o build au hen ici y. “B ands do his, because i ’s he easies .
I akes yea s o build au hen ici y in social causes engagemen . I akes ons
o consis ency and e o s. And b ands use he ac ha an a is is a eal oice
on he opic; and such collabo a ion gi es [ he] b and a pla o m o alk, mo e
impo an ly gi es hem [ he] RIGHT o alk”, says an execu i e c ea i e di ec-
o , who asked o anonymi y.
Embedding in cul u e
Collabo a ions be ween a is s and b ands can ele a e he la e o iconic s a us
and help hem o become he embodimen o signi ican symbolic ep esen a-
ions o indi iduals. P e ious s udies ha e shown ha he mo e symbolic a
b and is, he be e i is pe cei ed. This is because symbolic b ands a e seen
as embodying signi ican cul u al ep esen a ions ha esona e wi h consum-
e s.36 S ee a , unde s ood as an u ban o m o exp ession ha includes ag-
ging, g a i i, mu als, s enciling, whea pas ing, s icke s, eehand d awing,
and a a ie y o o he s ee ins alla ions,37 is one such a is ic p ac ice ha
has a long associa ion wi h you h cul u e and he exp ession o a communi y’s
social and economic ideals.38 O iginally occu ing in public a eas wi hou he
pe mission o p ope y owne s (al hough he e is an inc easing numbe o
commissioned wo ks), s ee a is unde s ood as an illici ac i i y and is, by
de ini ion, a sub e si e a .39 Ye , i is also pa icula ly connec ed wi h he
ehabili a ion o communi ies and ci ies, which is equen ly accomplished
h ough communi y a s collabo a ions40 and has been p o en o help epai
a ci y’s epu a ion a e a pe iod o iolence.41 The app oach o seeing he
s ee a as a ool o communi y building and cohesion in imes o c isis42
was also isible du ing he Co id-19 pandemic. Responding o he a e ma h
o he se ies o lockdowns, which led many people o eel o e whelmed wi h
nega i i y, anxie y, and eelings o isola ion, some saw s ee a as a ool ha
could play an impo an ole in os e ing a sense o communi y and connec-
ion by allowing people o app ecia e (b anded) a in public places.43 As John
Flahe y, managing di ec o o Mu al Republic, and James Bya d, head o
Ac i e Kine ic Wo ldwide, s a e: “The explosion and dominance o Co ona-
i us news alongside an inc eased ocus on he nega i e elemen s and con en
on social media pla o ms ha e inc eased he ela i e alue o mo e posi i e
media en i onmen s like mu als”.44
E en hough many s ee a is s eel hei wo k should no be a “ adeable
commodi y”, as i is an a is ic p ac ice wi h subcul u al con en ha h i es
72 Ad e ising X o he c ea i e sec o s
and sp eads wi hin a neolibe al en i onmen , o cha ac e ize s ee a as
exclusi ely an imains eam o an ima ke ing would be a mis ake, as Damien
D oney poin s ou .45 While claiming o ejec he e ec s o consume is cul-
u e, nume ous s ee a is s (i onically) coope a e wi h co po a e ma ke ing.46
Many businesses a emp o use s ee a as a selling s a egy,47 seeing i as a
ool ha can help b ands communica e wi h younge cus ome s and de elop
an “au hen ic oice”. Howe e , he app oach suppo s b ands no only ia pa -
icipa ion and acknowledgmen bu also by enhancing he b and expe ience
h ough communi y bonding, es ablishing an imp ession o au hen ici y, “cool-
ness”, and socially p opaga ing he b and. As Flahe y and Bya d con inue:
Mu als o e b ands an oppo uni y o embed hemsel es in o he ab ic
o a communi y and engage hei audiences in a highly c ea i e way, on a
g and scale, and wi h a deg ee o pe manence. This handc a ed media has
shown ha ad e ising can anscend i s own message and connec wi h
people on a mo e human le el.48
By adop ing he aes he ics o au ho i y and using “sel - e e en ial, i onic,
me a-ma ke ing”,49 c ea i e agencies ge an oppo uni y o each a mo e
sophis ica ed c owd ha is skep ical o adi ional ma ke ing echniques and
suspicious o con i ed a emp s a ma ke ing.
By applying he s a egy o embed i sel in he social en i onmen s o con-
sume s, global b ands ha e been big ( inancial) suppo e s o s ee a mo e-
men s, ei he di ec ly wi h a is s o h ough sponso ship.50 By doing so, hey
ele a e he s a us o some a is s o success ul en ep eneu s.51 Howe e , as
s ee a is s app op ia ing ad e ising and ma ke e s employing sub e si e
ac ics con e ge, ension a ises be ween he sub e sion o adi ional aes he ic
alues and he ein o cemen o capi alis ideologies. Ad e ising pe pe ua es
he s a us quo by appea ing o be a e lec ion o social eali y.52 Thus, while
s ee a may ini ially appea o sub e he hegemony o mains eam cul u e,
i can also inad e en ly ein o ce dominan ideologies by se ing as a ma -
ke ing ool.53 The e is a g owing end o ma ke e s and a is s alike who a e
playing wi h he ca ego ies ha adi ionally de ine hei a is ic p ac ice and,
hus, ind mu ual in e es in c ea ing i onic o e laps be ween he wo seem-
ingly an agonis ic oca ions o a s and (decons uc ed) ad e ising.
Sea ching o “cool”
Fo he ad e ising indus y and c ea i e agencies, speci ically, engagemen
wi h o he c ea i e sec o s is much sough a e and has mo e a - eaching
implica ions as he indus y s uggles o a ac young alen .
We a e no cool anymo e. We do no c ea e hings ha a e cul u ally impo -
an [ o young people], such as en e ainmen , gaming, e-spo , NGOs,
Ad e ising X o he c ea i e sec o s 73
s a -ups. These a e he indus ies we compe e wi h [ o employees]. I
used o be an e hos—i someone wan ed o be cool, hey wen o wo k in
he ad e ising indus y. [Now] The e hos o success o young, alen ed
people is elsewhe e . . . So, we mus y o gi e young people he oppo u-
ni y o wo k on opics ha in e es hem and a e close o hem.
As Szczepaniak explains, c oss-sec o al collabo a ions can help ad e ising
eposi ion i sel in he eyes o he you h. Soli ai e Townsend, a co- ounde a he
pu pose- ocused agency Fu e a, echoes linking o pu pose-o ien ed ma ke ing:
“All he young people ha come o wo k o me wan o wo k in a way ha ’s
in line wi h hei alues”, she explains. “They don’ wan o use all hei alen ,
all hei ideas, all hei c ea i i y, all hei idea ion, on b ie s ha hey don’
hink a e making he wo ld a be e place”.54 This si ua ion inds i s e lec ion
in he app oach aken by some c ea i e agencies’ leade s o ea ning new clien s
o execu ing p ojec s, acco ding o a Milan-based agency managing di ec o :
This is a eason why we wan o win some clien s so badly some imes.
The e a e hose b ands ha a e no always e y p o i able o us, bu we all
a e jus e y exci ed o wo k o . The e a e b ands ha mean o us hings
like o ganizing conce s, gaming e en s, celeb mee -ups, hings we would
wan ake pa in.
The ocus on in e sec o al engagemen can be unde s ood as a esponse
o he indus y’s s uggle o a ac young alen and a ool o d i ing
in-agency engagemen since coope a i es whose membe s a e d awn om
di e en indus ies o e he po en ial o be mo e socially ad an ageous han
hose occu ing wi hin he same sec o .55 In ol emen in di e se indus ies
addi ionally allows o esh pe spec i es and inno a i e app oaches o sol e
clien s’ p oblems, as in he case o he Nex Remb and , which u ilized coop-
e a ion be ween a ious indus ies o enhance he c ea i e and echnical abili-
ies possessed by he agency. P e ious academic esea ch suppo s he idea
ha in e sec o collabo a ion can lead o enhanced c ea i i y and inno a ion
wi hin o ganiza ions. Fo example, a s udy by Gee S eu s56 ound ha in e -
indus y R&D spillo e s signi ican ly a ec a company’s incen i es o engage
in inno a ion p ojec s, bo h di ec ly and indi ec ly. Those wi h high le els o
in e indus y collabo a ion exhibi ed highe le els o inno a ion. The e o e,
emb acing c oss-sec o engagemen is no simply a means o a ac ing young
alen bu also a key s a egic decision wi h he po en ial o d i e g ow h,
c ea i i y, and inno a ion in c ea i e agencies.
As we alk abou “coolness”, some may conside i o be an exagge a ed
na a i e, in he con ex o he ad e ising indus y. One he one hand, i
ela es o he eedom, in o mali y, and glamou ha a e o en associa ed wi h
wo k in ad e ising agencies.57 On he o he hand, howe e , combined wi h
he macho-wo kaholic en i onmen s o many agencies, “coolness” leads o

74 Ad e ising X o he c ea i e sec o s
he “social spli ing” o c ea i e wo ke s, who a e challenged o juggle he
ac ual wo k condi ions wi h he b oade social implica ions o being cool.58
A ypical challenge o c ea i e wo ke s is ha hey a e o en caugh in he
middle—wan ing o main ain he cool pe sona ha dis inguishes ad e ising
om o he whi e-colla wo ke s59—bu also needing o deal wi h challenging
wo k condi ions. This can be a di icul balance o main ain, and i can be
especially challenging o hose who a e new o he indus y. Hence, he issue
ha ad e ising may no be “cool enough” o young alen can be linked o
he g ea esigna ion and he ejec ion o wo king en i onmen s ha hey pe -
cei e as exploi a i e in a o o a “highe pu pose”, as discussed in Chap e 1.
“Cool” ca ies wi h i a sense o de achmen , an abili y o emain una ec ed
by he mundane de ails o e e yday li e,60 bu i can also be a use ul concep
o unde s and oday’s ad e ising p ac ices. As Douglas Hol poin s ou , in a
pos mode n b anding pa adigm, o b ands o be pe cei ed as au hen ic, hey
need o ac disin e es ed. They need o appea o ha e o igina ed wi h pa -
ies wi hou a inancial mo i e, who a e d i en only by hei in insic wo h.
B ands, he e o e, a e mo e aluable i hey appea as cul u al esou ces a he
han cul u al bluep in s,61 using s a egies o hide pe suasi e communica ion
in he o m o cul u al p oduc s.
Dealing wi h collabo a ion complexi y
“I don’ eally do any hing ha ’s no wi hin my isual s yle. I would no [ag ee
o] wo k on some hing i he a wo k was going o look like I didn’ p oduce
i . Because people who maybe know my wo k, would know ha ha mu al
was by me, hey’d know ce ain elemen s ha I always do, my isual s yle.
I hey [agency and clien ] came o a poin whe e I couldn’ ell ha I did i ,
hen ha ’s whe e I’d be no in e es ed in aking he p ojec ,” Ma cus Me hod,
a UK-based isual a is known o his colo ul signa u e s yle, explains his
app oach o commissioned p ojec s.
The collabo a ion be ween ad e ising and o he c ea i e sec o s is com-
plex and di e s om adi ional c ea i e p ocesses o he ad wo ld. This
esul s om he gene al impe a i e o such pa ne ships ha a is s a e no
willing o allow hemsel es o be imposed upon, which is unlike ad e ising’s
cul u e o s icking o c ea i e b ie s and ollowing b and s a egies. A is s do
ake p ide in p oducing wo k ha bea s hei unique s amp, and as a esul ,
some esis inco po a ing o he s’ ideas in o hei p ojec s. A common conce n
o a is s is ha “ he inpu migh con amina e o dilu e he special quali y
ha ma ks he wo k as hei own”.62 As a Ge man musician wi h expe ience
composing o o e a dozen majo global b ands elabo a es (no wi hou some
i i a ion):
I hey [a b and o an agency] come o me, I assume hey know my music.
And hey came o me because o i . So, hey wan my in e p e a ion o he
Ad e ising X o he c ea i e sec o s 75
opic hey b ing. So, I eally don’ unde s and all he alking and eques s
o he inished p ojec . They wan MY wo k, so hey ge MY wo k . . . Now
I only wo k wi h b ands ha can ge ha .
On he o he end, many c ea i e agency ep esen a i es decla e ha hey ec-
ognize ha hi ing a is s means gi ing up con ol o some ex en and ha , in
he wo ld o he a s, e y li le can be achie ed wi h a “manage knows bes ”
men ali y.63 Howe e , hey also poin ou ha an “I will no change any hing”
a i ude, which hey ecognize in some a is s, does no make hem seem open-
minded o eady o coc ea i e wo k. As an execu i e c ea i e di ec o o a
Scandina ian independen agency explains:
[We collabo a e wi h a is s] Because hey ha e his unique s yle. O
because hey can alk he audience “language”. Which we no always can.
I would be poin less o hi e an a is like DJ, illus a o , indie designe
and ell hem wha o do. Tha we can do i in-house. Ou ole is choosing
igh people o igh p ojec s. I we choose igh , we should jus le hem
do hei job, e en ually cou se-co ec , i needed. . . . They need o know
ha we a e in his oge he . . . . We a e he ones who de end he hing in
on o he clien . We ake he esponsibili y o wha hey do. We need o
ha e A say.
E en hough many agency leade s a i m openness, hey can mis akenly
in e p e an a is ’s a i udes and ac ions as haugh iness a he han as exp es-
sions o c ea i e iden i y64 o di e ences in a i udes owa d c ea i e wo k
and manage ial s yles. Such di e ences a e deeply oo ed in esis ance
owa d capi alis ic alues and ind exp ession in he opics o social jus ice,
mo al leade ship, employee empowe men , and alues ha go beyond p o i ,
which a e equen ly “o he ada ” in an ad e ising agency se ing65 and
in “c i iques o op-down, quasi-scien i ic managemen p ac ice”.66 Hence,
i becomes appa en ha c oss-sec o al collabo a ions un eil he ension
be ween a is ic exp ession and comme cialism. A is s may see a undamen-
al an agonism be ween hei own goals and hose o hei employe s, causing
hem o esis in luence om colleagues ha hey pe cei e o be mo e p o i -
minded. This can lead o conside able ension wi hin he wo kplace, as each
side ies o asse i s own p io i ies and equi es much unde s anding o be
de eloped on bo h ends.
Such collabo a ions can be also challenging o he c ea i es on he
agency side, who do no ecei e owne ship o he c ea i e wo k (as dis-
cussed in p e ious chap e s), and likewise o he agency manage s, who
mus e hink each eam membe ’s ole in he c ea i e p ocess and how i
a ec s he dynamics o eamwo k and c ea i i y. Tha said, expe s exp ess
ha in ol ing a is s in an ad e ising p ojec should no mean ha he
agency is comple ely hands-o , bu a he ha hey wo k closely wi h he
76 Ad e ising X o he c ea i e sec o s
a is s, o e ing eedback and sugges ions whe e app op ia e. As elabo a ed
by Lionel Cu
Some imes he posi ioning in e ms o agency is a bi s ange, because you
wo k wi h a is s, and i ’s always ha you did he wo k. . . . We manage he
a is s, we ind he good a is s ha was ma ching wi h you [clien ’s] p ob-
lem [Bu ] wo king wi h an a is doesn’ mean ha you le him do exac ly
wha he wan s. You also ha e o ind he igh balance o say ‘okay, wha
we a e doing he e is his, and you’ e doing his, maybe we can go he e. So
i ’s a p ope job [ o manage a p ocess].
Howe e , i is also possible o his ension o esul in a mo e c ea i e and
p oduc i e wo king en i onmen , and he ecen end owa d mo e coc ea-
ion among agencies and a is s has no gone unno iced. As E ic Haze, a s ee
a pionee , ecognizes in poin ing ou some o he bene i s o he b and—a s
ela ionship:
I hink he end o he ma ke o collabo a ions, when i s a ed in he
la e 90s, wasn’ as collabo a i e as i is now. Wha s a ed as so o jus
holding hands has g own in o a eally, uly collabo a i e spi i . Whe e
I’m no jus unc ioning as a designe , bu he b ands so o s and oge he
in a new li e because o he collabo a ion. You know, he essence o i is
ha we each b ing some hing unique o he able. So, when he collabo a-
ion is igh , each pa ne is ecei ing some new ene gy and iden i y om
he o he .67
As di e en pe spec i es come in o dialogue wi h one ano he , ul ima ely, i is
up o indi idual a is s o decide how much hey a e willing o comp omise in
o de o achie e success (unde s ood as b inging a p ojec o comple ion) and
up o agencies o decide how much c ea i e con ol hey a e eady o gi e up.
“I ac ually like when hey [a is s] challenge ou ideas. You know, we wo k
wi h each o he a lo , we know wha kind o ideas can expec . We kind o
li e in ou bubble. And hen someone comes and says, ‘you ge i all w ong!’
And i can be e eshing”, e lec s he London-based c ea i e di ec o o a
ne wo k agency. The e o e, e en hough he powe dynamics o a s–ad e -
ising collabo a ions can limi an a is ’s abili y o exe cise agency and make
au onomous decisions abou hei wo k (which may comp omise hei a is-
ic in eg i y and ul ima ely hinde he p ojec ’s success), i seems possible
o execu e balance. Ul ima ely, i is c ucial o a is s o ac i ely asse hei
agency in decision-making p ocesses and s i e o p ojec s ha align wi h
hei pe sonal alues and c ea i e ision.
Ob ious hough i may seem, e ec i e a is -agency coope a ion equi es
bo h sides o de elop mo e unde s anding o each o he ’s pe spec i es and
he na u e o collabo a ion. Fo agency ep esen a i es, i is key o unde s and
Ad e ising X o he c ea i e sec o s 77
ha collabo a ing a is s migh occasionally ejec hei ideas, and hey should
no impose hei own ision on a is s. On he con a y, hey should o e sug-
ges ions ha build on he a is ’s own ideas and p o ide ad ice ha does no
eel like a b each o he pe son’s signa u e exp ession, holis ic con ol, and
noncomme cial e hics.68
No es
1 Va nedoe, K. (1991). Ad e ising. In A. Gopnik & K. Va nedoe (Eds.), High and
low: Mode n a and popula cul u e (pp. 231–368). Museum o Mode n A .
2 Ibid; Walke , J. (2020). A in he age o mass media. Rou ledge.
3 Messa is, P. (2006). Visual pe suasion: The ole o images in ad e ising. Sage.
4 Walke , J. (2020). A in he age o mass media. Rou ledge.
5 Va nedoe, K. (1991). Ad e ising. In A. Gopnik & K. Va nedoe (Eds.), High and
low: Mode n a and popula cul u e (pp. 231–368). Museum o Mode n A .
6 K ei le , H., & K ei le , S. (1978). Psychology o he a s. Duke Uni e si y P ess.
7 Young, C. E. (2000). C ea i e di e ences be ween copyw i e s and a di ec-
o s. Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 40(3), 19–26. h ps://doi.o g/10.2501/
ja -40-3-19-26.
8 He s oni, A., & Tukachinsky, R. H. (2005). The use o ine a in ad e ising: A su -
ey o c ea i es and con en analysis o ad e isemen s. Jou nal o Cu en Issues &
Resea ch in Ad e ising, 27(1), 93–107. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/10641734.2005.10
505176.
9 O a , G. (1976). Hagda a ha-Omanu [Heb ew: The de ini ion o a ]. Ba i P ess.
10 The Guggenheim Museums and Founda ion. (2001). Gio gio A mani. The Guggen-
heim Museums and Founda ion. Re ie ed Oc obe 2, 2022, om www.guggenheim.
o g/exhibi ion/gio gio-a mani
11 Vic o ia and Albe Museum. (2009). Vi ienne Wes wood. Vic o ia and Albe Museum.
Re ie ed Oc obe 2, 2022, om www. am.ac.uk/collec ions/ i ienne-wes wood.
12 S eele, V. (2008). Museum quali y: The ise o he ashion exhibi ion. Fashion The-
o y, 12(1), 7–30. h ps://doi.o g/10.2752/175174108x268127.
13 Boga , M. H. (1999). A is s, ad e ising, and he bo de s o a . Uni e si y o
Chicago P ess.
14 Au de heide, P. (1986). Music ideos: The look o he sound. Jou nal o Communi-
ca ion, 36(1), 57–78. h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1986. b03039.x.
15 Díaz Soloaga, P., & Ga cía Gue e o, L. (2016). Fashion ilms as a new commu-
nica ion o ma o build ashion b ands. Communica ion & Socie y, 29(2), 45–61.
h ps://doi.o g/10.15581/003.29.2.45-61.
16 Del Pino Rome o, C., & Cas elló Ma ínez, A. (2015). La Comunicación Publici-
a ia Se Pone de Moda: B anded con en y ashion ilms. Re is a Medi e ánea De
Comunicación, 6(1), 105. h ps://doi.o g/10.14198/medcom2015.6.1.07.
17 A wal, G., & Williams, A. (2017). Luxu y b and ma ke ing— he expe ience
is e e y hing! Ad ances in Luxu y B and Managemen , 43–57. h ps://doi.
o g/10.1007/978-3-319-51127-6_3.
18 Se azio, M. (2013). You ad he e: The cool sell o gue illa ma ke ing. New Yo k
Uni e si y P ess.
19 McLuhan, M. (1969). Unde s anding media: The ex ensions o man. Sphe e Books
Limi ed.
20 Hu e , K., & Ho mann, S. (2011). Gue illa ma ke ing: The na u e o he con-
cep and p oposi ions o u he esea ch. Asian Jou nal o Ma ke ing, 5(2), 39–54.
h ps://doi.o g/10.3923/ajm.2011.39.54.
84 Ad e ising
This iew ma ks a pa adigm shi om a ocus on b anded o ms (which
includes adi ional ad e ising and some b anded en e ainmen ) o deli e -
ing con en coming om b ands, whe e b and p esence wi hin he cul u al
p oduc s is indi ec , implied, o (somewha ) o ganic and, he e o e, no only
has a comme cial b and-building objec i e bu also a is ic ambi ion.
Th ough an engagemen wi h o he c ea i e sec o s, ad e ising in ends
o “hide” i s comme cial cha ac e behind he acade o cul u al p oduc s and
embed i in he cul u e. Wha eme ges h ough bo owing he ools, aes he -
ics, and c ea i e p ac ices o o he c ea i e indus ies, bu mos impo an ly
h ough he blending o unc ions, is a “con e gen ” o m o ad e ising wi h
luid bo de s and iden i y. By blu ing he bounda ies be ween “high” and
“low” cul u al o ms, he hype hyb id20 o m elimina es a isible laye o
pe suasi e meaning and makes audiences iden i y ad e ising p oduc s as a
wo k o a due o he changed isual poe ics.21 Cannes-winning 5B, he J&J-
sponso ed mo ie, is one such case, which had been applauded by he indus y,
audiences, and ilm c i ics alike.
A egime o a is y in ad e ising, he e o e, can be de ined as he ele a-
ion o aes he ics, c ea i i y, and cul u al p oduc ion wi hin he indus y. This
e hos goes beyond ypical no ions o echnical p o iciency and ins ead alues
a mo e holis ic app oach o ad e ising ha inco po a es a is ic exp ession.
The con e gence o ad e ising wi h o he c ea i e indus ies u he ein-
o ces his blu ing o bounda ies, ul ima ely in i ing a econside a ion o he
ole o ad e ising wi hin cul u al p oduc ion.
In his sense, a he han simply se ing as a cul u al in e media y, ad e -
ising is an ac i e playe in shaping and con ibu ing o a is ic exp ession,
pa icula ly in ela ion o he inc easing p e alence o wha Bou dieu e ms
he “new pe i e bou geoisie”.22 Howe e , “s uggles o e he legi ima e de i-
ni ion o cul u e and he legi ima e way o e alua ing i ”23 pe sis , acco ding o
Bou dieu.24 While ad e ising may a emp o o e iewe s expe iences ha
esemble hose o o he cul u al p oduc s, i emains undamen ally dis inc in
i s goals. Cen al o ad e ising’s p ojec is he c ea ion o desi es o speci ic
p oduc s o se ices. By con as , cul u al p oduc ions ypically aim o engage
iewe s on an emo ional o in ellec ual le el, which is now pa o he new
agenda o an ad e ising-as-cul u e p ac ice. Howe e , on he con a y, i can
be also said ha , nowadays, mos a is s a e in ol ed in he c ea i e indus ies
in some way,25 and he excessi e ci ing o c ea i i y in he discou ses o c ea-
i e indus ies is no much mo e han a b anding s a egy. As Oc a i Come on
asks: “Wha is he au a o an a wo k o he han ‘added alue’? . . . Could
someone ell a eason o use “c ea i i y” ins ead o “p oduc ion” o alk abou
he kind o labo we do bo h in a and c ea i e indus y?”26 O he s sugges he
ha “pu e” a oday is almos nonexis en , as Vi o Campanelli a gued, “When
hey [a is s] design hings ha a e di ec ed o he ma ke , o a he when hey
design hings ha equi e a communica ions s a egy, a ma ke ing plan, hey
simply a e no making a ”.27

Ad e ising 85
Regime o collabo a ion
The changing ma ke landscape and app oaches o c ea i e wo k necessi a e
ha ad e ising agencies in i e new skills,28 and he con e gence wi h o he
c ea i e sec o s asks o di e en kinds o aes he ic sensibili ies.29 This esul s
in a mo e isible openness o coope a ion, which has u he implica ions o
in asec o al and in e sec o al p ocesses and dynamics. Regime o collabo a-
ion, he e o e, ma ks a change in mindse owa d aluing inpu and ideas
om a di e se ange o indi iduals and eams wi hin and ou side an agency.
This shi challenges he adi ional no ion o a c ea i e eam consis ing solely
o a di ec o s and copyw i e s. Ins ead, he e is ecogni ion ha insigh and
inspi a ion may come om b oade coc ea ion, and ideas can be sou ced om
a ious indi iduals wi hin an agency, as well as ex e nal expe s wi h spe-
ci ic skillse s. As was he case o Nex Remb and , in which specialis s om
a ious sec o s oge he inno a ed and deli e ed a new kind o alue o he
b and. Agencies also in ol e hei clien s mo e in he c ea i e p ocess and
ea hem as a pa ne .
In addi ion, he egime o collabo a ion mani es s i sel h ough looking
owa d o he c ea i e indus ies o inno a i e ( o ad e ising) app oaches o
coc ea ion, as in he ins ance o he w i e s’ oom model, implemen ed by
some agencies de eloping en e ainmen -s yle campaigns. The e is an indica-
ion ha ad e ising will con inue o look owa d he c ea i e p ac ices o he
en e ainmen indus y, as he inco po a ion o a is ic p ac ices in o manage-
men s a egies p o es o in igo a e and empowe wo k eams. These ini ia-
i es can imp o e lea ning and p omo e employee adap abili y, imp o isa ion,
and c ea i i y—in eg al elemen s in he con empo a y knowledge economy.30
The shi owa d inc eased collabo a ion, especially in asec o al, a ec s
he powe dynamics o c ea i e p ocesses and does no come wi hou i s chal-
lenges. E en hough collabo a i e e o s, in gene al, a e p emised upon sha ed
isk, sha ed esponsibili y, sha ed esou ces, and sha ed ewa ds, as discussed
by Himmelman,31 examining he powe dynamics o collabo a ion be ween
he ad e ising indus y and o he c ea i e sec o s illus a es he hie a chies
and unequal dis ibu ion o esou ces ha exis in agency-led p ojec s. While
agencies may ha e access o clien s and, he e o e, con ol o e budge s and
decision-making p ocesses, a is s and en e ainmen p o essionals o en ha e
a dis inc a is ic ision o expe ise ha is necessa y o he p ojec ’s success.
This powe imbalance can lead o issues o c ea i e owne ship and a is ic
eedom, as agencies may lack answe abili y o hei collabo a o s, while hey
hold a signi ican amoun o powe in shaping cul u al p oduc ion.
Seeking a egime o cool
“Cool is a slang wo d conno ing a ce ain s yle ha in ol es masking and
hiding emo ions. Wha was once a low-p o ile means o su i al and la e a
86 Ad e ising
you h ul ebellious al e na i e o class-based s a us sys ems has become com-
modi ized”.32 The concep o “coolness” in ad e ising is no a no el idea.
P e ious esea ch shows ha a b and’s pe cep ion o being cool is signi ican
o consume decision-making33 and is o en associa ed wi h he pe cep ion o
being “hip and endy”.34 Ad e ise s may a emp o ap in o his by posi ion-
ing p omo ed p oduc s and se ices as aligned wi h cul u al ends o appeal-
ing o a speci ic subcul u al g oup.35
Howe e , he applicabili y o “coolness” in ela ion o he ad e ising
indus y is mul ilaye ed. On he one hand, he a emp o hide ad e ising’s
pe suasi eness behind a açade o cul u al p oduc s36 can be seen as a s a egy
o coolness. Since as Douglas Hol explains: “ o be au hen ic, b ands mus be
disin e es ed; hey mus be pe cei ed as in en ed and dissemina ed by pa ies
wi hou an ins umen al economic agenda, by people who a e in insically
mo i a ed by hei inhe en alue”.37 Ye , a he same ime, while he e is no
gua an ee ha highly c ea i e ad e ising will make i mo e memo able o
appealing o consume s,38 esea ch has shown ha consume pe cep ions o
c ea i i y in ad e ising can posi i ely impac he b and.39 In o he wo ds,
e en i he c ea i e e o may ini ially appea o be “was ed”,40 i can se e as
a signal o e o and “b and i ness” o po en ial consume s.41 The e o e, by
inco po a ing he gen es and aes he ics o o he c ea i e indus ies in o ad e -
ising campaigns, b ands may con ey hei inhe en alues mo e au hen ically
while also appealing o consume s h ough c ea i i y and inno a ion. A he
same ime, hey may signal a sense o cul u al ele ance and connec edness,
po en ially u he imp o ing b and image and consume pe cep ion.
Looking om ano he pe spec i e, ad e ising despe a ely needs o ind
i s “new-cool” as an employe o e ain and a ac alen . In ligh o wha
appea s o be an image c isis, he ad e ising indus y mus emain compe i-
i e in i s pu sui o c ea i e alen . One way o eposi ion i sel in he eyes o
he you h is h ough in ol emen in inno a i e o socially engaged p ojec s
and c oss-sec o al collabo a ions wi h indus ies ha cu en ly appea “cool”
o cul u ally signi ican . As cul u al in e media ies, ad e ising p ac i ione s
a e no necessa ily limi ed o media ing be ween p oduce s and consume s o
di ec ing cul u al change.42 Howe e , in ol emen in highly c ea i e p ojec s
in ol ing he p oduc ion o (popula ) cul u e can also ul ill he pe sonal aspi-
a ions and ambi ions o c ea i e p o essionals, demons a ing he po en ial
o success in he indus y. Ad e ising, he e o e, o e s a p omise o eeding
he “ as e o endy” as Taylo poin s ou ,43 o p o ing (by deli e ing highly
inno a i e p ojec s), as Ko s en speci ies, ha “any hing is possible”.
No es
1 J. G ossbe g, pe sonal communica ion, Ap il 20, 2022.
2 COO o independen c ea i e agency, pe sonal communica ion, Feb ua y 2, 2022.
3 M. Ten Dam, pe sonal communica ion, Janua y 10, 2022.
Ad e ising 87
4 CCO o ne wo k agency, pe sonal communica ion, Janua y 14, 2022.
5 Kuma , V., & Gup a, S. (2016). Concep ualizing he e olu ion and u u e o ad e -
ising. Jou nal o Ad e ising, 45(3), 302–317. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/00913367.2
016.1199335; Schul z, D. (2016). The u u e o ad e ising o wha e e we’ e going
o call i . Jou nal o Ad e ising, 45(3), 276–285. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/00913367
.2016.1185061.
6 Fo example: Banham, M. (2022, Janua y 31). Ad e ising’s iden i y c isis and
he demise o he hi d-pa y cookie. Amobee. Re ie ed Oc obe 16, 2022, om
www.amobee.com/blog/ad e isings-iden i y-c isis-and- he-demise-o - he- hi d-
pa y-cookie/; Leslie, I. (2018, Augus 9). RIP Don D ape : How algo i hms
killed he ad e ising c ea i e. Aus alian Financial Re iew. Re ie ed Oc o-
be 16, 2022, om www.a .com/companies/media-and-ma ke ing/who-killed-
don-d ape -ad e ising-in- he-age-o -google-and- acebook-20180806-h13lnm;
No meie , K. (2018, No embe 29). Is ad e ising expe iencing an iden i y c i-
sis? DMEXCO. Re ie ed Oc obe 16, 2022, om h ps://dmexco.com/s o ies/
is-ad e ising-expe iencing-an-iden i y-c isis/.
7 Leslie, I. (2018, Augus 9). Rip Don D ape : How algo i hms killed he ad e ising
c ea i e. Aus alian Financial Re iew. Re ie ed Oc obe 16, 2022, om www.a .
com/companies/media-and-ma ke ing/who-killed-don-d ape -ad e ising-in- he-
age-o -google-and- acebook-20180806-h13lnm.
8 “Pull” s a egies as engagemen ac ics ha ha e g own o be signi ican in 2000s.
9 Si a, L. (2017, Janua y 30). Sco Galloway: Dea h o he ad e ising indus ial
complex. No dic Business Fo um. Re ie ed Oc obe 16, 2022, om www.nb o um.
com/nb epo /sco -galloway-dea h-ad e ising-indus ial-complex/.
10 M. Ten Dam, pe sonal communica ion, Janua y 10, 2022.
11 B ook, O., O’B ien, D., & Taylo , M. (2020). Cul u e is bad o you: Inequali y in
he cul u al and c ea i e indus ies. Manches e Uni e si y P ess.
12 Villela Ga cia, M., & Willa , A. (2021, Oc obe 18). C ea i e indus y pa a-
doxes: New business models and spaces o change. Policy B is ol Hub. Re ie ed
Oc obe 16, 2022, om h ps://policyb is ol.blogs.b is.ac.uk/ca ego y/ esea ch/
business-economic-policy/.
13 Lynch, J. (2019). Ad e ising indus y e olu ion: Agency c ea i i y, luid eams and
di e si y. An explo a o y in es iga ion. Jou nal o Ma ke ing Managemen , 35(9–
10), 845–866. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/0267257x.2019.1635188.
14 The e m “ egime o pa adoxes”, used he e in ela ion o oday’s ad e ising, is
loosely inspi ed by Foucaul ’s concep o “ egimes o u h.” Foucaul sugges s ha
powe s uc u es shape wha is conside ed o be “ u h”; ha u h “is p oduced by
i ue o mul iple cons ain s and i induces egula ed e ec s o powe ” and “each
socie y has i s egime o u h.” This idea is ansplan ed o he wo k o his book in
he sense ha he p oduc ion o knowledge wi hin c ea i e indus ies, speci ically
ad e ising, is d i en by a cons an push o c ea i i y and inno a ion, bu a he
same ime, hose a e es ic ed by mul iple ac o s like in-agency s uc u es, ime
cons ain s, o he push o measu able e ec i es, jus o name a ew. Foucaul , M.
(2020). Discipline and punish: The bi h o he p ison. Penguin Classics.
15 I is impo an o men ion ha his se ies o pa adoxes ela es only o he co e scope
o his esea ch—namely he explo a ion o ad e ising’s place wi hin he c ea i e
indus ies—and by no means exhaus s he complexi y o he sec o o ake in o
conside a ion all he pa adoxes exis ing he ein.
16 Lynch, J. (2019). Ad e ising indus y e olu ion: Agency c ea i i y, luid eams
and di e si y. An explo a o y in es iga ion. Jou nal o Ma ke ing Managemen ,
35(9–10), 845–866. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/0267257x.2019.1635188; Koslow, S.,
Sasse , S. L., & Rio dan, E. A. (2003). Wha is c ea i e o whom and why? Jou nal
o Ad e ising Resea ch, 43(1), 96–110. h ps://doi.o g/10.2501/ja -43-1-96-110.
88 Ad e ising
17 E en hough c ea i i y and inno a ion need o be unde s ood as sepa a e and dis-
inc i e concep s, when i comes o he dynamics a ec ing hei comp ehension and
ope a ionaliza ion wi hin he ad e ising indus y, he logics and issues becomes
simila . Hence, he impac o c ea i i y and inno a ion a e me ged when unde s ood
as newness wi hin inno a ion.
18 Leslie, I. (2018, Augus 9). Rip Don D ape : How algo i hms killed he ad e ising
c ea i e. Aus alian Financial Re iew. Re ie ed Oc obe 16, 2022, om www.a .
com/companies/media-and-ma ke ing/who-killed-don-d ape -ad e ising-in- he-
age-o -google-and- acebook-20180806-h13lnm.
19 Fo example: Cannes Lions. (2022). ( ep.). S a e o c ea i i y 2022. Cannes Lions;
Küble , R. V., & P oppe, D. (2012). Faking o con incing: Why do some ad e -
ising campaigns win c ea i i y awa ds? Business Resea ch, 5(1), 60–81. h ps://
doi.o g/10.1007/b 03342732; Hu man, J. (2016). The case o c ea i i y: The link
be ween imagina i e ma ke ing & comme cial success. Cannes Lions.
20 Szczęsna, E. (2004). Tożsamość hyb ydyczna. ER(R)GO: Teo ia-Li e a u a-Kul u a.
Re ie ed Oc obe 16, 2022, om h p://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/elemen /bwme a1.
elemen .ojs-issn-2544-3186-yea -2004-issue-9-a icle-2344.
21 Wywioł, A. (2019, Ma ch 18). Współczesne s a egie w poe yce eklamy jako
wyznaczniki jej możliwej au onomiczności. P óba ujęcia k y ycznego. Uniwe sy e
Pedagogiczny w K akowie.
22 Acco ding o Bou dieu, he new pe i e bou geoisie is a b oad social g oup made up
o young, c eden ialized ac o s who c ea e wan s, and hose who “play a angua d
ole in he s uggles o e e e y hing conce ned wi h he a o li ing, in pa icula ,
domes ic li e and consump ion.” Bou dieu, P. (1989). Dis inc ion a social c i ique
o he judgemen o as e. Rou ledge.
23 Ibid.
24 Taylo , T. D. (2009). Ad e ising and he conques o cul u e. Social Semio ics,
19(4), 405–425. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/10350330903361091.
25 Lo ink, G., & Rossi e , N. (2007). MyC ea i i y eade : A c i ique o c ea i e
indus ies. Ins i u e o Ne wo k Cul u es.
26 Ibid.
27 Ibid.
28 Lynch, J. (2019). Ad e ising indus y e olu ion: Agency c ea i i y, luid eams and
di e si y. An explo a o y in es iga ion. Jou nal o Ma ke ing Managemen , 35(9–
10), 845–866. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/0267257x.2019.1635188.
29 Wywioł, A. (2019, Ma ch 18). Współczesne s a egie w poe yce eklamy jako
wyznaczniki jej możliwej au onomiczności. P óba ujęcia k y ycznego. Uniwe sy e
Pedagogiczny w K akowie.
30 Bei ne, M. (2012). C ea i e ension? Nego ia ing he space be ween he a s
and managemen . Jou nal o A s & Communi ies, 4(3), 149–160. h ps://doi.
o g/10.1386/jaac.4.3.149_2.
31 Himmelman, A. T. (2015). The ou sha ed RS o collabo a ion. Himmelman
Consul ing.
32 Belk, R. W., Tian, K., & Paa ola, H. (2010). Consuming cool: Behind he unemo-
ional mask. Resea ch in Consume Beha io , 183–208. h ps://doi.o g/10.1108/
s0885-2111(2010)0000012010.
33 Budzanowski, A. (2017). Why coolness should ma e o ma ke ing and when con-
sume s desi e a cool b and: An examina ion o he impac and limi o he pe cep ion
o b and coolness (disse a ion). Uni e si y o S . Gallen, School o Managemen ,
Economics, Law, Social Sciences, and In e na ional A ai s, S . Gallen, Swi ze land.
34 Belk, R. W., Tian, K., & Paa ola, H. (2010). Consuming cool: Behind he unemo-
ional mask. Resea ch in Consume Beha io , 183–208. h ps://doi.o g/10.1108/
s0885-2111(2010)0000012010.
Ad e ising 89
35 Ibid.
36 Simila ly o he execu ion o gue illa, o wha some would call “unde - he- ada ”
ma ke ing, u iliza ion o use -gene a ed con en , i al ma ke ing o p oduc place-
men . Se azio, M. (2013). You ad he e: The cool sell o gue illa ma ke ing. New
Yo k Uni e si y P ess; Bond, J., & Ki shenbaum, R. (1998). Unde he ada : Talk-
ing o oday’s cynical consume . Wiley; Sh um, L. J. (2017). The psychology o
en e ainmen media: Blu ing he lines be ween en e ainmen and pe suasion.
Rou ledge.
37 Hol , D. B. (2002). Why do b ands cause ouble? A dialec ical heo y o consume
cul u e and b anding. Jou nal o Consume Resea ch, 29(1), 70–90. h ps://doi.
o g/10.1086/339922.
38 Ko e , A. J., Goldbe g, S. M., & James, W. L. (1995). C ea i i y s. e ec i eness?
An in eg a ing classi ica ion o ad e ising. Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 35(6).
39 Dahlén, M., Roseng en, S., & Tö n, F. (2008). Ad e ising c ea i i y ma -
e s. Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 48(3), 392–403. h ps://doi.o g/10.2501/
s002184990808046x.
40 Ko e , A. J., Goldbe g, S. M., & James, W. L. (1995). C ea i i y s. e ec i eness?
An in eg a ing classi ica ion o ad e ising. Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 35(6).
41 Amble , T., & Hollie , E. A. (2004). The was e in ad e ising is he pa ha
wo ks. Jou nal o Ad e ising Resea ch, 44(4), 375–389. h ps://doi.o g/10.1017/
s0021849904040413.
42 Taylo , T. D. (2009). Ad e ising and he conques o cul u e. Social Semio ics,
19(4), 405–425. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/10350330903361091.
43 Ibid.

Index
5b 1, 56–57, 59, 84
Academy Awa d 1, 61
Accen u e 22
adidas 18
Ado no, Theodo 9
ad e ising: app op ia ing 72; -as-cul u e
84
ad e ising agency see c ea i e, agency
Ande son, Ma 17
a di ec o s 8, 33, 60, 85
a i icial in elligence 31
a is y 4, 6, 39, 53, 68–69, 71–72,
74 – 76, 81 – 85
a s, sub e si e 71 – 72
audiences 2–3, 10, 14, 18, 20, 34, 50–55,
58 – 59, 67 – 68, 71 – 72, 75, 84
Beam Sun o y 25
Ben & Je y 9, 69, 71
Blandon, Lo en 25
BMW 54
Bou dieu, Pie e 84
b and: a i udes 5, 40; building 18, 37;
en e ainmen 57–58; pu pose ilm
56 – 57, 59
B ändä i 52
b anded en e ainmen 6, 19, 52–55,
57, 84
budge s, ad e ising 19–20, 37, 44, 63, 85
business models 17, 20–21, 62, 82
Bya d, James 71 – 72
Campanelli, Vi o 84
can-do-be e a i ude 41
Cannes Lions 1, 4, 23, 39, 41, 55, 70, 84
Chipo le 53
Clay on, S e e 16
clien ela ions 15, 17, 23, 40, 62, 82
clien s, isk-a e se 63
coc ea ion 59–62, 68, 75–76, 81, 85
Colama ino, Sa ah 56
Colenso BBDO 18
collabo a ion 6, 59–62, 69, 71, 74–76,
82, 85; c oss-sec o al 4, 6, 60–61,
73, 86
Come on, Oc a i 84
consume : beha io 9, 18, 70;
engagemen 18, 23, 53
consume ism 67, 71
coolness 24, 72 – 74, 82, 85 – 86
Coope , James 25
copyw i e s 8–9, 16, 33, 60–61, 85
c a s 13, 15–16, 56
c ea i e: agency 1 – 5, 9 – 10, 14 – 25, 31,
33 – 36, 38 – 45, 51 – 52, 55, 57 – 63, 70,
72 – 76, 81 – 83, 85; con ol 24, 61 – 62,
76, 85; cul u e 4–5, 82; indus ies
2–9, 13, 34, 37, 45, 68, 81–82,
84–86; p ocesses 3, 6, 34–35, 52, 55,
57, 59–60, 62, 74–75, 82, 85
c ea i e eams, managing 4–5, 21, 31,
33, 38, 40, 45, 60–61, 63, 85
c ea i i y 1, 3, 5 – 7, 9, 13 – 18, 21 – 24,
33–34, 39, 41–42, 61, 73, 75,
81–86; awa ds 15–16, 36, 40, 42;
mone iza ion 4, 7; as p oblem sol ing
13–14, 41; -as-p oduc 15, 83;
as seed o inno a ion 34; -as-se ice
15 – 16, 83
C edle, Susan 23 – 24
Csikszen mihalyi, Mihaly 24
cul u al: in e media ies 10, 19, 84, 86;
p oduc ion 7, 9, 68, 81–82, 84–85;
p oduc s 2–3, 9, 34, 74, 84, 86
Cu , Lionel 60, 76
Index 91
DCMS (Depa men o Cul u e, Media
and Spo ) 6–7, 9
den suACHTUNG 38, 54, 81
disin e es 42, 74
Displaced 37
documen a ies 1 – 2, 25, 55 – 57
Do e 9, 53
D oga5 22
D oney, Damien 72
D ucke , Pe e 33
economy: c ea i e 6, 8; expe ience
67 – 68, 72
e ec i eness, c ea i e 2, 15, 18, 40, 50,
81 – 83
en e ainmen 2 – 5, 13, 51 – 52,
54–55, 57, 60–61, 63, 68, 72, 85;
b and-sponso ed 6, 19, 56–57, 62, 84
FCB 23
Flahe y, John 71 – 72
luidi y 6, 82
eedom, c ea i e 23–24, 44, 51, 62, 73
Fu e a 73
Galloway, Sco 81
Ga dne , Howa d 24
gen es, hyb id 2, 9, 52, 67
Goodman, Jae 38, 53 – 55, 60 – 61
g ea esigna ion 24, 74
G ossbe g, Josh 13, 20–23
Hall, B uce 18
Haze, E ic 76
hip consume ism 69 – 70
Hi shbe g, E ic 15
Hollywood 6, 9, 53, 55–57, 60, 63
Hol , Douglas 74, 86
Ho kheime , Max 9
Hu man, James 18
iden i y, c ea i e 42, 75
ING 31, 38
inno a ion 3, 5, 7, 24, 31, 33–36, 38,
40–45, 59, 73, 86; as applica ion o
c ea i i y 34, 83
Johnson & Johnson 56, 59
Kendall, Nick 35
Ko s en, Bas 31, 33, 37–38, 42, 44,
63, 86
Lang on, Pa 16
Lash, Sco 10
Las E e Issue 40
Lego 52 – 53
Lego Mo ie 52
Leslie, Ian 83
Lu y, Celia 10
Maconick, Rupe 57, 59, 62–63
McCann 13, 16
media: agencies 19–20, 58; planning
19–20, 58; pull 2, 81; push 2, 50, 81;
adi ional 2, 20, 50–51, 56–57, 59, 72
Me hod, Ma cus 74
MNSTR 61
Na ayanan, Nikhil 25
na a i es 50, 54, 68
Ne lix 59, 68
New Yo k Times 37 – 38
Nex Remb and 31–33, 37–38, 42, 73, 85
Nike 9, 17
Obse a o y Agency 53 – 54, 59 – 60
Odendaal, Pie e 16
Pilking on, Andy 18
popula cul u e 10, 61, 83
powe imbalance 85
p oduc ion: p ocess 40, 57; s udio 51,
60, 62 – 63
p oduc placemen 51, 54, 56
Raunio, Juha-Ma i 52
Ray, Bob 22
Real Beau y Ske ches 53
Red Bull 2, 53
egime: o a is y 83–84; o
collabo a ion 85; o cool 86; o
pa adoxes 6, 81 – 82
esponsibili y 20, 43, 62, 75
esul s-as-se ice 16, 83
Rijksmuseum 31, 38
Road Tales 39
Shields-Shimizu, B endan 59
Sinclai , John 9
social issues 6, 68–70
Spence, Jessica 25
S e anidou, Nicole a 22
S eu s, Gee 73
s o y elling 6, 33, 39, 50, 52–60, 83
92 Index
s ee a 71–72, 76
Szczepaniak, Dawid 15, 36, 39–41, 45,
70, 73
alen c isis 4, 23–25, 42, 45, 72–74,
83, 86
TBWA 52
Ten Dam, Me yn 38–39, 54, 81
Tho sby, Da id 8
Tinke Tailo 22
Townsend, Soli ai e 73
i ual eali y 37 – 38
VMLY&R 15, 25, 40
Volkswagen 38 – 39
Wa hol, Andy 67
Wiese, Mike 50, 55, 61–62
Wójcik, Juli a 69
woke-washing 69 – 70
Wo k Founda ion 8
w i e s’ oom 60, 85
Wunde man Thompson 31 – 32