Among my weekend reading was this article.

Naturally having spent most of my career in the advertising business it was a topic I found interesting. I was hoping for something enlightening and interesting. I was disappointed by a article rife with cliches and typial digi-hipster myopia.

Case in point, one of these guys actually said, “Most people no longer ‘watch the news’”.

This is the same kinda of thinking that got us to, “The internet will kill brick-and-mortar retail.” Remember that one?

Or, going back further… “Every brand must seek to be its customer’s portal to the Internet.”

Hyperbole kills advertising. It kills brands. And it kills the credibility of ‘thought leaders’.

Its not that the statement was wholly wrong, just that it was too much too soon.

Walk into any home anywhere in the United States that isn’t in New York or SanFrancisco and you’ll see that the death of the evening news is no where near nigh.

There are other indicators as well.

We still sell more TVs than TiVo’s by a ration of a bajillion to one.

Heck, the government has a plan to outfit homes with rabbit ears for the switch to digital broadcasting. Yes, rabbit ears. Apparently there are enough of them to warrant a government program.

The insular mindset of digerati is a fundamental cause of the disconnect between a lot of advertising and the nation’s population. In a country where Sarah Palin comes within striking distance of the Oval Office to say the country as a whole is as portrayed in this article is naive.

Here is a pristine example of digerati-myopia courtesy of my friend Brad’s blog:

Here’s a LinkedIn is that guy who wears dockers and a plain white button-down shirt. He lives in Connecticut (sorry gang, I live it New Jersey so have at it) and parts his hair to the side with Mad Men perfection. He’s got a wife and two kids, a respectable job, a nice house — not too big but not small either, a perfectly manicured lawn and of course, a white picket fence. He’s not offensive, just boring.

Conversely, Facebook and Twitter are the guys we love to hang out with. They’re fun, charismatic, personal and professional. They know people in entertainment, music, advertising, design and fashion and they’re happy to introduce you to them. They’re far from perfect and they know it. That’s what makes them so human, so likable. Their appearance is bit disheveled, but totally cool — shirt worn out more than in, bedhead made to look stylish with gel, and suits only with Vans. Their enthusiasm is palpable and people are naturally drawn to them. example of

Hipster envy is a big assumption. I would bet that more people across America empathize with the ‘Connecticut guy’than the NY hipster as described above. Hipsters are infatuated with hipsters. That’s their tribe. But they assume everyone wants in, and walking around my suburban environment, I’m not so convinced.

Back to the revolution…

Obviously the old media world is dying. But like putting Xmas decorations up right after Halloween, our culture has a tendency to accelerate and exaggerate these changes. If you’re advertising to America today, you best recalibrate your perspective to capture what’s really happening for the population you’re after. That means looking beyond the Web 2.0 call-to-arms.

This article went on to offer solutions to the proclaimed crushing collapse of traditional media.

One idea was to tech-i-fy overalls. Hm. Jury’s out on that. Meanwhile, these guys are selling tons of Work Apparel 1.0 clothing to Joe The Plumber (who still makes up that vast majority of the American population).

Also, is it really wise to turn a flagship journallist like Katie Couric into an ironic entertainment piece just to amuse Gen Xers? Sort of undermines the bigger brand (CBS News) doesn’t it? Ask Ozzy Osbourne the reining Jester of Darkness. People love him, but no one takes his music seriously any more.

Naturally, as is to be expected in an article on media today, this piece rolled around to ‘conversation’marketing.

Okay, let’s take an honesty break shall we…

Do you want to converse with a brand like it was your buddy? Invest time, energy and emotion? Be honest. Unless you’re not a busy person, you probably don’t even have the time.

I readily acknowledge, some brands are worn as badges (my Jeep Wrangler for one) that reflect one’s own narcissism. And I also acknowledge that just spouting claims and hyperbole (the ad industry model for most of its existence) falls on deaf ears today. So we need to rethink this. But let’s not get out over our ski’s here. A brand as my friend? I think not. And I’m not alone.

Schoomzing and hobknobbing.
Here’s another metaphor. Maybe brands are like people we know through professional networking. They’re not ‘friends’per se. We don’t hang out on weekends, though we might grab a beer once in a while after work (especially if I’m starting to get concerned for my job). We don’t swap stories of our families, though we know how many kids the other has. And we have a few common things in common (we like iPhones, work crazy hours, and talk football). But mostly our conversations are superficial with a little chit chat and a few jokes before we get down to discussing business.

Brands might be like networking contacts in that we’ve both agreed its worth knowing the other if only for our mutual benefit. Yes, I have to like you, enough to at least shake your hand and swap niceties, but you are not going to be my friend. Let’s just clear that up right now.

There’s nothing wrong with this dynamic, by the way. Its self-serving, which is capitalism 101. Something we’ve both got to buy into at some point anyhow.

(If you’re uncomfortable with the Machiavellian nature of Capitalism 101, remember that before we can help others we have to help ourselves. That’s why you put the oxygen mask on yourself before your child as a plane loses cabin pressue).

What brand-as-networking-contact does do though, is set the proper tone for the ‘conversation’. Don’t try to get too close. Don’t claim to understand me too well. The rules are simple. Don’t approach me unless you have something to offer in exchange for my time. Let’s keep it to a few minutes of superficial chit chat, maybe crack a joke or two and then get down to the business of mutual benefit.

I’m okay with that.