Thursday, February 28, 2008

I'm Kenny G

So it's inevitable any time you meet a stranger. They tell you they're a doctor, or a teacher (lots of those about really) or engaged in some other equally admirable pursuit of human endeavour. And then the moment comes after a session of lovely and lighthearted discourse...."And what is it you guys do?"
You: Pause. Gulp. "Uh. We work in advertising."
Doctor or teacher type: "Oh. Really. Um. That's interesting."
On occasion, conversation fades into an ambiguous silence. In worse case scenarios, it spirals into an enigmatic explanation of what you actually "do" in advertising that without exception leaves all parties confused.
To avoid this anti-climax, we've decided from now on that we're going to give a different kind of answer to prompt a different kind of reaction.
At first we debated alternative ways of "positioning" advertising. Favourites included: propoganda, consumer re-education, demand creation, public manipulator, trends analyst, purveyor of the obvious, and professional liar.
Or then we thought go for shock - "We're in adult entertainment", "I'm a pagan", "I'm soley responsible for the myth of the Loch Ness monster"
Or do we go for grandness (George Costanza marine biologist style) - brain surgeon, famous archeologist, sudanese historian, spiritual guru or "well I just I save a shitload of lives really"
But then we thought, no, take it up a level. So we landed confidently on the answer.
Actually, I'm Kenny G.

2 comments:

bizarro gnome said...

i like having to say, 'no, i actually don't write the ads...'

whatevs said...

this is a wonderful concept - i love it! you should blog about their reactions.