Don’t tell my folks I work in advertising, they think I’m a piano player in a whorehouse

My friend Cedrik tells me the headline was coined by Jacques Séguéla, President of RSCG before I started in advertising. I hea...

My friend Cedrik tells me the headline was coined by Jacques Séguéla, President of RSCG before I started in advertising. I heard it from my first creative director at BBDO and have had it repeated to me by practically everyone I’ve know in advertising ever since. Unfortunately it seems to ring as true today as it did was when Jacques published his book of the same name in 1979. But does it have to be that way?

A recent Gallup poll rated advertising practitioners among the least honest and ethical professionals on the planet. It’s a sad commentary when, in the midst of an economic meltdown, one’s chosen profession ranks below lawyers and bankers in terms of perceived ethics and honesty.

Image source: oboemasterclasses.eu 

In my latest post for Talent Zoo I address the issue of ethics and advertising and pose a formula for changing the tide of negative perception. Check out the post, ‘‘Don’t tell my folks I work in Advertising, they think I’m a piano player in a whore house”.

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