Let’s make sure we’re all on the same page here. The internet is great, right? Not just because we can find - intentionally or not — endless amounts of free porn, discount Viagra from India, and yet another way to make up to $5000 a week in our spare time from the comforts of our Snuggies, but because we can talk to everyone, all the time, for free.

We can be “friends” with people who used to beat us up in high school, we can relentlessly stalk ex-lovers in relative anonymity, and we can find an audience with total strangers that we may never meet. After all, you’re reading this, aren’t you?

But in the marketing world, the internet has given us the greatest gift of all: Time. In the glorious, envied, and certainly gone days of Mad Men, marketers relied on newspaper ads that ended up lining birdcages, TV commercials viewed briefly only by those with TVs, and radio ads on an am dial. We had a few brief moments between AP stories, and 30 second moments to engage, capture and sell. Today, we have all the time in the world. What the internet has given us is the opportunity to not just capture people’s attention for thirty seconds, but to hold their attention for as long as we’re capable.

That’s awesome. But it’s also an awesome challenge. To capture attention, and keep it, isn’t as easy as it looks. There are, of course, easy ways to do it. Endless dick jokes http://www.durexdickorations.com/, creepy chickens wearing garters http://www.bk.com/en/us/campaigns/subservient-chicken.html, or the ultimate in voyeuristic satisfaction http://archive.bigspaceship.com/hbovoyeur/. All of these examples are great. They took a lot of work and creativity. And some, at least, cost a fortune.

But what if we have to sell allergy medecine, and we’re given a blank page, and all the time in the world. How do we engage, and entertain while sharing all the pertinent, necessary and legally required information? It’s a challenge, but certainly not one that’s insurmountable. I’ve always had one sustaining belief that has gotten me through the dark hours of this business. That belief is that if you have to say it, say it well.

Years ago, back in the golden age of Mad Men, Leo Burnett said, “Too many ads that try not to go over the reader’s head end up beneath his notice.” I don’t think truer words have been spoken about our industry. The audience is not stupid. I’ve had creative directors who told me the audience is most certainly stupid. I’ve had clients insist it. But the fact of the matter is, the audience is not stupid. The audience is brilliant. Or, at the very least, the audience is well trained. At the task of receiving and processing commercial messages, the audience — every member — has a friggin’ PhD. Throughout advertising history we’ve had the responsibility to capture attention. For thirty seconds, for one minute, for a few moments on the pages of a magazine. But today, we have to capture, hold, and reward that attention. I’d argue that we’ll never do so by talking down to the people who we need so much. And we don’t need dick jokes or screaming or gimmicks. We need to say it well, and say it truthfully.

Leo Burnett also said, “I have learned that it is far easier to write a speech about good advertising than it is to write a good ad.” So with that, I’ll end this lecture and write some ads. After all, there’s nothing honest about hypocrisy.

Posted by Ronan Doyle, Partner/Creative Director