Not even the Enlightenment Card can make credit more authentic
AdAge stares at the marketing bellybutton asks the pertinent and obvious question of our time, Is marketing relevant anymore? Can it solve the paradox of trying to be authentic when its job is to be inauthentic? Rather than a zen paradox, this is more like fodder for Daily Show one-liners. Still, the fact they are asking the question at all marks an identity crisis that confirms my growing suspicion that advertising is becoming less and less the center of gravity of our universe.
Authenticity — Whatever That Means — Is Our Only Hope – Advertising Age – Small Agency Diary (you may have to register to read this article):
My point is that there are millions of consumers steadily gravitating towards these kinds of experiences and they are defining trends for many others. And there is no way the medium or the message can possibly make any kind of connection on its own without a deep understanding of what these people deem authentic. Of course the big fear of the ad industry is that maybe the medium and the message can’t even do it together. Maybe, as people crave ever-more authentic experiences advertising itself is simply not capable of being authentic. I don’t think so. People will always need help making choices. And they’ll always gravitate towards compelling ideas. But I do know one thing. This drive towards authenticity is just getting started. If advertising is going to have a future in it, then both the medium AND the message are going to have to pass one helluva a sniff test. And that’s a tall order. Because as 81% of Americans agree, there’s a lot going on out there that stinks.
Link to my related article:
The Authenticity Paradox and the Perils of Youth Marketing
A Community is Not a Demographic
