Schweet & Sad: Advertising Week’s Battle of the Bands
It’s schweet & sad… You’ve got a week to vote for the best band on Advertising Week’s “Battle of the Bands” (see AdvertisingWeek or visit YouTube “Battle of Ad Bands” channel). The assortment of videos, featuring modern Mad Men (and woman), in the past week have seen about 200-500 views per video. Perhaps mostly from fellow agency pals.
Maybe YouTube Business Blog’s pandering “We Salute You” blog post will fetch them another dozen views…
- It’s schweet because some of these bands rawk. Check out Low NY in “Ta-Ra-Ra-Ra” (Kink’s “You Really Got Me”). Or the gritty coolness of Spark’s “The Tape Delay.”
- But it’s sad because one can’t help think of the many talented people who resorted to advertising to make a living, but dream to express their artistic creativity in higher forms than USA Today spreads.
Just watch PHD’s “Say What,” and you get mixed feelings. On one hand, you’re thinking “how cool, this agency has such soul!” But you’re simultaneously transported back to that sad happy hour in 1992 when you were interning at Earl Palmer Brown, and the chief creative guy answered your question, “what’s the best advice you can give me to succeed in advertising.”
And he looks at you, pauses to sip his Jack Daniels, and you can see in his eyes as he instantly releases his dream of being a great painter… like a helium balloon.” Then he says with great conviction, “choose another career… I’m serious.”
Is this a celebration of the fact that we can have it all: lucrative advertising careers and the pursuit of our artistic passions? Or is this a tragic collection of would-be artists who sadly missed the fame bus for lack of talent or timing?
Being a performer is a hard life. There are so many people that can play or sing really well. Few become famous or successful. It takes a great deal of talent and/or charisma to make it. And even then, it may take years and years. I wouldn’t call performers, even successful ones, the happiest and most well-adjusted bunch.
Instead of dwelling on the tragic nature of “failed” artists, perhaps it would be better to ponder why so many of us always seem so dissatisfied. Especially those that have lucrative advertising careers, and still enjoy making music or being involved in some other artistic endeavor at a very high level on the side. Sounds like a good gig to me.
I think it’s cool that staid advertising people get to rock out. Meme is right; performing professionally is hard work and too few make it big (enough to support themselves, anyway) to make the pursuit of fame realistic for most people.
These people have real jobs, yet still get to rock out. I think that’s cool. And “You Really Got Me” was pretty good!
I really dig The Tape Delay, to the point I added them on MySpace. I’d like to hear more from them.
BSoN is sitting in my living room. I’m not going to tell you what she’s doing right now.
^ You have a bison in your living room? What do you feed it?