Should adland embrace its ‘salesman’ reputation?

Chief Strategy Officer Ayesha Walawalkar comments to Campaign:

When I saw VCCP’s research on youth attitudes towards the ad industry I had to smile. “Calculating; manipulative; obnoxious.” Almost word for word, those were also my thoughts when I started as a trainee, unsure about what I was getting into. I learned fast how arrogant and naïve my views were.

The consumer is not a passive victim waiting to be manipulated. It’s actually bloody difficult to gain someone’s attention, and if you can’t amuse or engage them, they won’t give you the time of day, let alone fall for your hard sell. Skill, creativity, intellectual challenge: these are the hooks that keep us here, and we use them to drive vaccine take-up, as well as sell deodorant. We should be proud of that.