At what age are media and marketing industry folk at their most creative?
If the Nobel Prize and Oscars lists are anything to go by, older folk vastly outperform their younger counterparts in terms of talent, creativity and accolades – so why are advertising agencies only populated by the under 35s, asks Bob Hoffman
Walk into any ad agency in the world and in 10 seconds something will become obvious. Everyone is young.
While people over 50 comprise 42 per cent of adults in the US, they comprise only 6% of agency employees. This is even more pronounced in creative departments where people over 50 make up about 0% of the population.
The reason for this is that young people are just more creative. Or are they? Let’s have a quick look around…
There is only one Nobel Prize in a creative field. It is the prize for Literature. Last year it went to
Kazuo Ishiguro who is 64.
The recent Pulitzer Prize awards were interesting.
The Pulitzer for Drama went to Lynn Nottage who is 54.
The Pulitzer for History went to Heather Ann Thompson, age 55.
The Pulitzer for Poetry went to Tyehimba Jess, age 53.
Meanwhile at this year’s Academy Awards, three of the four winners for acting were over 50: Francis McDormand, 60; Gary Oldman, 59, and Allison Janney, 58. The fourth, Sam Rockwell, will be 50 in November.
The Oscar for Best Director went to Guillermo del Toro, who is 53.
Next we move to television.
The Emmy for Best Drama Series went to The Handmaid’s Tale. The novel was written by Margaret Atwood who is 79 and is creative consultant on the show.
The Best Comedy Series went to Veep, executive produced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 57. She also won for Best Actress.
Best Limited Series went to Big Little Lies created by David E Kelley, 62.
The Best Supporting Actor was John Lithgow, 73; Best Supporting Actress was Ann Dowd, 62.
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series went to Alec Baldwin, 60.
So, let’s recap.
People over 50 aren’t creative enough to write a fucking banner ad, but they are creative enough to dominate in Nobels, Pulitzers, Oscars, and Emmys. I guarantee you, not one of these brilliantly talented people could get a job in an ad agency today. Not one.
Is there another industry on earth that is as steeped in intolerance and as thoroughly isolated from reality as the ad industry?
The Handmaid’s Tale was published in 1985, when Atwood was 46… Nobel Prizes are given for a body of work done over a lifetime, that’s why its recipients are older. And many of the other awardees got to where they are because in older age, they already have the funding and support (and of course, the experience and nothing-to-lose factor) to embark on the more ambitious projects that their younger selves / counterparts wouldn’t have access to… Anyway, nothing against the theory, I don’t think younger people are necessarily more creative than older folk. Perhaps ad agencies are just targeting younger audiences hence the need to hire people of the same generation to get the messaging right?
Reply> Perhaps ad agencies are just targeting younger audiences hence
> the need to hire people of the same generation to get the
> messaging right?
Yes, that’s the standard explanation—offered without any proof whatsoever.
Even when a viral ad is created by an older person they put them out to pasture—witness the recent situation of the 53-year-old woman who created, among other things, the highly-successful “Mayhem” campaign for Allstate.
Replyhttp://www.businessinsider.com/the-ugly-truth-about-allstates-awesome-mayhem-character-lousy-numbers-2012-2/?IR=T
ReplyWell, many agency clients target women, who make a majority of purchase decisions in the home, yet those same agencies rarely promote women to leadership roles, so I’d question this explanation.
ReplyCan’t agree more
ReplyNice one Bob. Of course being in your 40-55 years is not old … in most countries in Asia from Japan to Singapore to Thailand that makes you middle aged. while i would like to see the agency ( and client world ) get more realistic about where opportunity lies, and where talent should be developed with people in their 50, 60,70s i will take any discussion we get can get around the issues of making sure talent of all ages is cultivated and used … thanks to Mumbrella for at least starting to cover the issue more as well since last years Asia 360 https://www.mumbrella.asia/2017/11/ad-land-ageism-target-millennials-no-money-ignore-older-consumers-wealth
ReplyYour argument is deceitfully skewed to misrepresent what Bobby says. I don’t think he said or implied that all the nobel, pulitzer, oscar and emmy winners suddenly woke up on their 50th birthday and became creative.
Personally I don’t think it was wise of him to even bring it up. There are only two types of people in advertising. Those who are good at it and those who aren’t. To this we have to add a category that has slowly emerged in the last decade: those who suck at it but are adept at giving the impression that they are good at it….aka the “digital native” types of the world.
ReplyI think it’s simple: younger people are cheaper. Or at least that’s the perception. But if you consider experience, older creatives are far more cost effective.
ReplyAlso interesting to note that creative agencies seem to require 60-70-hour workweeks more than just about any other field–a sign of poor planning, poor staffing, poor delegating, and inability to push back against clients–or all of the above. Experienced (i.e., “older”) managers would almost certainly recognize that this is a problem and do something about it.
ReplyAt 50 most people don’t want to be doing this anyways, the sane ones.
There are so many other intriguing businesses and creative endeavors, have your fun, make your money, get out.
Who wants to be creating FB campaigns at 50, come on really.
ReplyIt’s about two things.
1. Trends
2. Cheap talent
To tap into popular culture, agencies need to be aware of trends. Typically youth drives that, so they hire cool kids. Who create a lively work culture so the agency looks trendy. And happen to be cheap.
However, obsessing about Millennials completely ignores a gigantic segment of the market. Anybody over 35 is unlikely to give a crap about the latest Snapchat Filter or what Harry Styles is doing. So a lack of age diversity means you’re missing how to think like (and reach) everybody else.
Diversity is not just ethnicity or gender. It’s age, attitude, experience and ways of operating. You need an agency (and creative department) with all the above.
ReplyYounger people are cheaper and prepared to work longer hours for less. This is not about creativity – I’m in my 40s and run my own agency – this is about cold, hard, commerce.
Trends (mentioned by the poster above mine) is an interesting one. Yes, the young may well have their finger on the pulse for ‘trendy’ trends, but there are other age-related trends – ageing population, the baby boomers turning 70 and releasing their equity (selling their homes, downsizing, etc), yet the millenials not in the market to buy (can’t afford, prefer to rent, a more transient workforce, no jobs for life or job security) – which are having much bigger influences on the economy.
To ignore the biggest swell of the population and discount the huge amount of experience and wisdom in the 40+s is just plain stupid.
ReplyI had to LOL at the moron above who thinks popular culture is the same as agency culture. I hope this idiot doesn’t hold some senior post.
The whole age discussion is a red herring.
There’s no such thing as young people being best suited to being creative or willing to work hard. There is no shortage of dumb and lazy young fucks in this biz. And older ones too.
Creativity is something you’re born with or not. Some argue that we are all born creative and then have it systematically drained from our lives by an education system that prioritises other things.
But there is one thing that simple formula that numb nuts in management, egged on by ignorant douchebags in finance and HR, seem to conveniently sweep under the rug.
Age=Experience=Knowing=Proficiency=Speed=Productivity=Profit
But as usual, exceptions do apply.
ReplyHave your say