Let’s get hypothetical, hypothetical!
I’m interrupting my usual food-based rants to say: The robots are coming, the robots are coming!
In the last 60 years automation has only really eliminated one occupation. The beloved elevator operator. However, the exponential growth of our current technological revolution makes today and tomorrow an entirely different beast from the industrial revolution. As Jerry Kaplan writes in Humans Need Not Apply: automation is “blind to the color of your collar.” While it may seem obvious that some of the first jobs to be taken over by machines are the low-skill factory line jobs, it really doesn’t matter whether your job is a low-skill one or one that requires an MBA like a financial advisor. Automation is coming for your job, one way or another.
However, in all of this, I’ve constantly heard that my field of work is safe from the robots. It’s a field that requires human interaction (to an extent) and critical, creative, and empathetic thinking—advertising.
And yes, I agree that most advertising and marketing jobs are safe. Media buying is being automated so that’s on the way out. But we will still need Account to quell the clients, Strategy to know why humans do what they do, and Creative to…well, do the creative. Even if we had AI at Robocop’s skill level, I don’t foresee any of the jobs being taken over by machines.
All of this is my super long-winded intro for what this is really about: what if all forms of advertising ceased to exist? Let’s say advertising for whatever reason, maybe the robot takeover, was made illegal.
First thoughts? So many people would rejoice. No more obnoxious pop-ups. No more banner ads following you as you jump from site to site. No more commercial breaks that feel just as long as the show itself.
Second thoughts? Holy shit, say goodbye to the economy. Capitalism as we know it would be gone. The economic ramifications would be astronomical. Advertising plays a central role in the availability of many things ranging from internet products like Google and Facebook to network television and publications. Without the ability to advertise, these services would have to find another way to monetize, presumably by charging a fee or a higher fee than the one that currently exists. This would lower overall internet usage and accessibility of information. Television and radio stations would also have to move to a subscription model, like Netflix and Disney+. Without advertising to supplement costs, prices would rise significantly.
Without “alluring” advertisements, consumers would buy less. They would also be much less informed and make more inefficient purchases. This in turn would result in less innovation as people rely on what they know, not the new information gained from advertisements.
Now, most people hate advertising. Like really hate it. They think it’s obtrusive, obnoxious, and manipulative. It drives consumerism, which many argue is heavily linked to unhappiness and over-consumption. And many think they are immune to advertising effects.
However, while we often think of advertising in terms of individual campaigns—the majority of which don’t lead to you (or me) buying the product or service being advertised—this micro level view misses the bigger picture of just how influential advertising as a whole actually is. After all, a single ad airing a single time isn’t likely to affect society in a noticeable way. But thousands of ads airing thousands of times over the course of several decades? That’s a different story. Because when we look at advertising as a social and cultural phenomenon, the situation is strikingly different.
One of the most oft-cited examples of advertising shaping society is the De Beers engagement ring story. (The abridged version: De Beers basically made buying diamonds an engagement norm.)
Broader examples can be found in the way today’s society covets consumer goods. And how we’ve come to equate particular brands with particular lifestyles. And how owning products made by the so-called best brands has become something to aspire to.
But today more than ever has brands talking with consumers rather than at them. Brands are fostering dialogue around social issues and taking stands on behalf their customers. Some are doing it louder and prouder than others—Nike case in point. But the millennial generation and the ones that are following are showing that we want to buy from companies who have a voice and are willing to put their stake in the ground for causes they believe in. But it certainly helps if their beliefs align with ours.
I got into advertising because I believe in it’s power for good. I remember watching Ad Council and other PSA commercials when I was younger and being so fascinated. These were campaigns that were a force for the betterment of society, and they could create awareness, show the importance of a problem or issue, convey information, or promote a behavioral change without promoting the need to purchase something. It’s now more than ever that I believe in advertising’s power to change the world. But I work in advertising to be on the inside and have the ability to utilize it to improve society.
So while not entirely drinking the advertising Kool-Aid, I do think that if advertising suddenly ceased to exist, the world woudn’t thrive as some may believe. But just to sum everything up, my college advertising program said it best: Better advertising, better world.