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The trouble with trophies

I came across this discussion on Mumbrella about what PR agencies need to do to win awards at Cannes and why “adland is the home of awards-obsessed backslapping knob-jockeys”. And I thought it was quite interesting because I’m sad and have no life.

Here’s a gem of a comment, even though a filthy Australian made it: “I think advertising agencies are the biggest backslapping pack of knob jockeys of all time. Their obsession with awards is breathtaking.”

That came from Stuart Gregor, the founder of (filthy Australian) PR agency Liquid Ideas. But it’s this follow up comment that made me LOL, and I mean actually laugh out loud, not just in the Generation Y internet meme sense.

“Dudes, ad agencies wouldn’t chase awards if clients didn’t measure them by how many they have.”

What a load of crap.

People like getting awards. People that don’t get awards hate people that get awards. People that don’t get awards hate people talking about the awards they got even more than Pedobear hates Garry Glitter.

That’s just how it is. But if you go and ask your client how many awards you have won, I guarantee they wouldn’t have a clue.

In my opinion, fancy pitches get you the account, client service loses you the account. The tide of hatred that makes your client go rabid on you is caused by the air-headed client service tarts that don’t know a target market from a Justin Bieber haircut. The plebs doing the grunt work on client side will eventually synchronise their PMS and overthrow the GM Marketing. The GM Marketing will get sick of everyone bitching and leave, or scapegoat the agency and get a new one. I know this because I have shaken my pitchfork and joined such witch burnings.

Awards are nice for mutual agency side puffery and might help you get a new job down the road at the neighboring agency. But your clients don’t care a toss.

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