In the lead article in today’s AdAge, Jeff Goodby, creative genius of Goodby, Berlin Silverstein, called for Cannes judges to take into account the sheer “famousness” of a piece of work when they make their determinations. In the process of making his case he stated that entries should not be judged on “whether the stuff worked — we are all quite good at making entry videos that make that case.” What was he thinking?

In his article Mr. Goodby bemoans the fact that so little of today’s advertising passes the cab driver test (that test takes place when, on learning that his passenger is in advertising, the cab driver asks whether he might be familiar with any of the passenger’s work). After decrying the state of the advertising industry, Goodby then makes his pitch for marketing to be famous, stating, “I want us all to be famous again, outside the walls of our agencies.”

Now I assume that Mr. Goodby was addressing the advertising community. If so, I imagine some of them reacted with a, “Hell, yeah! Way to go Jeff,” and giggled smugly at the fact that they could make any campaign look good in an award entry video. But how might someone picking up the bill for an expensive ad campaign react? “WTF? Well if that’s what you want, then go find someone else to pick up the tab. What I want is something that sells.”

Taken at face value Mr. Goodby’s comments would appear to confirm everything a CFO has ever believed about advertising, advertising agencies and creative awards. They have nothing to do with financial returns (other than the agency’s of course) and are simply designed to make those involved famous in front of their peers.

The truly sad thing is that real creativity, harnessed to the benefit of a brand, can produce incredible financial returns. It can attract new buyers to a brand and encourage people to stay with the brand even when times are tough. And it can motivate staff to give 110 percent for their company. It is part of the reason that brands like Apple, Dove, and Coca-Cola are so valuable. But it is only part of the reason. And it is only because campaigns for those brands place the brand front and center.

As you might expect, Mr. Goodby’s article attracted a lot of commentary. I was struck in particular by the comment made by Snigdha from Mumbai because it states precisely how a great creative campaign can produce strong financial returns.

I’ll repeat part of her commentary here:

“The purpose of an ad is primarily to create associations and sell products. The brand is the hero. Everyone else is an enabler.

How incisively an ad reflects ground consumer insights to induce a sense of ‘Hey, that could be me!’ in its target audience, adds to it memorability on the consumer circuit; a collective buzz, elation even among the users.

And I use ‘memorability’ over any other; in a sense of relevant resonance with the consumer.”

Snigdha’s comments highlight the foundations of truly effective and compelling creative but also provide the linkage between what Jeff Goodby calls for and what our putative client wants. Any creative that truly resonates with its target audience and sells the brand will also become famous. It will pass Mr. Goodby’s cab driver test (provided that the driver is in the target audience).

So I believe Mr. Goodby actually wants the same thing as our client. But if ever something proved that what works for one target audience does not work for another, this article was it. I suspect that for those outside the ad agency community this article further undermined the credibility of advertising, particularly in the minds of those who ultimately pay for it. Maybe the article should have been pre-tested with the wider audience before it hit the big time.

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