“What’s the difference in working on tobacco, gambling and booze? -surly nothing?”
A much visited advertising debate was reignited the other day on Linkedin. Should you work on brands in categories that can cause harm? Due to vast profits from human weakness tobacco, gambling and booze brands spend a lot on advertising. Should you take up the offer? because in the past many did and created award-winning campaigns.
Clearly in light of how Advertising has had to take a very long hard look at its past practices and behaviours. Such debate is yet again very timely.
Lets start with enjoyingment. Our job at its most fundamental is to unlock human desire and engage emotions. Sure you can pick and choose your area of work. But you can't ignore base elements of what makes human, humans.
From the earliest evidence in Mesopotamia, mankind sort intoxication and enjoyed waging. A good society is one that protects its most vulnerable from the worst excesses of its own desires. Be that driven by corporations or kings. Prohibition manifestly does not work. But democracy does. With very few exemptions we all desire to do good. As such educating and nurturing good behaviour that benefits all should not be hard. There is amble talent within this industry to do so. Just less of it in national governments to effect real change and protect their own populations in meaningful ways. Whether through education or whole life fulfillment.
I have spent a lot of time working on booze and gambling brands. To work in advertising is to except human desire for what it is. Your options are how you choose to influence it.
