I have a difficult relationship with advertising – and not just because I currently work in it. Originally I simply understood that advertising was a necessary and even welcome evil simply because it allows a lot of content to be provided free: websites, magazines and originally television shows. And I appreciated that ad agencies were the first major industry to embrace the idea of creativity being vital to their work and trying to encourage it in the office culture and environment. However, once the fact that happier employees are more productive employees spread the idea of working to attract employees has become almost mainstream. Even older institutions are taking this onboard.
Once that was out of the way I started to realize several unfortunate things about the advertising industry. Most disturbingly is the fact that they use human psychology to exploit people into buying more of their product – regardless if they need or actually want it. They do all kinds of tests to ensure that their messaging will pierce the brain and cause consumption. This is of course not illegal and what precisely every company in the world does: creates demand for what they’re selling. But seeing how ad agencies work first hand and at the same time witnessing the culture of America that we have created: of debt, overconsumption and obesity, it makes me a little sick to be a part of it.
Even I am not immune to advertising despite being able to recognize what they are trying to do — the values they are trying to show me I should hold dear. I have mentioned my food, technology and travel vices. And every time I see an ad along those lines my heart does race and my brain does whirr – starting to think about how I should buy this product to solve a problem they just invented. I am not immune, but luckily the activities I enjoy do not cause me to come into contact with advertisements: I do not watch traditional television and if I do it’s on a DVR, which allows me to fast forward through the ads. I don’t pay attention to online advertisements and usually don’t even notice them. If they are consistently annoying I actually leave sites and allow them to keep their precious content to themselves. The only place I can’t avoid ads is the streets and public transportation of New York, but those ads are thankfully usually more ridiculous and hilarious than anything I would seriously consider.
The fact that there is an entire industry that claims to be an expert in everything (which is not at all the case) and agencies that claim to be different than all the others (which they are not: people in this industry hop to different companies about every 2 years – everyone from one agency is quickly dispersed to all others). The fact that they work late nights and weekends to try and release advertisements, which everyone considers a nuisance in order to create demand and then fill it really does sicken me. It’s like consulting without the pay and a nicer dress code.
In essence, advertising lured me into an industry that seems to not have a soul. Ad agencies do not actually have their client’s best interest at heart. They will (and have as I have witnessed) say anything to get an account and the money that goes along with it. They will blatantly lie about the skills and relationships they have to get that point on an imaginary scorecard. It’s about avoiding blame and coming out individually clean when the fact is no one can. I find this even more disturbing than a sales person doing the same thing – because their income depends on their sales. Advertising is a salaried field. If you win a large client the only part of your life that will increase is your temporary reputation. It’s not even about money, which I could understand to a point – it’s about ego.
Given my newfound knowledge of how the culture we have created turns us into braindead, obese consumers, my level of distaste with the industry has grown significantly. And the occasional glamour and rush of selling that I experienced in my early years has vanished. However, I can’t say that advertising is 100% evil — my current job has allowed me for the first time in my adult career to have time to think. I wasn’t so burned out that all I could do was de-stress with mindless television and large quantities of alcohol before starting the week again. This time in my own functioning brain is what allowed me to discover Financial Independence and ultimately turn my life around.
“I donโt pay attention to online advertisements and usually donโt even notice them. If they are consistently annoying I actually leave sites and allow them to keep their precious content to themselves.”
I find this interesting. I have been enjoying the content on this site so far (starting from the beginning) but have been having issues keeping my browser up as the ads on this site make it crash. I understand that this advertising is paying you enough money to keep you blogging and producing great content, and I respect that ultimately it is my choice to continue to consume that content. I just wish I didn’t have to constantly scroll back to the same part of the post after a new ad pops up and shifts the screen or have to find the post again after an ad crashes my browser.
That being said, I want to reiterate that I am really enjoying your writing and find you inspiring as my wife and I are also in the Seattle area. ๐
Hi Brian – Thanks so much for telling me! I haven’t heard of the ads crashing the site before or experienced that myself. Can you send me a screenshot of what’s happening that shows an example and the browser you’re on? Same with the ads making you scroll back to a location. I haven’t seen that on my end and don’t want that happening. I just installed ads on my site this month actually, am still troubleshooting them with my team and don’t want them to interrupt your experience at all. Feel free to send me an email with that info at purple[at]apurplelife.com and I’ll reach out to my ad team to fix these things. None of that was my intention ๐ . Besides all that I’m glad you’re enjoying the site and want to make sure it’s not an annoying experience so please do reach out with those details so I can make it more enjoyable for you. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!
Hey Purple! Unfortunately (or fortunately rather) I can’t send a screenshot as the problem isn’t happening anymore! In case it helps, I was using Internet Explorer (forced to use it at work) and the trouble ads were nested in the posts themselves. I don’t see them anymore at all and haven’t had any issues with the site today/last Friday.
I am still chugging my way through 2015 and look forward to hearing more from you.
Have a great day!
Oh awesome – that’s great to hear. I messaged my team right after getting your note so maybe they fixed it! Happy to hear you haven’t been having any more trouble and good luck chugging through 2015 – I still cringe when I read that stuff, but I guess I should just focus on how I’ve improved instead ๐ . New post tomorrow! I hope you’re having a great day too!