Learning to Drive

In the dialogue Phaedrus, Plato gives us an image of the individual as a charioteer, directing the soul- the chariot- towards enlightenment. The challenge was, it required guiding two horses with two very different traits in the same direction. The same image rings true when thinking about success in the advertising industry today. WACL’s Future Leader award provides training bursaries to help enhance their likelihood of getting to the top ranks of their organizations and develop their skills and knowledge in the industry.

I asked WACL for driving lessons. Advertising’s role as a charioteer is to guide two elements that have the potential to walk together in harmony but are different beasts and industries in their own right with their own objectives, ways of working and own measures of success.

The first horse represents business. Rational, single minded, it requires from advertising a little direction and reassurance. There is not much discussion on the end goal, maybe only the route. Our objective is clear, whether it is through awareness or footfall, it generally leads to sales. From the horses point of view, advertising just needs to “Tell ‘em to sell ‘em.”

The second represents the cultural arm to advertising. Subjective, disarming, intense, controversial, hard to pin down and quantify. This is the horse driven by the mood of the masses. It was makes Cadbury’s Gorilla so fabulous, Budweiser’s Whassup so catchy and Dove’s Real Beauty so ground breaking.

We know both horses are important- you can see reluctant nods of recognition across the meeting table- but we probably have a favourite. However, to be valuable to our clients we have to have perfect balance to drive beautifully. And as the world continues to move faster, our chariot finds itself in a race. Companies soar and die, customers are impatient, fickle and indeed represent the competition. We can’t afford to wobble.

I have always favoured the cultural horse. In the dictionary definition it contains three interesting threads. Culture means:

1. To develop the mind. To be exposed to culture is to broaden your mind to more and more about less and less. This is why meeting people, from the sales team to the factory team to customers is so fasinating. Everyone knows a little bit more about something than you do. All it takes is to connect the dots to tell a story.
2. The behaviours and beliefs of a social or ethnic group. It’s recognising that the people who buy what we market are usually very different to us. The best part of being in research is to talk to people who see the product for what it really is. It also recognises that context is everything. Who I am at home in East End is quite different to being with my Dad in Nottingham, friends in Oxford or my in-laws in the Western Sahara. There are certain needs that drive every human being, but culture recognses the regional and global differences in what makes us tick.
3. Finally it means the quality of a person. The Greeks had a term Arete. It meant having a quality, an excellence in all you do. Being cultured is not about knowing greek quotes or famous artists. It is not about exposure it is about doing. It is about being enriched in every part of your life, from cooking to arguing to running to fixing things. Optimism, curiosity and enthusiasm. A snob consumes and compares. A cultured person does and improves. And that brings huge self worth, self reflection and self esteem. In the digital age where it is so easy to consume other people’s work it becomes distracting and intimidating to create your own. It’s why media must move from showing people ideas to helping people experience and live those ideas.

A company needs to be culturally relevant but too often culture is seen as being fluffy and indulgent than relevant to business. And yet businesses who have their finger on the pulse are the ones that can adapt and change the world. As advertisers we need to sell the benefits of both horses to each other for a more harmonious drive.