Marvel or myth?

There was a little celebration done over Friday night with people from the office and it was the usual chatter and gossip that took place. If you put more than two advertising people on a table, the likelihood of them bitching about their clients and bosses is high. Get seven of them together and there will all the stories and talk about the industry flowing like the wine. And our topic for that night was about who is leaving to where, what did the bosses do and a more serious and alarming news about the media agencies probably taking over creative agencies soon and putting us out of the job – as if our job and the industry/market isn’t bad enough.

The truth is, there has been many discussion about what these media agencies are up to these days but it did strike a chord with me as I have found out that someone I knew from a creative agency is being fished by a media agency to handle a special team that deals with so called creative handling of media. Now if I want to talk about them, we really have to go back to many many many years ago at the birth of advertising.

Advertising or rather the creative side to my knowledge (and what I read) came about because back in the days people who owns medias like magazine and all would like to sell space. And in order to sell these space, the client need to have a creative ie advertisement to put in those spaces so they put some designers to make those ads for clients to use in the space and that’s how creative agencies was born. But over the years, creative agencies has been separated from them and since then grow to unprecedented amount not only in terms of money, glamour but power.

But the power is about the change hands as media agencies these days are moving a notch and getting their paws into our territory by proposing so called creative medium to clients without our knowledge. The correct flow of an ad or campaign production should start from the creative concept and when that’s settled, then only we choose the channel. But these days, we are forced to think of something for this or that medium or channel because the media went ahead and sell it to the client and because mr and mrs client loves it and we don’t want to argue with money (we do sometimes earn media commission) so we give in. Now everyone can tell you that if you are starting to dabble with creative, why not do it yourself and cut out the middle-man like creative agency and earn more from it? That’s exactly where we see this is heading to in the future.

However, it is amazing to think that on what seemed like doomed discussion about the future of our work and from the reflection, this one jaded community that have seen it all and always expects the worst even though everything runs smoothly can still be optimistic about something. It just occurred to me on the same night as I was driving home. Examine these evidence.

Evidence #1
Boy met girl and feel in love in high school. After graduation, they split up and have never seen each another again till last six month. They got engaged and would be married by next year.

I know this girl. She’s in advertising. She works from 9.30 am to 12 midnight or even later. Comes back to work on Saturday.

Evidence #2
Girl met boy through work. Girl works for creative agency and boy works for media agency. Never talked and met only once. Girl left for another agency and the possibility of working with boy again is zero to none. Boy called girl up out of the blue. Got together for a year now and would be moving into their new house that they bought together next year.

I know this girl.

Evidence #3
Boy is in advertising. Hardworking, determined and very single. Decided to go for speed dating. Met another boy. Been together for 3 years and going strong. Are living together now.

I know this boy.

So what is the deduction from all this? Yes, I am surrounded for cringe worthy and puke inducing love-birds but that’s not my point. That I am a loser, well…partially correct. No, my point is in a world where we don’t believe in anything as ludicrous as falling in love at first sight and being together for more than 3 months, it seemed like some people had done the impossible. And these are not stories told by people who knew people who knew people. These are real people. People I know. People from my industry. People like me. These are not myths or urban legend created to make single people feel bad about themselves – it has become (gasp) inspiration for hopeful singles out there.

I know that I have said to my friends that I would probably be too busy or too complicated or given up hopes for dates and all those mambo jambos but the evidence is mounting before my eyes. If it could happen to others who are so alike myself, how difficult or how hard more it would be for me? Am I too much of a pessimist then for my own good? Perhaps a miracle could happen. Like how I could fall deeply in love with an up and coming director for my next tv commercial or this cute Account Director (oh yes, I have seen this very very very very cute one) who doesn’t even know my existence.

Million to one chance. Still a chance, don’t you think? But I don’t think I will go for anyone from the media. I still don’t like them.