Ad Chatter, Episode 4: Overworking the Team, Plus Three Quick Takes on New Commercials

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In this new edition of Ad Chatter, Dan Goldgeier and I discuss:

1. The blight of overworking people in the agency business
2. Rao Homemade’s deceptively simple homemade-looking ad
3. adidas and the KC Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes connect around Black Lives Matter
4. Lenovo Yoga’s new product launch and the difficulty of naming projects

I Don’t Know Whose Back’s That Strong, Maybe Find Out Before Too Long

Craig Ainsley is a creative director at Mother in London. He, like so many of us, is tired of the abuse of creative talent, and he is willing to say so on the record, which is helpful.

I realised I know 9 people in advertising who have had to seek medical help because of work-induced burn out and exacerbated mental health problems. A few of them were hospitalised. Some had to take a leave of absence. That’s 9. I know dozens more who feel the strain but are yet to break. Of course, there are people who LOVE to work long hours and consider it something to boast about. Well, whatever works for you personally. Truth is though, the institutionalised epidemic of overworking isn’t working for a lot of people.

There’s no vaccine research or solutions to end poverty and hunger in Ad World. At the end of the day, we’re ad makers. Yet, this perspective is too often missing. The agency business is a grind, but the grind is grinding it down to a nub.

Rao’s Homemade

Homemade sauce from a jar?

I love pasta and Rao’s Homemade is a great sauce, or “gravy” as Italians say. As you will hear on the podcast, Dan and I are not sure what to make of the new commercial.

adidas and Patrick Mahomes

Patrick Mahomes says the community is coming together for one cause. “It gives you hope.”

“It’s all about action, about the next step…we’re going to be making change in this world,” Mahomes says.

Lenovo Yoga

No product is for everyone, especially a PC.

Previously on Ad Chatter: Ad Chatter 3: Seriously Misleading, Beside the Point, Plus Ads that Make Fun of Ads