Out with the New, in with the Old?

We're fans of the Ad Contrarian here at Amárach - he may be sarcastic about advertising and cynical about research but he does it so entertainingly. Take his read on why marketers like the newest and the latest, or as he puts it: "Why are marketers and ad people so hysterically attached to the belief that the next flavor-of-the-month will change everything?"

He gives his reasons:

1. We have an image of ourselves as visionaries. The more that advertising has embraced "branding" in lieu of "selling" as its primary purpose, the more mysterious and abstruse the art of marketing has become. Consequently, we marketing and advertising professionals have talked ourselves into believing that we have unusual powers of insight into human behavior. This, we believe, allows us to foresee the future with great clarity.

2. We love new things and hate old things. Just look at the advertising we create.

• People over the age of 50 control 77% of the wealth of this country. Please show me one Super Bowl ad this year that was directed at them.

• The average American buys 13 cars in his lifetime -- 8 of them after the age of 50. When is the last time you saw an old person in a car ad?

3. Advertising and marketing people are the early adopters of just about everything. Being ahead of the curve is our badge of honor. Marketing has changed from finding an insight and communicating it, to finding the next trend and pouncing on it. Jumping on a bandwagon is so much less taxing than thinking.

4. Nobody ever made a nickel predicting that things would stay pretty much the same.

For those of us who grew up in the Mad Men era, there is much here that rings true. As usual, the comments that follow the post are nearly as entertaining. Enjoy!