John Winsor should seriously consider crowdsourcing to write his editorials, as he seems incapable of handling the task on his own. The man’s latest perspective at Digiday—which is barely a rung above AgencySpy as a forum for pseudo thought leaders—presents commentary on the Publicis Groupe-Omnicom merger that essentially blends common knowledge with self-promotional pap. If there were a Darwinian chart for idiotic hucksters, Winsor would definitely be depicted in the evolutionary lineup.
For starters, Winsor actually had the audacity to quote Havas CEO David Jones’ (Winsor’s boss) critique of the mega-merger: “Clients today want us to be faster, more agile, more nimble and more entrepreneurial, not bigger and more bureaucratic and more complex.” Um, Jones’ network is no stranger to bigness, bureaucracy and complexity. The company website boasts, “Havas is one of the world’s largest global advertising, digital and communications groups.” And let’s not forget the enterprise is fueled by nepotism. Havas implying Publicis Omnicom Groupe is outdated sounds like Joan Rivers calling Betty White an old shrew.
So what solution does Winsor propose to address the problems inherent in holding companies such as Publicis Omnicom Groupe and Havas? Why, crowdsourcing, of course! Winsor wants to counter the “commoditized service offerings” of traditional advertising agencies with a failed industry fad that commoditizes creative people and the creative process in the worst possible ways. As history has shown, agency mergers never improve the lives of the worker bees executing the campaigns. But crowdsourcing as performed by Winsor turns writers and art directors into anonymous, interchangeable drones—and grossly undervalues their contributions during an economic recession.
Winsor said Publicis Omnicom Groupe is “an attempt to stop the clock.” Okay, but Winsor better check the clock too—his fifteen minutes of fame expired a long time ago.
4 comments:
Classic, fucking classic. You nailed it. A great post. I have just written about it on "AdScam" 'cos, as you know, I am a fucking prince.
Cheers/George
Parasite Inc. would be a good name for a mega-crowdsourcing company. As for the attack on Wren-Levy by Winsor-Jones, it shows a lack of class and a lack of grace and a lack of insight into how to make points about yourself. Better for Winsor-Jones to simply say: "Good luck to them. Though competitors, we wish them the best." Or just shut up and figure out how to sell yourself or buy something worth buying.
Winsor and cronies love to brandish the word "haters" at all those who despise crowdsourcing. This is the exact verbiage that folks such as Sara Palin employ. The cranial similarity is uncanny. Any artist, from any discipline, who is worth his/her salt has an ego that would never let themselves be pimped and degraded to such a degree. So the desperate and prideless become your workforce. Hence producing crap. I would rather eat squirrel than work for someone like that. Tastes like chicken....
At first glance, our libertarian sensibilities tell us that crowdsourcing is a transaction between consenting adults and none of our business. At second glance, it is like statutory rape: the adult arguing that the sex is consensual, the law saying there is tacit force placed upon the minor by the adult in the position of power. In 2013, I would wonder how advertisers--who once used 25 words or less contests to involve consumers, but rarely if ever took the suggestions further than the contest--can be seduced by this sort of gang bang.
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