Advertising people are not normal

They don’t look or act much like ‘middle America’. Or ‘middle Britain’ either. 

Several industry studies show that ad people — agency folks, media folks, and brand-side marketers — have different values. They embrace risk more, they pour themselves into their careers, they have a higher need for belonging.

They also have different media habits. They watch TV less. They use more social media platforms. They stream & sling much more.

They’re obsessed with new media and new technology. Frankly they’re drawn to anything new much more than mainstream people.

That’s not inherently a bad thing. Advertising should be a place full of novelty and wonder.

But it’s also a recipe for being out of touch, living in a bubble, and making advertising that just doesn’t work —especially if they’re trying to appeal to the mainstream, or to the most people possible.

It’s a huge argument against trusting the intuition of young hip urban ad people. 

And a huge argument for two things:

• Hiring diversely to get more perspective internally.

• Or getting the hell out of the office to talk to normal people.