Planner-bashing

There are two popular advertising blogs, Scamp and Ad Contrarian that are particularily hostile against planners (also known as twats) and planning (has to be killed). 

Being a cynical blogger or blog commenter is easy, and achieving good account planning is difficult. The problem is therefore not planning itself, but the quality of it is. I don't know what the solution is, but I know that getting rid of planning would send advertising back to the stoneage. Please remember that planning was founded to keep clients and marketing research from owning the creative process. So in a world where creative ideas get killed by clients, media agencies, consultants and excel sheets on a day-to-day basis, the best remedy is account planning, twat or not. 

Comments

[Thomas Stack]

Hi Leon,

All respect to you for taking offense when people attack your profession, the real trick here though is to see through the harsh wording and figure out where the truth in their argument is.

The one part I really wanted to comment on was that being a cynical blogger is easy... and I agree that just being cynical is - but the Ad Contrarian makes me laugh on a daily basis - and that takes talent and wits... I might not always agree with Bob, but he is very good at what he does!

Just my 2 cents, keep up the good work and take care!

Thomas

[Leon]

I totally respect what Bob and also what Scamp writes, and I'm also a fan of both sites. But a couple of opinionated voices does not constitute a truth or strong enough arguments for "killing" a profession or referring to female genitalia.

Obviously, everything comes down to professional quality - be it planning, account direction or creative.

[George]

Both sides are so different, and when people don't understand or care about something, they will almost certainly shun it. Fair enough, we all have opinions, but the reason why creatives bitch about crap briefs, and why planners moan about shitty ideas is that their isn't an understanding of these processes that are connected so closely.

I know we all seem to believe that 'planning' and 'creative' are completely different, but they are close nonetheless, and to create good briefs and from there create great ads, you need to at least have a basic understanding of each others strengths. If you write a brief without understanding what makes a creative weak at the knees, you will all produce crap ads. If you don't know how to interpret a brief, then your creative will not be on the mark, and thus as crappy as the previous situation.

There's my 2 shiny pennies

[Charles]

I just think that in order to comment on planning it's important to do it in a few different countries, with a few different types of agencies from hot shops to multinationals and over a spread of accounts from retail to fmcg to flagship to boutique.

Most creatives and planners haven't done that so the baseline discussion is incoherent.

I have and I can tell you that a lot of clients ignore planners and own the research. To even suggest otherwise is just naive.

As a last word Scamp links to my blog and while he may be tough on planning he's a believer in great planning. It's us who needs to raise our game and not pretend we're great when many are just giving the illusion of intellect to advertising. It's a con and I'm a planner who prefers to tell it like it is even if it costs me. In the long run it pays me.

[bob hoffman]

Don't be so sensitive. I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity basher -- planners, art directors, digital strategists, agency managers, yes, even big-mouth bloggers.

[Leon]

Bob: I'm not being sensitive, I'm just tired of cynicism because it certainly doesn't improve the way things are. Cynicism can of course be entertainment, but that requires intelligence and wittiness.

[Lafayette]

you twats

[johan]

I loved scamps list in his last post http://scampblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/comments.html

r.i.p