Stanton On… Old Ties…

By Rick Stanton

…neckties to be specific. I’m not sure whom to credit with this wisdom: “Never throw out old neckties, because sooner or later they’ll be back in style.”

With all the doom and gloom surrounding the demise of TV, radio and out-of-home, the link I’ve provided below shines a little light on the return to thinking that includes those media.

As it begins to dawn on marketers that social media isn’t the be-all end-all, they’re realizing that, in their zeal to rush off the new media cliff, returning to some more conventional forms of communications turns out to be a pretty good idea. And asking ad agencies for some help and expertise also is a pretty good idea.

I was around long enough to see TV and radio be dead, back, dead, back, dead and back yet again. If there’s a constant in advertising, it’s that things change. New things come along that revolutionize the business—and confuse it as well.

In the mid-80s, direct mail was going to kill everything else. That didn’t happen, and what it proved to a large extent was that you can call it anything you want, but most of it simply was “junk mail.”

Then FM radio was going to kill AM, but in a yet-to-be-penned column, I’ll comment on how AM is doing a good job of taking care of its demise on its own.

What I believe happens is this: Everything old finds a way back to relevance.

As a prime example, people still are buying TV sets, even though the content might be delivered by various means, like You Tube, Apple TV or Netflix. And people are watching “traditional TV programming, as well.”

And people still turn on their radios, especially in cars, and more especially in cities like Seattle, where traffic updates are important to commuters. When Stanton & Everybody had the Fryer Commission account, we tailored our media buys primarily to afternoon drive, when people were stuck in traffic, thinking about what to have for dinner. And we saw an almost immediate increase in sales in all markets.

Adapting to and adopting new forms of media makes sense. It’s always a case of what consumers—and clients—are dictating at the moment. But don’t throw out the proverbial baby with the bath water.

And don’t toss out those old ties. Wide gives way to skinny, stripes give way to paisley and solids displace patterns all together. But sooner or later, stripes make a comeback.

The same might be said for the value of ad agencies and what they know and can do that clients can’t—like say buying radio at the right time.

Ad agencies see an uptick in business as direct-to-consumer brands expand beyond Facebook

A Rebuttal

A reader, who chose to remain anonymous, took exception to Rick Stanton’s recent column titled “…A Warning.” Here were the reader’s words:

“So anyone who supports Trump doesn’t have a soul now?  This is preposterous.  A huge part of the divisive nature of our dialogue today can be traced to Democrats’ quick and continuing comparisons of Trump to Hitler and his supporters to Nazis.  Dialogue like this has been used by progressives and liberals for decades.  It is touted hysterically every four years when we have a presidential election. ‘Republicans are going to push Granny over a cliff!’ This year it’s pretty loud because the stakes are very high in the November elections. But, if you are clinging to and endlessly repeating what a Nazi Trump is, you are not paying attention to what is going on in our country.

“Trump has materially improved the lives of millions of people in our country and around the world. Thanks to the tax cut and a huge reduction in regulations, the ‘crumbs’ Nancy Pelosi disparages put an average of $2,000 into the pockets of everyday Americans.  North Korea is NOT launching missiles over Japan and Guam, like they were just a few months ago.  Our trade deficit is at an all-time low, while job growth and employment is at an all-time high.  And, that all-time high includes the highest employment levels for Blacks and Hispanics in history. These are just a few of the improvements that Trump has made.

“I agree that we need to talk to each other.  But talking is not possible with people who do not have open minds.  Mr. Stanton’s mind is not open.”

Here is Rick’s response.

“First of all, have the courage to take credit for your position and state your name. I have no problem using mine behind issues that I feel are important.

“Secondly, I’m neither a Republican nor a Democrat; I’m a progressive centrist who is a fiscal conservative and a social moderate. I feel like our democracy has turned into a ‘we’re right and you’re evil’ pissing contest and that the middle is more important than ever. Extremists have hijacked both parties, so every four years I get to pick which lunatic to support. I’ve even voted Republican on occasion when I felt it was the best thing for our country.

“Thirdly, Donald Trump is not a Republican, and he sure as hell isn’t a Christian. Christians don’t have sex with porn stars while there wife is home caring for a newborn. He wants to be king, not president.

“And lastly, Mr. or Ms. Anonymous, you’re absolutely 100% correct that my mind is not open when it comes to Trump.”