advertising and other stuff. no, really.



Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Does advertising need a union?

This is what happens when you don’t blog for a day, you start thinking about things other than the latest Bud spot. Things that most industry pubs won’t touch because it bites the hand. Highjive and AdPulp mentioned it recently, and Toad has touched on the freelance issue too. I’ve thought about it a lot lately. Any freelancer or person on staff who’s gotten screwed one of several ways probably wishes they had some form of protection too.

Why is advertising the only ‘creative’ profession without a union? Ironic since most of the above and below the line costs you would use for major productions have them already, everything from directors, talent, animation, etc.

Everyone but advertising. I can see the arguements against it already:

Freelancers make a ton already! We get to work in cool studios doing award-winning stuff that may or may not be seen on TV or film! We have benefits and two weeks vacation! Agency perks like free sushi and beer on Friday afternoons! We get to wear iconic t-shirts, funky sneakers, jeans and listen to Beck! What’s so bad about that?

Well, yes, we get to come and go as we want–mostly–but freelancers also have the joy of not knowing where the next gig is going to come from, or for how long. They get to pay ALL their expenses out of an ever-reducing hourly rate, including medical, travel, higher on average social security and tax rates–and get to wait up to 30-60 days for that first check. Oh, and temp services that take a huge cut and then always seems to place you in less than ideal environments.

Agencies could care less though because they’re paying you that higher hourly rate so they don’t have to deal with all that crap. To them, it’s basically a no-strings attached, one-week stand. But it’s not just freelancers who get screwed.

Job security? A big fucking HA! Not for freelance, not for staff whatsoever. And try putting in less than 70 hours without the scorn of others. Two weeks vacation that actually gets broken apart into smaller chunks of time, because well, it would be better for the agency if people weren’t away for so long. A series of long weekends is now the norm for most creatives.

And what about those benefits, the ones that you now have to pay more of in terms of a copay ... because
it would be better for the agency to not have to pay so much. Nice. And I’m sure your 401 will be safe, provided the agency doesn’t fold, leaving you with nothing.

You can also bet that all the talent you work with, especially on a spot for TV has more protection and a regulated workflow than you do. A grip or animator at Disney likely has more job security and benefits than any agency ACD.

Not to mention protection from the one thing you can call your own: intellectual property. You know, the ideas your senior AD or ACD didn’t think were “really working,” but somehow managed to make it into the internal presentation the next day?

How about fired for any reason the owner or mid-level office managing minions or AEs see fit. Which, is more often about politics and personal agendas than it is about issues of competency. I’m crazy, right? Riiiiight. With the growing number of account-driven agencies permeating the business, account execs and project managers have more say in terms of how projects run, and if as a creative, you’re perceived even slightly as not being a ‘team player,’ you’re the problem the agency needs to deal with.

Forget for a sec that you may raising creative issues that go to the heart of what agencies should be about. A few mid or senior level creatives will not compare to AOR status and a multi-million dollar account on the line.

Where’s your recourse?

You have none, and if you keep butting heads, well, you’re screwed in the current ‘right to work’ environment of most states. (For the student newbies out there, you can be fired for any reason they see fit to hide behind). And what’s at the heart of this? Yeah, it really is that stupid: some AE cared more about getting a layout that wasn’t ready to the client, just so they can say they met the deadline–and you’re the asshole for bringing it up.

And, does this shit happen at the bigger and better shops? Probably not. (There are worse things in life than getting to wear jeans and listening to Beck at work.) Even if (insert really cool agency here) was a sweatshop, most people would probably put up with half the problems just for the name on their resume. Messed up I know, but that’s the way it is.

In fairness, it’s also not an issue at very small shops with husband and wife designers, or maybe studios with 5 or 10 designers doing cool shit and everyone’s happy.

But a union wouldn’t be for the places where things are great. This is about the places where it isn’t. The places where they treat staff as just another expense to be let go 150 at a time. You can blame the loss of a client all you want, but it’s never just about that.

The senior marketing dudes who open a small shop, take advantage of the staff who always work late, and then rake it in while talking at seminars on the Ad Age circuit. Or the shops who’ve been around for a long time, bloated at the top with a staff that dreads going to work, but finding another gig may be hard. Especially when you’re intimidated by an attitude that says you should be thankful because of ‘the way things are out there right now.’

How many yachts can you water ski behind indeed.

I could go on with a list of gripes, but it’s not about that. It’s about how you can tell a lot about an agency by the way it treats its employees.
I’m just raising issues that need to be addressed. Seeing as we’re in this new snake oil-based age of conversation, I’m just starting one is all.

5 comments:

Joker said...

You should take blog days off more often my friend. Great post, important topics, but it's the type that will get avoided like some dreaded toxic heap of shit. The type of topic where many say: "I'm not going THERE". We've touched this on the blog a couple of times but never this concise. Maybe more scatalogical but that's just because we so love cussing. The reality of the matter though is that I think you're right. Recently we had someone from the shop leave. This is not a bad thing. He left of his own accord and we wished him well as long as it was far far away from us since he was the proverbial rotten one. We then got the pleasure of working with a freelance copywriter that had us endeared in about 3 days. Talented, responsible ballsy woman that is nearing 50 but shows no signs of slowing up skill wise or work wise. She was looking to stay with us and the team would have loved that, but it was not to be. She got about two days notice that she wasn't coming on Monday. If you did an evaluation she would have excelled in every niche, yet she still got let go because she's freelance and again, that's how things are.

In some agencies there's a little something called Black Fridays. One upping the two day thing a variety of people get called to different offices and the aftermath is red puffed cheeks, strained eyes and the fact that you won't see these people on Monday... because that's the way things are.


"Especially when you’re intimidated by an attitude that says you should be thankful because of ‘the way things are out there right now.’"


This attitude permeates a huge percent of agencies as if we're fucking monkeys that should be happy we get to not see our families, get sick and get paid shit. Dance monkey, here's a nickel, now say thank you or you won't get a bonus.

oh and please let us not get into the getting a raise debacle. I've heard way too many wise old foxes tell me and some other younguns that if you want a raise, you better interview someplace else.

If anything is pure BS in advertising it's any usage of the word stability. You're ass is always expendable and don't you doubt it for one minute.

Anyways, great post and definitely a topic to touch base on. Take care and Cheers to you Bill.

Joker

Thinking In Vain said...

The comment above makes me want to go back to school... for something else.

I love the comment and the post though.

Anonymous said...

Although I loved the first agency I was at and the creative department was fantastic, I remember exactly when my eyes were opened to how advertising really works. There I was, a year and a bit into my copywriter job, still learning a lot and making not much more than peanuts (but happy enough with the work!). And my CD came to see me, shut the door and said, "Well, you've been here long enough but I had to fight for your raise. Apparently the president thinks you should be thankful for having a job and being able to learn from senior people."

HighJive said...

ok, fine, can we at least get gabrielle union?

how about a cash advance at western union?

Alan Wolk said...

@Bill: It's not any better at the "really good agencies'
The work is better, but the politics are the same. Possibly worse, because everyone's scrambling after the same nuts, whereas at less creative shops, it's mostly about not doing anything embarrassing.

Union would be a great idea. Especially now that salaries are dropping rapidly. Especially (as I've noted time and again) at the upper end of the spectrum - ACDs, CDs and their ilk don't make nearly what they did even 10 years ago. And there are fewer of those jobs with every merger.

TV writers make way more money than anyone in advertising. They get to wear cool clothes and work with famous people. And they have a union. Maybe it's about time advertising creatives started to think about one too.

If for no other reason than benefits: with so many people freelancing, a group rate on medical, dental, etc. would be a real savings. I know actors love SAG for that very reason.