Long, long ago, large companies had their own advertising departments, and did all of their work, you know, in-house. Wasn’t long before specialist firms called agencies sprung up, full of bright young things and sharp ideas.
Advertising was for the cool kids.
Somewhere along the way, technology became way more accessible. Suddenly being on the inside was much cooler, and way smarter, and so here we are back at the start.
It’s called in-housing. It’s a thing because, well, agencies.
Everyone’s doing it. Even Apple.
Their latest on-campus effort has been doing the rounds and making a bit of noise. You might have heard. Far be it for me to cast the first stone - or any stone for that matter - glasshouses and all.
Looks like I’m far too late in any case.
The trouble usually starts when you take your own advice too often and too seriously, and end up telling yourself only what you want to hear.
It’s a slippery slope. Keep listening to yourself and you end up having solutions to things that aren’t problems. If you’re not careful, the next thing you know is you’ve done something silly like invent Vision Pro or New Coke.
Yes, ideas can come from anywhere. No, they won’t always be good ones.
Once, off the back of a casual comment from a client, I managed to talk myself into the idea that I would make an excellent suit, and clearly what the client was really after was more of me.
Surprisingly, this wasn’t the case at all. Strange I know. I’m sure you’re just as bemused as I am.
Anyway, it was a long time ago, and everyone is back on speaking terms. They’re called blind spots for a reason. You need a provocateur.
We all do.
When you can’t read a room, you end up in the outhouse.
Just ask Tim Apple.
