The Persuaders Among Us

The advertising industry’s and the broadcast television industry’s business models are broken. They’re leaning against each other for support – not because it works, but because that’s what they’ve always done.

That’s what I learned watching Front Line’s – The Persuaders.

It’s a fantastic and accurate – from what I’ve heard being 1 step removed – illustration of the panic within the advertising world on a national – if not global – level.

At the end of the 90 minute show, I was left with a distinct feeling that advertisers were completely disconnected from those they serve – both their clients and their client’s customers.

If we overlay the Cathedral and Bazaar metaphor on advertising. The big, multi-national ad agencies are in fact cathedrals. Expensive, disconnected, and inconsistent (both in value and effectiveness).

Where as other channels like this weblog, podcasting, and other participatory media. Like those Dan Gillmor talks about in We the Media are the Bazaar. Completely embedded into the events, relevant (therefore valuable) to the people involved, sustainable, and cheap.