Business Guys on Business Trips
July 29, 2008 8:29 PM Subscribe
Business Guys on Business Trips. Cool set of web cartoons about the 'creative' field. Clients and projects and corporate doublespeak, oh my!
Heh, cute.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:38 PM on July 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:38 PM on July 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
Wow. This is awful. The form of humor is to have people say what is ostensibly unstated, therefore circumventing any need for cleverness.
posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat at 8:48 PM on July 29, 2008 [3 favorites]
posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat at 8:48 PM on July 29, 2008 [3 favorites]
Oh I think I get it! Let me play too!
I am so COOL because I don't respect anything or believe that anyone could possibly be sincere about anything ever because then they would be UNCOOL and it is so UNCOOL to be UNCOOL and there is nothing redeemable or valuable in any attempt to do anything because anything anyone really does is just for show anyway.
Did I do it right?
posted by spicynuts at 8:54 PM on July 29, 2008
I am so COOL because I don't respect anything or believe that anyone could possibly be sincere about anything ever because then they would be UNCOOL and it is so UNCOOL to be UNCOOL and there is nothing redeemable or valuable in any attempt to do anything because anything anyone really does is just for show anyway.
Did I do it right?
posted by spicynuts at 8:54 PM on July 29, 2008
It's like Dilbert without the art, writing, or punchlines.
posted by SansPoint at 8:57 PM on July 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by SansPoint at 8:57 PM on July 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
This has been done many times before, and seemed funnier. Though the comics break it down nicely for today's crop.
posted by mattoxic at 9:05 PM on July 29, 2008
posted by mattoxic at 9:05 PM on July 29, 2008
I liked the Get Your War On/My New Filing Technique is Unstoppable look of it. It seems like a much dryer, tamer relative.
posted by not_on_display at 9:06 PM on July 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by not_on_display at 9:06 PM on July 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
It's like Dilbert without the art, writing, or punchlines.
To be fair, so is Dilbert.
posted by mrnutty at 9:17 PM on July 29, 2008 [5 favorites]
To be fair, so is Dilbert.
posted by mrnutty at 9:17 PM on July 29, 2008 [5 favorites]
I laughed, I cried, I yawned.
No, wait. Strike the laughing and crying.
posted by 5MeoCMP at 9:21 PM on July 29, 2008
No, wait. Strike the laughing and crying.
posted by 5MeoCMP at 9:21 PM on July 29, 2008
You know what I love most about "creatives"?
The self-loathing.
The hollow feeling that no many how many copies of AdBusters they buy, they're still part of the problem.
posted by phooky at 9:25 PM on July 29, 2008 [2 favorites]
The self-loathing.
The hollow feeling that no many how many copies of AdBusters they buy, they're still part of the problem.
posted by phooky at 9:25 PM on July 29, 2008 [2 favorites]
Funny if you haven't already seen Truth In Advertising and The Process.
posted by eatyourlunch at 9:34 PM on July 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by eatyourlunch at 9:34 PM on July 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
I like how the word balloons are attached to the heads of the speakers. This is not some ironic jab: I actually like that.
posted by cortex at 9:38 PM on July 29, 2008
posted by cortex at 9:38 PM on July 29, 2008
Truth in Advertising and The process are beginning to make the rounds again. This was a good chuckle for me.
posted by filmgeek at 9:50 PM on July 29, 2008
posted by filmgeek at 9:50 PM on July 29, 2008
It's like Dilbert without the art
Huh, I was going to say it was like Dilbert but with art.
[...or] writing, or punchlines.
Well okay, can't disagree there.
posted by tkolar at 9:56 PM on July 29, 2008
Huh, I was going to say it was like Dilbert but with art.
[...or] writing, or punchlines.
Well okay, can't disagree there.
posted by tkolar at 9:56 PM on July 29, 2008
I read the first four and didn't see any jokes, just bald declarations of a "I/we are incompetent posers" nature. And the cartooning looks very much like someone simply traced photographs, probably stock art.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:18 PM on July 29, 2008
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:18 PM on July 29, 2008
I liked it when I pressed the X up in the top right-hand corner of the screen. It made me happy inside my belly.
posted by turgid dahlia at 10:43 PM on July 29, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by turgid dahlia at 10:43 PM on July 29, 2008 [2 favorites]
Thanks so much for showing me this. I can't believe I just learned marketing is stale.
posted by sourwookie at 11:09 PM on July 29, 2008
posted by sourwookie at 11:09 PM on July 29, 2008
This one actually reminded me of most consultancy companies that come in and do projects. (Yes, I'm looking at you Accidenture)
posted by sebas at 11:46 PM on July 29, 2008
posted by sebas at 11:46 PM on July 29, 2008
Their h1 needs some work.
posted by sluglicker at 11:49 PM on July 29, 2008
posted by sluglicker at 11:49 PM on July 29, 2008
I laughed at the Bowl of Wax joke in this one, but the rest was terrible.
posted by delmoi at 12:15 AM on July 30, 2008
posted by delmoi at 12:15 AM on July 30, 2008
Awful. The worst thing is how laboured the jokes are. In most of them both build-up and punchline go on forever, eventually limping beaten, dispirited and utterly exhausted to the gag. This might be forgiveable if they were hilarious. But, as they are it's a bit like climbing a mountain to find a parking lot at the top and the view obscured by fog.
posted by rhymer at 2:21 AM on July 30, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by rhymer at 2:21 AM on July 30, 2008 [2 favorites]
Weak
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:59 AM on July 30, 2008
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:59 AM on July 30, 2008
But, as they are it's a bit like climbing a mountain to find a parking lot at the top and the view obscured by fog.
This was my exact experience when climbing Mount Washington in NH.
posted by Kabanos at 6:07 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
This was my exact experience when climbing Mount Washington in NH.
posted by Kabanos at 6:07 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
Really weak.
It's hard to tell what the authorial voice is here -- it just seems to be general scorn -- but the overall tone reminds me of the worst kind of "creative" in the whole industry (full disclosure: I'm a writer at an ad agency). Not just somebody who can neither write nor design worth a damn (judging from the work presented), but who also walks through life with a smug sense of self-entitlement that says that they are always right and the client is always wrong.
The bane of my profession: noble "creatives" suffering under the persecution of the oppressive Man, their precious little candles extinguished daily by the snuffer of Big Business.
Clients can be challenging. It's true. And, every once in a while, you run across a dunderhead. But they have an entirely different set of priorities and standards than the "creatives." Their job is not to bring whatever wacky thought crosses some ad flak's mind into full and glorious life. They're responsible -- ultimately, if you wander all the way up the chain -- to their shareholders, and their goal is to find strategies that will help sell their product, ideally at a reasonable cost and with a minimum of risk. Given a choice between a creative sure-fire idea and a stale sure-fire idea, they'll usually choose the creative one. Given a choice between a wacky hit-or-miss idea and a stale sure-fire idea, they'll usually choose the stale one. Because that's their job. Creativity can enhance brand equity, sure, but at the end of the day it's about whether people will choose your brand over Brand X, and -- just as important -- whether retailers will choose your promotion over the Brand X promotion with limited shelf space and consumer attention to go around.
If a product shot with "New and improved!" on a green background with a coupon is the most efficient and effective way to convey the message that the product is new, and has been improved, then sometimes they'll opt for that, not a one-minute TV spot featuring Merle The Dancing Horse That Shoots Rockets Out Of Its Ass.
Talented "creatives" -- which do not necessarily include me, but I try -- are either gifted enough to find ways to produce intelligent, interesting work while still meeting the client's needs, or strong enough in their beliefs that they can convince the client that a road less travelled (or a tried and true approach) is appropriate and necessary. If I sincerely believe that the dancing, ass-rocket-shooting horse is absolutely the best solution to the problem presented, then by God and thunder I will sell the client on Merle. And if the client disagrees, guess what? It's their business to decide. It's my business to suck it up and move on, or to make whingy little anonymous clip-art cartoons on the Internet. Depending.
Mediocre "creatives" can't see past the end of their own noses, don't bother to try to understand where the other party is coming from and what their concerns are, don't try to improve the systems they find it so easy to whinge about, and (in at least once case) produce drivel like this instead of bothering to consider that the people on the other side of the table have their own set of problems and challenges.
If you want to make advertising better, understand where clients are coming from and what their needs are, then address their needs in creative, compelling ways. Proclaiming that "marketing is stupid" and not actually considering the root causes of stale marketing does the profession a disservice and doesn't improve anything.
posted by Shepherd at 6:13 AM on July 30, 2008 [9 favorites]
It's hard to tell what the authorial voice is here -- it just seems to be general scorn -- but the overall tone reminds me of the worst kind of "creative" in the whole industry (full disclosure: I'm a writer at an ad agency). Not just somebody who can neither write nor design worth a damn (judging from the work presented), but who also walks through life with a smug sense of self-entitlement that says that they are always right and the client is always wrong.
The bane of my profession: noble "creatives" suffering under the persecution of the oppressive Man, their precious little candles extinguished daily by the snuffer of Big Business.
Clients can be challenging. It's true. And, every once in a while, you run across a dunderhead. But they have an entirely different set of priorities and standards than the "creatives." Their job is not to bring whatever wacky thought crosses some ad flak's mind into full and glorious life. They're responsible -- ultimately, if you wander all the way up the chain -- to their shareholders, and their goal is to find strategies that will help sell their product, ideally at a reasonable cost and with a minimum of risk. Given a choice between a creative sure-fire idea and a stale sure-fire idea, they'll usually choose the creative one. Given a choice between a wacky hit-or-miss idea and a stale sure-fire idea, they'll usually choose the stale one. Because that's their job. Creativity can enhance brand equity, sure, but at the end of the day it's about whether people will choose your brand over Brand X, and -- just as important -- whether retailers will choose your promotion over the Brand X promotion with limited shelf space and consumer attention to go around.
If a product shot with "New and improved!" on a green background with a coupon is the most efficient and effective way to convey the message that the product is new, and has been improved, then sometimes they'll opt for that, not a one-minute TV spot featuring Merle The Dancing Horse That Shoots Rockets Out Of Its Ass.
Talented "creatives" -- which do not necessarily include me, but I try -- are either gifted enough to find ways to produce intelligent, interesting work while still meeting the client's needs, or strong enough in their beliefs that they can convince the client that a road less travelled (or a tried and true approach) is appropriate and necessary. If I sincerely believe that the dancing, ass-rocket-shooting horse is absolutely the best solution to the problem presented, then by God and thunder I will sell the client on Merle. And if the client disagrees, guess what? It's their business to decide. It's my business to suck it up and move on, or to make whingy little anonymous clip-art cartoons on the Internet. Depending.
Mediocre "creatives" can't see past the end of their own noses, don't bother to try to understand where the other party is coming from and what their concerns are, don't try to improve the systems they find it so easy to whinge about, and (in at least once case) produce drivel like this instead of bothering to consider that the people on the other side of the table have their own set of problems and challenges.
If you want to make advertising better, understand where clients are coming from and what their needs are, then address their needs in creative, compelling ways. Proclaiming that "marketing is stupid" and not actually considering the root causes of stale marketing does the profession a disservice and doesn't improve anything.
posted by Shepherd at 6:13 AM on July 30, 2008 [9 favorites]
a one-minute TV spot featuring Merle The Dancing Horse That Shoots Rockets Out Of Its Ass.
I don't know what product that ad was pushing, but I need to buy it anyway.
posted by DU at 7:22 AM on July 30, 2008
I don't know what product that ad was pushing, but I need to buy it anyway.
posted by DU at 7:22 AM on July 30, 2008
Proclaiming that "marketing is stupid" and not actually considering the root causes of stale marketing does the profession a disservice and doesn't improve anything.
The best part about this is that if these douchetards who think working in advertising is killing their creative authenticity actually sacked up and went out to try to earn a living as a 'true' artist, they would find that 80% of what they would need to spend their time on would be marketing themselves to vapid, rich folks and corporations. It's fucking awesome.
posted by spicynuts at 8:12 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
The best part about this is that if these douchetards who think working in advertising is killing their creative authenticity actually sacked up and went out to try to earn a living as a 'true' artist, they would find that 80% of what they would need to spend their time on would be marketing themselves to vapid, rich folks and corporations. It's fucking awesome.
posted by spicynuts at 8:12 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
Creative: Imagine this... "Metafilter: Merle The Dancing Horse That Shoots Rockets Out Of Its Ass"! Amirite?
Client: ...
Creative: We're envisioning a hipster version of Mr. Ed, heavily layered with CGI. If we can get John Woo to...
Client: It's a horse. With rockets in its ass?
Creative: With rockets shooting out of its ass!
Client: What about just "Metafilter: New and Improved"?
Creative: ...
Client: And I don't like that blue background. Make it green.
posted by Kabanos at 8:59 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
Client: ...
Creative: We're envisioning a hipster version of Mr. Ed, heavily layered with CGI. If we can get John Woo to...
Client: It's a horse. With rockets in its ass?
Creative: With rockets shooting out of its ass!
Client: What about just "Metafilter: New and Improved"?
Creative: ...
Client: And I don't like that blue background. Make it green.
posted by Kabanos at 8:59 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
Advertising is the reason I don't have cable, and only watch TV on the Internet or on purchased DVDs. If these cartoons are any indicator of the talents of "creative" people, my stance is only strengthened.
These look like the cartoons I used to make in 5 minutes, at a call centre, mocking each and every policy. They weren't really funny, so much as rude and probably career-endangering. Then again, that was why I made them.
posted by Dark Messiah at 10:19 AM on July 30, 2008
These look like the cartoons I used to make in 5 minutes, at a call centre, mocking each and every policy. They weren't really funny, so much as rude and probably career-endangering. Then again, that was why I made them.
posted by Dark Messiah at 10:19 AM on July 30, 2008
I'd laugh, but when you live it, its not as funny.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 11:34 AM on July 30, 2008
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 11:34 AM on July 30, 2008
Clients and projects and corporate doublespeak, oh my
I've just realized the same could be said of a comic about prostitution! And it could even have the same title!
posted by katillathehun at 3:40 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
I've just realized the same could be said of a comic about prostitution! And it could even have the same title!
posted by katillathehun at 3:40 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
But, as they are it's a bit like climbing a mountain to find a parking lot at the top and the view obscured by fog.
And dog shit everywhere.
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:50 PM on July 30, 2008
And dog shit everywhere.
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:50 PM on July 30, 2008
That was so lousy its lice had little eeny-weeny lice on them.
posted by sixswitch at 5:10 PM on July 30, 2008
posted by sixswitch at 5:10 PM on July 30, 2008
i thought it was good. Some of them really cracked me up, like:
Deploy=Do
Implement= Do
Nomenclature=Names
Naming Convention=Names
and this is genius:
"We need to come up with some award-winning ground-breaking work so i need you to leverage award-winning ground-breaking work that other people have already created"
I like the dry humor.
Stating what's unsaid is what art should do. Cut through the bullshit, you know?
posted by Miles Long at 8:16 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
Deploy=Do
Implement= Do
Nomenclature=Names
Naming Convention=Names
and this is genius:
"We need to come up with some award-winning ground-breaking work so i need you to leverage award-winning ground-breaking work that other people have already created"
I like the dry humor.
Stating what's unsaid is what art should do. Cut through the bullshit, you know?
posted by Miles Long at 8:16 PM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]
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