This may come across as a bit of a rant. Sorry. Not sorry.
You see I just think that some of the people working in marketing and advertising have forgotten what makes it great to do our jobs. Eek. No one I've met recently... promise. It's more a general vibe.
Let's stand back for a second: we freaking get to change people's hearts and minds. We get to help save lives. Not in an ER way, but in a way that shares information, persuades people to do more, inspire them to try something new and behave differently.
We get to launch products that truly make life better. And I'm not just talking seat belts: I'm talking about those life micro-moments that are better because someone had an idea and bothered to spend money to bring it to market.
I love, like love, having anti-bacterial wipes in my handbag because canine. I love 24 hour lipstick, umbrellas, re-useable everything, my kitchen plug that drains the water but keeps the goobers from clogging up the drain and I adore cold-water tea infusions. None of those things are connected - other than I just love what they do to make micro-moments better.
We get to tell people about cool stuff.
Yes, we can sell stuff to people who don't need them, yes consumerism is ruining the planet and all nice things, yes promoting unattainable beauty standards makes real people feel terrible.
But we also get to tell people about cool stuff that they can do to make other people's lives better too.
Let's not get caught up in the mechanics of communications. Let's put business pressure aside and ring the bell for great work that gets results. Let's take the time to form great relationships with clients. I'm friends with loads of my clients - like I genuinely like them as people and I think it's reciprocal (or they are being polite - which makes me like them more).
I guess what I'm trying to say is maybe we can put down our clipboards for a second, stop feeling a sense of achievement from crossing something off the "to-do" list and lift our heads up and say:
"I'm doing one of the greatest jobs that exists and I'm bloody excited to make words and pictures turn into emotions. And I'm going to do it better tomorrow."
There. I've said it.