Between the Briefs

Over the course of an internal meeting today, I realise not for the first time that there’s always something to learn in advertising. I suppose this could be true of other jobs as well, but I speak of and for my limited experience.

So one of the realisations I arrived at today is that even after being around for one whole year in advertising and after six years of knowing that this is where you would like to be (more or less), it’s hard to answer “How did advertising happen?” without it sounding like an answer to a question in an interview. I suppose this is partially because it’s just advertising. That’s it. Nothing sublime about it. Nothing for the larger good of humanity (save the rare, effective CSR, PSA type of work). It’s just a selfish thing we do for ourselves to earn some money and have fun while doing it. I used to use the “It’s because I like writing and copywriting is easier than writing a book” excuse but have also come to understand that:

• Copywriting is not easier than writing a book (Of course I haven’t actually tried writing a book, but that’s because I’m still getting used to stringing eight words together fit enough to appear on a billboard).
• Copywriting is not something you do because you “like writing”… “liking” to write has some very romanticised notions attached to it. It’s whimsical, even. That’s what you do for yourself and an audience that will take shape with your writing and not the other way ’round. Copy, though, is different. There were days when my copy was celebrated by clients but these were also the same days I wanted to bury myself and hope that whoever wrote my epitaph did it better than me.

So answering the question becomes very difficult because as with all things strange, it’s just meant to be. You learn to accept it without thinking about it as often as you used to. But that’s only until the next time someone asks you “How did advertising happen?” and you’re left wondering if “It just did” will suffice.