What will shape the next era in advertising - The best ideas

This article reminded of something I witnessed first hand - the great economic crisis in Argentina and the tremendous creativity that ensued. No matter what financial crisis, these Argentine agencies kept wining awards for their creativity. During that time, when the Argentine dollar was totally devalued, I had the opportunity to work there quite often, producing commercials with some of the most creative and talented people I have ever had the pleasure of working with.... it was an amazing time.......and proved to me that great ideas don't need exorbitant budgets, just carefully crafted messages and executions.

The truth is that smart marketers understand that there is never a time to let their guard down, and that investment in advertising is a necessity in order to keep their brands alive, and their consumers engaged and buying their products - how they deploy those budget will change dramatically. I don't believe that the :30 message in traditional broadcast will be the medium of choice. Instead, I see that advertisers are looking at more creative and targeted ways of communicating their message to their potential consumers - both conceptually and in their placement. No doubt, digital is the standout medium, others are mobile and targeted social networking. Creatively, we will also begin to see more comedy, because who doesn't need to laugh during these times? Testimonials will also be big, because they are simple and generally easy and cheap to produce.

So what will shape the next era, as best put by Todd Tilford, ECD, Grey/N.Y " Ideas will shape the next economic era just as they always have. May the best ideas win. "

Check out this article in Creativity - by the top creative minds in the advertising industry - Upside Downturn