Oh, splendid, I was wondering how I'd become irrelevant...

... or otherwise displaced.

Apparently post-factory worker, post-knowledge worker, Digitas is planning to offshore the whole personalization of advertising business...

The plan is to build a global digital ad network that uses offshore labor to create thousands of versions of ads. Then, using data about consumers and computer algorithms, the network will decide which advertising message to show at which moment to every person who turns on a computer, cellphone or — eventually — a television. Read the article.

And, here we'll be with our college degrees and pithy headlines and clever storyboards trying to get real jobs. I blame Armano. Yeah, yeah, I know he's moved on to Critical Mass, but, come on, this has him written all over it... Logic + Emotion. Riiiiiight. We should have known to get suspicious when he started using the P-word.

Time to get serious about the 401ks, friends.

Comments

[The peanut gallery]

That's why us creative people need to get better at creating powerful ideas, so we can get respect and get paid for quality instead of quantity or time spent.

Part of the reason why this business is in such trouble is because agencies have willingly become "vendors of ads and placers of media" rather than "generators of ideas."

Creative insights and concepts (from all "divisions" of an agency) are the ONLY things a client really NEEDS advertising folks for.

As far as the offshore thing, I'm a 28 year-old creative, and i've known for years i may someday end up having to move to India or Singapore or wherever to pursue my work.

Be prepared, folks, it's gonna happen.

[David Armano]

Hey—all I can tell you is that I'm happy working on stuff I care about. Creating great experiences. :)