Advertising’s 1984 moment
In 1984, Steve Jobs sent a clarion call to the staid computer industry.
He would break the model.
With Apple’s iconic screen breaking ad, he declared:
“Apple will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like 1984.”
He went on to disrupt the industry for the better.
We’re now at a similar 1984 moment.
This time, it’s the ad industry that’s being hit by creative destruction.
There’s nothing new in saying the agency model is broken.
They’ve been saying that since I first walked into an agency.
But this time feels different.
Leaders from major networks tell me they’re on the edge.
Revenues and margins are plunging.
Cracks are appearing.
They don’t see a way out.
Meanwhile, independent agencies are in the limelight: awards, pitch wins, and agency launches led by world-class minds.
The pessimists will say this is just the usual churn.
But I don’t think so.
Something deeper is happening.
Recently, a CEO of one of the biggest agency brands admitted in an op-ed that the only remaining advantages big agencies like his have over smaller independents are scale and technology.
If he’s right, and I think he is, that moat is disappearing fast.
AI is democratising martech.
Now, a handful of exceptional creative people can imagine, execute, and personalise campaigns at scale,
without legacy tech,
without armies of juniors,
and without offices scattered across the globe.
The big boys are betting the house on scale and proprietary systems.
And shedding senior talent by the bucketload.
But a new agency model is emerging.
It will be a lean highly creative studio powered by tech.
Small, senior, world-class strategic creative teams using AI as leverage, not threat.
They won’t have battalions of bag carriers, layers of management or hierarchies of approval.
They will prototype fast, iterate faster, and use tech to free up time for deep creative thinking.
They will attract senior talent who’d rather make great work than manage the machine and feed the corporate beast.
Smart tech will be their enabler and standout creativity will be their differentiator.
Having been on both sides of the fence - as an independent founder and as a leader in several biggies - I believe this shift is a gift for agency leaders brave enough to jump.
It means senior creatives and strategists can get back to doing what they love:
Creating ideas that move people and grow brands, without the corporate noise and costs – all powered by smart technology.
And if we get it right, the work will become more imaginative, more impactful, and more human - precisely because the technology can take care of the volume.
So here’s my challenge to the industry:
Let’s break the mould.
Let’s turn the page on 1984.