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Desperate Housewives And Desperate Senators

Last month Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska proposed that cable TV satellite TV satellite radiothings you pay forbe subjected to the same indecency standards that broadcast programming is held to. Which means much like what the FCC did to Howard Stern the government would be empowered to impose fines on pay services.

The problem is most viewers don’t differentiate between overtheair and cable” Stevens said. “Cable is a greater violator in the indecency arena…there has to be some standard of decency.

Frankly I dont think an 81 yearold Senator from Alaska has the clarity of mind to make such presumptuous statements or determine what a standard of decency would be. His TV diet probably consists of Andy Griffith reruns and Antiques Roadshow. Hell he is a oneman antique roadshow.

But more and more attention is being turned toward entertainment and the values it reflects. A growing chorus of people are claiming that Hollywood doesnt represent the values of mainstream America.

Weve seen plenty of recent examples of how Congress wants to stick its collective noses into the private lives and choices of peopleand this is not much different pay services being a choice consumers willingly make. And if Madison and Vine are truly converging it wont be a far leap to go from enforcing decency in broadcast programming to enforcing decency in broadcast advertising.

So lets think for a minute: What values does the advertising industry reflect?

Theres no simple answerour industry is a bizarre confluence of both progressive dreaming and assbackwards reality. Whether you live in a city or out in the burbs on one of the coasts or in Kansas City chances are your ad agency is housed in an urban area or at least the busy part of town. And although Ive met a handful of backwards thinkers and puritanistic Biblethumpers in the ad business most of us deliberately explore the edges of the popular culturebecause in the constant quest for new ideas advertising often coopts edgy culture and mainstreams it for mass consumption.

In the end the work we do reflects the conservative culture of Corporate America more than our personal tastes. Because our clients are the ones we have to satisfy. And many clients fear great ideas simply because theyre afraid of consequenceslike angry phone calls from consumers and idiotic statements from politicians such as Ted Stevens.

So the values of advertising are rooted in mainstream business. But you dont need to be a Boeing Enron or ChoicePoint stockholder to realize that corporations no matter how small or large are not the keepers of a virtuous value system. Which begs the questionwhats indecent anyway? Mickey Rooneys bare ass? Or is indecency something more subtlelike selling supersized fast food meals to blubbery teenagers? How about convincing people to take out a second mortgage to buy a new Hummer to drive to the grocery store?

Advertising is of course somewhat regulated right now. There are claims we cant make and competitors we cant bash. Plus a media outlet has the right to refuse to run an ad it doesnt deem appropriate.

But if we dont keep advertising on a higher ground treating people with intelligence instead of condescension and protecting the industry from outside attack folks like Ted Stevens will turn their sights to more regulation of advertising.

Because the more desperate we and our clients get in our tactics the more desperate the government will be to do something about it

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Branding. Religion. Censorship. Office politics. Global politics. Sexual politics. And getting drunk during a job interview.
Since 2002 Danny G. a.k.a. Dan Goldgeier has been writing the most provocative advertising columns ever published. They’re all witty thoughtful and probing and a must read for those who want a perspective rarely seen in traditional industry publications.
An Atlantabased copywriter and ad school graduate Dan has worked at shops big and small. He reads incessantly about advertising and is a whiz at rock roll trivia. Learn more about him by visiting his copywriting website or AdColumnist.com the View From The Cheap Seats Archive website. You may also find articles by Danny G at TalentZoo.com.

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