Tech & Biz

What happens when the ad industry becomes nationalized?

by mtippett | February 9, 2009 at 09:19 am

167 views | 15 Recommendations | 2 comments

Ad Age is asking some interesting questions about the impact of the various bail outs currently supporting major portions of the US economy.

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- In the marketing and media industries, it's widely believed that advertising, done right, is an investment in future business results. But the question today is whether the rest of the country can be persuaded to see it that way.
In the past week, advertising, in all its forms, has become a whipping boy for recipients of Troubled Asset Relief Program funds. The more than $300 billion in bailout bucks poured into automakers and financial institutions to keep them afloat has subjected their marketing efforts to unprecedented public scrutiny and criticism.

If you thought corporate boards were clueless about how to run a company, try the general public. I shudder to think how this will play out.

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Paschen

at 16:33 on February 9th, 2009

The article does go both ways though, as he sites Mr.Google and the Bank of America's arguments in favour of the wasteful spending' in spite of bail outs. Where as Cadillac seems to try to bail out of this sort of wasting. THe Public at large seems to have both the easy fix bail out theory that in the long run won't fix any thing and may even make thinks worth. Why did we buy it at large though? Maybe because of short sighted thinking and especially self fish preservation and unavailingness to face the facts and go through hard ship in order to fix this. The Generation in the saddle has never known hardship nor learned to prevail and overcome it.

tlreed

at 20:31 on February 9th, 2009

Good Article, thanks for the link. Advertising in America around the world is often of dubious value, and is rightly under suspition. Consumers pay more for certain products because of advertising and now their tax dollars are going to advertising as well, isn't it too much to ask. It is not a desire to run the company, so much as disgust on the part of the American public. If the corporations were smart they would cut advertising and marketing and invest in CorporateSocial Responsibility, giving back to the communities they operate in, and promoting higher education among their employees. This would do so much more to promote their Brand than any shallow advertisement ever will.