Why Advertising is Killing my Soul (How Wells Fargo dropped the Ball and so did You)

Today we discuss Wells Fargo:

Or more specifically this:

Can you feel where I may not like this?

The lack of respect for artists is deplorable.

"A ballerina yesterday.
An engineer today."

"An actor yesterday.
A botanist today."

I don't know that I have to explain ads to any generation at this point.
They have been a popular form of consumer culture since they were invented.
But, why don't we go down that rabbit hole?

Merriam Webster defines an advertisement as: 

• something that is shown or presented to the public to help sell a product or make an announcement
• a person or thing that shows how good or effective something is
• the act or process of advertising

Now, advertisements have been around since...awhile.
We are familiar with the often ridiculous ads from the 50s, 60s, & 70s.
Things like a baby wrapped in cellophane to help sell cellophane (pictured above)
Or a doctor recommending a certain type of cigarette:

Because he is a dentist

 Or the infamous "If your husband ever finds out..." ad:

Where a woman is held over the knee of her husband because...she isn't store testing for fresher coffee.
Chase & Sanborn ladies and gents.
But, for sheer longevity:

Lecture on Egypt from the New York Historical Society in 1864.
A lecture by Professor Henry J Anderson, LL.D.
It tells you the time, the place.
All the information you need know.
Also!
To be followed by the Unrolling of the Mummy.
TICKETS are 50 CENTS

For those who don't know, often mummies were unrolled when they were discovered.
Everyone got a turn unwrapping a little bit of it.
What a remarkably unwholesome affair.
But, it only cost 50 cents to get in.
Which, if we access the inflation calculator (which only goes back to 1913) we get:

$12.15
It would have cost less than a movie to attend and unwrap an historical monarch of Egypt.
Talk about cultural sensitivity.

Point Being:
Advertisements have been around.
We know good ones and bad ones.
They have become a huge part of our culture.
They have permeated almost every single medium.

So we know what we are getting with each new batch.
So now, let us take a look at the Wells Fargo ad one more time:

"An actor yesterday.
A botanist today."

What could they possibly be selling?
Are they selling botany? Engineering?
Specifically? No.
Wells Fargo is selling a career. A dream. Somewhere to go.
They are selling the future.
How do you attain that future?
By investing in them and their education programs today.
So we have the three act structure:

Act I: The arts are yesterday

The arts lie in the past in this ad. Dancing, acting, other forms, are for the past. The implication being that they are hobbies, the stuff of children, of youth. 

Act II: The education starts today

You need what we are selling. Education. Why? Because you were an artist. You have no skill set. You need to be trained. And why do you need to be trained? 

Act III: The future is coming

Their byline is literally:

"Let's get them ready for tomorrow."

Why would you need to get them ready? Because these children are ill-prepared.

Why are they ill-prepared? Because they don't know nothing.

Why don't they know nothing? Because they were artists.

Logically, I follow the ad campaign.

It seems to flow. 

You start out as a child, naive, innocent.

They have to prepare you for the daunting future.

So you buy an education in order to live the dream and overcome adversity.

It's a lovely campaign.

Big problem:

They disparage an entire community of professionals by linking artistry and the craft thereof with youthful innocence and ineptitude. 

Already I have a problem. 

Above is my link to one of my first articles: 

Learning & Creativity: How babies rule the world.

In it I maintain that: 

• Learning
• Creativity
• Science
• Research

These are not things that are taught, these are natural processes that we learn or have ingrained within us from a very young age.

Not from professors or learned persons, but from our own observations about things.

But, the purpose of an ad campaign is to create a need where there may not be one. 

So, we as youths are convinced we are ignorant and therefore require more training, more understanding. 

Doesn't that just sound like parents, friends, and teachers: 

"Oh you don't know enough yet. You should go to school/university/graduate school in order to get more training!"

This is the worst lie, particularly for artists.
Because we already are artists.
We already have the power to create from a very young age.
Anybody can put crayon to paper.
Most do at some point.
Or stick to dirt.
Or build in the sand.
Or out of garbage.
We are naturally creative people.
So why don't we?
Why don't we create?
Because we believe the lie that we are not 'ready'.
That we do not have 'marketable skills'.

None of that is true.
As artists we create
That is the most marketable thing in the world
Employers want people who:

• can learn quickly
• are highly adaptable
• work well alone or in groups
• can memorize things verbatim
• can create a pleasant atmosphere in which to work
• are friendly, open, inviting personalities
• can speak in front of a group
• communicate clearly and effectively
• create opportunities rather than problems

Every single one of these describes an artist or a creative.

All of us are capable of being fantastic employees. 

Now, this is not to suggest that an artist could easily step into a specialized school or advanced career like engineering or law or doctoring.

These are noble professions that require years of study.

So too does artistry.

All of them require years of craft.

Each of them can and should be respected as said craft.

• Doctor
• Lawyer
• Artist

I would dare to put them on a level playing field.

Because this ad goes deeper than just Wells Fargo.

Despite the fact that they recanted after an outpouring of reader comments showed their distaste.

Wells Fargo responded that they wished to be inclusive to all careers with their advertisement and they fell short. 

But, why did they fall short?

I contend because nobody at the institution recognized artistry as a professional career path.

And that scares me more than anything.

The fact that we have built a culture that celebrates the careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics over and above artistry to the point where we are no longer recognized as career professionals scares me.

We need to right this.

How?

• By working as a community.
• By embracing our artist friends.
• By paying for art.
• By teaching art as a career 
• By encouraging community involvement with the artist
• By never accepting, nor offering an opportunity as a "resume builder"
• By never under-bidding ourselves
• By creating work relevant to the community
• By taking commissions
• By cultivating a sense of patronage
• 
  

This list is not exhaustive.

In fact, if others have more ideas, please share them.

If this is ever going to change, we need help.

Help as artists.

Help as a community.

Because the apologies aren't enough anymore.

We need action to follow.

I don't expect MIT to suddenly become an artist's haven, but we need something when I hear fellow artists say: 

"Well, we aren't firemen."

A fellow artist said that to me and it broke my heart.
We can do better.