I agree that Volvo thing is total bullshit. But saying that means we should kill all account planners is like saying we should kill all creatives that don't win any major awards.
Brands who do buy bullshit will get what they deserve in shit ads that don't do their job. The agencies will pay when the client realises they have been buying rubbish.
It's the circle of ad life, the wheel of fortune. If you will...
Once upon a time I worked on the Volvo account at an agency in Gothenburgh, Sweden. The advertising department at Volvo at the time insisted we use the tagline "Alla vill ha en Volvo". It translates to "Everybody wants a Volvo". I suggested that not only was it a distraction from its safety positioning, it was also cringe inducing and clearly a claim that must be untrue.
As far as I could see there were quite a few other cars out there, many of them rather more expensive, ample proof that not everybody wanted a Volvo.
Nevertheless they did run a campaign with that "slogan" for a while.
( I didn't do any of the ads.))
Well, they eventually sobered up and created some rather good advertising as time went on.
Commenting by HaloScan
