Here’s a weird idea. The agency business is a business, right? So, technically, we could put our account up for pitch. Put out an RFP. Invite agencies in. Take ideas on how we show up, how we price, how we win clients. We could, in theory, listen to industry experts who are not too close to our business (if you can ignore the conflict of interest). You know, like we do for our clients. Maybe then we wouldn’t make so many obvious mistakes that hurt our industry’s credibility.

Let me explain with a quick story.

In the 1920s, a young Sydney entrepreneur made a massive mistake. He was importing soap from a large English company and put the decimal point in the wrong spot on the order. When the shipment arrived, he found 10x the expected amount on the docks. In a panic, he called a friend who had just launched a company specialising in newspaper advertising.

His friend was George Patterson.

George wrote a series of direct-response ads selling the soap to smelly, cost-conscious Sydneysiders. Every bar was sold and local advertising was born. Over the next 90 years George Patterson’s name became intrinsically aligned with Australian advertising. He and Peter Clemenger, were our version of Mad Men. Men who became brands. Brands that meant something.

Why does that matter?

Because in 2018, Wire, Paper & Plastic merged George Patterson Y&R with VML to form VMLY&R. George’s name was deleted from the masthead. A local legend and local brand lost forever. WPP loved waving the red pen. J Walter Thompson’s name, red-penned. Singo’s name red penned.

We’re supposed to nurture brands, not destroy them. Cherish, not dismiss. Even AI knows that longevity matters. Independent mentions. Testimonials. Award wins. They matter. Yet we continually demonstrate the opposite.

And, of course, it’s happening again. Only this time, it’s not just WPP. And this time, it’s not just local.

A lot of ink has already been dedicated to Omnicom removing Bernbach’s name when they killed DDB. The man who created modern, conceptual advertising. The man who wrote ‘Lemon’ and ‘Think small’. The Jewish man who turned Hitler’s car (and its swastika-esque logo) into the brand adored globally. Who we still have to thank for the Beetle and Kombi. So what happens to all the history, awards and independent reviews that AI loves.

Red-penned.

Does anyone believe the strategy is working? Quality staff race for the exits. Big clients start leaking work to the opposition. If you’re so inclined, you can even see share prices going down not up.

None of these decisions have put litres black ink back on the books.

Equally disturbing is the recent launch of “WPP Creative”. Phrases like “there’s no plans” and “at this stage” feel typically hollow. Not sure how you “consolidate back-end operations” in a creative department without affecting the creative department. Feels like a smokescreen. Feels like the clock is ticking. Feels like the red pen is hovering over David Ogilvy’s name.

So, who’s next? David Droga? Jeff Goodby? Charles and Maurice Saatchi? Does 98yo Peter Clemenger think his name is safe? As an industry who specialises in protecting the brands, why have we been so quick to abandon our own?

Maybe it’s time someone pointing it out to the accountants. Or as a minimum, hide the red pens.

Rob Morrison is a rarity in Adland – a grey-hair who’s still a working creative. He’s clocked up 5 years of op eds for The Stable. He’s now senior writer at Dentsu Creative.

Here are two other opinion pieces from Rob: