I just read a writing-on-the-wall article on Bloomberg:
Earlier this year, a small town in Switzerland banned billboards. And earlier this month, after pro-billboard opponents challenged the ban, the Swiss Supreme Court upheld the right of citizens to “limit visual pollution” and “opt out of unwanted advertising.”
“We didn’t recognize any public interest in having billboards,” said one local politician.
“We want to battle unnecessary consumption with this measure,” said another.
Other towns in Switzerland, including Zurich and the capital Bern, are also in the process of debillboardizing.
I know what you’ll say. Switzerland is just a quirky, small, isolated country, high up in the mountains, where cows rule and the rivers run with chocolate.
But Switzerland is not the first instance of anti-ad terror.
Back in the 2020/1/15 issue of this newsletter, I wrote about French anti-ad groups that were vandalizing billboards, protesting against advertising, and looking to pass new anti-advertising laws. A nurse involved in the protests said:
“When you walk down the street, how can you feel happy if you’re constantly being reminded of what you don’t have? Advertising breaks your spirit, confuses you about what you really need and distracts you from real problems.”
Maybe you think this is just a few crazy and fringe bolsheviks on the march, and that they should really get a job.
And maybe so. But other things that looked crazy and fringe a few decades ago are a reality now.
Today, smoking is controlled, heavily-taxed, and socially shunned. But was a time when smoking was glamorous and could be done anywhere, even in schools and hospitals.
Today, spanking your kid can lead to criminal charges or social services getting called in. But spanking used to be a prerogative of parents and even, as per the Bible, the right thing to do.
Today drunk driving one of the most irresponsible acts a human being can commit, and heavily criminalized. But it used to be a normal part of a good night of fun.
Those are all kind of “done deals.” But think about some deals that are not yet done, but that are in the process of being negotiated right now:
* Eating animals, particularly the cute ones, particularly when you have other non-cute options for good nutrition
* Flying to Thailand and back for a two-week vacation, and producing the monthly carbon emissions of a small 18th-century town, all by yourself, in the span of a few hours
* Drinking any alcohol ever, when Andrew Huberman and Peter Attia, and all your friends who listen to them, say that even a sip is bad for you
As the world changes, as science develops, as propaganda spreads, so do our attitudes to things that seem like an eternal fabric of our lives.
And maybe advertising, though it’s been with us for centuries, will become socially unacceptable, and sooner than you might think.
Oh boy. How do I dig myself out of this hole now?
After all, this is a newsletter about copywriting and marketing, and I can’t just leave you like this, despairing how it might all come to an end soon.
Easy. Because I think this hole I’ve dug for myself is not much of a hole at all.
Sure, artificial intelligence might eat copywriting soon.
Sure, social crusaders might eventually limit or ban advertising in some form.
And if you think of what you do as writing copy or creating advertising… well, if those futures come to pass, then you will be screwed.
On the other hand, if you think of what you do as simply effective communication… well, then you will be busy and successful, as long as humans are around, and as long as we continue to communicate and influence each other.
The specific applications might change. But the underlying principles will remain.
As I’m sure you know, there are lots of places where you can learn about effective communication.
But there are certain truths about effective communication that you can only learn when you’re communicating with people one-on-one, in the privacy of their home or office, when they have their credit card in hand.
If you’d like to learn more about effective communication, and especially those “credit card in hand” truths you won’t find anywhere else: