Creative advertising agencies are, by their nature, cheerful organizations filled with frustrated and insecure individuals who weave good stories. Annual industry surveys of agencies are the last place to look for industry truth -- collective pessimism, which is what industry surveys reveal (i.e., "Ad industry morale drops 36% from 2015") is only one point of view, and it is outweighed by the colossal self-confidence exuded by newly-appointed senior agency executives in interviews with the trade press (i.e., "We are now completely focused on elevating the quality, impact and profile of our work. It is our very reason for being and nothing could be more important. My confidence could not be higher."). These same agency executives may acknowledge privately that their industry is in terrible straits, but since they need to believe in themselves and in their ability to lead their agencies back to success, they put on a good show.
Madison Avenue Manslaughter: What are the Prospects for Ad Agencies?
