I was born at a time when working in advertising was glamorous and made others – on the client side – jealous. After spending two and a half decades on the client’s side, I joined the agencies 3 years ago. The glamour may no longer be the same, but the work remains extremely interesting and full of relevance.

One of the things that has always intrigued me as a client was the almost obsessive need for agencies to look for awards. The awards are for agencies like fuel is for cars. Without it, nothing works.

Of course, from the agencies’ point of view, the award translates into recognition from peers, and therefore, more prestige and visibility. Well, nothing is wrong here, quite the opposite. The truth is that when a work has quality, delivers what the client wants and, on top of that, is appreciated, it should be recognized and celebrated.

The relationship between client and agency is necessarily based on the presence of a guiding element – the briefing. And, if for some, it is a kind of specifications document with context, for others it is the lighthouse document that structures the path and helps prepare the decision. Without a good briefing, there is no good campaign. When we don’t have briefings and we are asked to run a campaign, things can’t go well. Never. For neither party.

But agencies often decide to move forward with creativity that does not initially have a specific client or brief. It’s the idea, for the sake of the idea. These mysterious works defy convention and pave the way for pure creative expression. But is there justice in its evaluation and award?

Some say, and rightly so, that these projects offer a unique opportunity to recognize and celebrate creativity in its most authentic form. Without the scrutiny and constraint of a specific problem that has to be resolved only through communication. They end up allowing a unique creative freedom, which often explores innovative concepts, visionary ideas, impactful narratives and divisive and uncomfortable themes. This is one of the reasons why so many of these ideas end up receiving some logo from an NGO or a cause with great public impact.

Art for art’s sake is exactly that: creative freedom, exploration of new frontiers, shocking, dismantling, questioning and raising doubts.

As someone who, with great modesty, appreciates art, I too am susceptible to these manifestations of creative boldness and their great social impact.

However, as is the case with almost everything in life, there is another side to this issue.

By definition, commercial or advertising communication is inherent in resolving or helping to resolve a corporate problem. In other words, there is a small set of business problems that advertising communication can help solve.

But to resolve them, they must be clear and objective. They were born from a request and a strategic formulation. Have a framework and an intrinsic need.

When the advertising industry developed work that would otherwise never exist, ethical questions arose. When the industry promotes them to make them winning cases, competition and a commercial issue arises. The answer to both cases is not pleasant.

Choosing an agency is a hugely important event for a company and its brands. Choosing an agency based on the award it won for something that wouldn’t exist otherwise is akin to choosing a bottle of wine based on its label.

An agency is a company. They all have a commercial mission and are therefore intrinsically competitive. – and thank goodness. Competition between companies makes us all better. But, as long as it is done with the same rules. I admire all those who, year after year, work on successful brands, and display constant quality in building these brands. I congratulate all of them, including the brands and their managers, on their choices. Good clients choose good agencies and together they build brands of excellence.

Consistency, constancy, and the team are fundamental when choosing an agency. I felt it as a client, and I feel it even more now that I’m on the agency’s side. Choosing by labels means letting others tell us what we should do. If I can even accept it concerning wine, I have a hard time believing that it could be like that in one of a company’s key partners.

Opinion article originally published in MaisM.