By now you have no doubt heard about the world class screw up by DDB Brazil. That agency, famous for its prowess at winning ad agency creative awards, particularly those from the Cannes Ad Festival, created an utterly tasteless ad for the World Wildlife Federation that compared the heinous 9/11 act to the Asian tsunami of several years ago.

DDB’s ad said that the tsunami killed significantly more people than did the terrorists on 9/11, so you should respect the brutal power of the earth and the environment. Ouch!

First, the ad made no sense from a communications strategy standpoint. More urgently and to the point, it was beyond tasteless. It was literally an outrage to most who viewed it. Once ad industry blogs and other media got hold of the ad and starting to write about it, the ad had caused a major crisis for DDB Brazil and its client, the WWF.

I am not going to rehash what DDB did or didn’t do, but suffice it to say that the agency dug itself a hole that would make the Marianas Trench look shallow by comparison. And, the Brazilian branch of the global Omnicom agency made it much worse by repeatedly lying to cover its butt, and then getting caught for that lie. The WWF, desperately trying to protect its own reputation, also got caught in the negative backwash. They claimed to have never approved the ad, but of course it eventually came out that they did when it first ran in some obscure publication in Brazil.

Beyond the stupidity and tastelessness of the ad and its terrible use of the 9/11 imagery and narrative, the whole situation underscores an industry issue that I have often addressed in this blog: That is the obsession with awards shows that usually have nothing to do with marketing that actually works for clients. (Actually, there are some award programs, like PR’s Silver Anvil and the "Effies," that do  try to bring results into the mix, but most advertising shows are still solely about "creativity" as reviewed and ranked by other agency "creatives.")

As noted earlier, DDB Brazil was a big winner in these "prestigious" global ad awards programs. Here is how they work. Agencies (many of which are based in smaller markets worldwide), produce ads for either very small clients or pro bono ones; that means they can do pretty much they want with the ads. They can create ads that are utterly outrageous and outlandish, which is exactly what awards shows judges love. Marketing strategy and objectives aren’t even afterthoughts for these ad campaigns.

The award programs require that the ad to run usually just once, thus meeting the minimum requirements that it’s a "real" ad and not a bogus production. Many call these "ghost" or "scam" ads. They are usually not really for real clients or real products that have to live or die based on the advertising and marketing developed by the agency. The ads are just about creatives winning awards, and agencies reaping the bragging rights, which help them attract more business. Or so they think.

And that really is the underlying problem here. The emphasis by our industry on creativity that has not much to do with actual marketing strategy that is designed to achieve real marketing results (usually to move product, more often at optimal pricing). This situation has plenty to do with the deeply held cynicism expressed by clients worldwide that the marketing agency industry (especially creative ad agencies) really don’t "get it" when it comes to what really needs to happen to move product and SELL.

DDB Brazil created the 9/11 ad pro bono for the WWF with the expressed purpose of entering it in awards shows. In fact, DDB did an award, including a "Merit Award" from the One Show in NYC (that is a whole other controversy!). The agency also entered a video version of the ad in the famed Cannes Award Program (you must see video version…it truly is an abomination).

Clients should tell their agencies, "we don’t give a damn about these stupid awards." They usually have no bearing whatsoever on what really matters in advertising and marketing. Which is to come up with a smart strategy and compelling messaging that, given the right media choice, will generate a legitimate result for the client.

When our business really focuses on ads and marketing strategies and tactics that are principally about building our clients’ business, then we won’t have these 9/11 ad crises to contend with anymore.

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