Ageism In Advertising Needs To Get Off My Lawn
The default position of the advertising world has always been “younger is better.” Younger creatives are more in tune with culture, drive trends, and know the latest and greatest of everything. All fair. But dismissing older creative people—ageism—is criminally short-sighted and just bad business. Here are five reasons why I’ve found older creatives are more valuable than ever:
1. the older you get, the more you realize there are few “true” emergencies.
Deadlines? Last-minute client changes? While younger creatives might feel a surge of anxiety, experienced talent have seen it all. They’ve mastered the art of staying calm, and studies show that emotional regulation improves with age. And is advertising getting any less stressful these days? I don’t think so. A reasonable, level-headed approach will save time and money when navigating advertising's unpredictable high-stress moments. Not to mention improve relationships with clients.
2. creativity is fueled by knowledge.
In his book, “Where Good Ideas Come From,” Steven Johnson says new ideas are the result of “collisions” between two existing ideas. More specifically, between what a person knows already and other existing ideas in the outside world. Creative veterans, then, are loaded with creative fuel. There’s more inside them in the form of experience and knowledge to form these idea collisions. They have more dots to connect, which means faster, better ideas.
3. ideas that are doable, not gratuitous.
Mature creatives don't just generate ideas—they can quickly filter out ideas that are off brand or that the client can’t afford. Years in the field give them a sense of what’s feasible. They won’t pitch a pie-in-the-sky, gratuitously creative concept because they understand the balance between creativity and reality. In contrast, younger creatives often lack this intuition, leading to ideas that may be brilliant but not realistically executable, or sometimes not even buyable by the client. That lack can cost weeks in a creative process.
4. they know a great idea when they see one.
For seasoned creatives, finding a great idea is a thrill. It's the "drug" of the industry, and recognizing one takes experience. Older creatives have honed this instinct over time, often identifying potential faster than their younger counterparts. This rapid recognition streamlines the creative process, ensuring the best ideas rise to the top more quickly, while at the same time avoiding tired cliches. A requirement in an “I want it now” industry.
5. Hope and Confidence in Problem-Solving.
Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.” Having tackled thousands of projects, creative veterans possess an unshakeable confidence that a solution will come. This isn't naive optimism. It's grounded in years of overcoming creative challenges. Younger creatives simply can't have this same level of hope because they haven't faced and conquered as many marketing problems. For more mature creatives, it's almost like the placebo effect—they believe they'll come up with something, and because of that, they do.
Now, all this is not to say that young creative people aren’t talented or valuable. Heck, they are the older creatives of the future. But they’re incredibly important now to an agency to help balance the talent/cost ratio, which gets harder and harder every year it seems. It’s not a young person’s fault that they don’t have the experience of a seasoned veteran, but it’s still true.
but wait, there’s more.
It's worth noting that the 50+ market holds a staggering 72% of the disposable income in the U.S. (source: WARC). 72%!
Who better, then, to understand and target this lucrative market than seasoned creatives who can speak directly to their peers? No surprise then that new agencies like Geezer are popping up strictly staffed with 50+ creatives and targeting the 50+ market. Take that, ageism.
And, as you may know, the Ideasicle Expert ranks is loaded with experienced creative, strategy, and media talent. Don’t ask me to trade them in for newer models. They’re at the top of their game.
Ageism, get off my lawn.
Will Burns is the Founder & CEO of the revolutionary virtual-idea-generating company, Ideasicle X. He’s an advertising veteran from such agencies as Wieden & Kennedy, Goodby Silverstein, Arnold Worldwide, and Mullen. He was a Forbes Contributor for nine years writing about creativity in modern branding. Sign up for the Ideasicle Newsletter and never miss a post like this. Will’s bio.