Mediapromotion

Leo Burnett is famous for his Big Ideas (which come out of Big Pencils), i.e. ideas are the starting point for any advertising campaign; they make it coherent and thereby a highly effective promotional tool. In Poland, advertising agencies with Big Ideas are few and far between, and there is a general consensus that there has been a collapse in creativity. Many believe that creative directors are surplus to requirements; this has led to an increasing amount of advertising in the Polish media being carbon copies of Western productions.
In fact, the cover of the latest Media&Marketing magazine features the headline The Copy and Paste Era, adding the comment that “there is an increasing tendency for marketers to adapt foreign advertisements due to the short-term necessity to save money, without regard for the long-term consequences.” In an article headed The Copyists’ Parade, Agata Małkowska-Szozda explains this precedent as a strategy of large international corporations, who pay scant regard to the needs of the Polish market when promoting their brands. Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions, notes, “The creative centre of gravity has moved to the East, and has passed you by.”
Current advertising in the media is cheap due to the ongoing economic crisis. In order to keep a foothold in the market, the press, radio and TV have had to lower their charges for advertising space, the result of which has been a reduction in advertising quality, since it has been presumed that quantity will get the same result.
In mature markets, where the media charge vast sums for advertising space, one of the most important features of a campaign is creativity. With tight budgets, blanket coverage is not possible; therefore, an advertisement has to stand out from the crowd and get results after only a few broadcasts, and occasionally after just one, a case in point being during the Super Bowl final. Apple took full advantage of this with its famous 1984 Macintosh commercial.
The economic situation in Poland is gradually undergoing change, and we are convinced that with every passing year, businesses will pay greater attention to the quality of their advertising. Then the value of creativity, the proverbial Big Idea, will also rise. As a result, consumers will also benefit as they cease to be the objects of intrusive announcements resembling sales patter and become the consumers of sophisticated, clever and memorable advertisements.