The current and future state of the ad agency business is the subject of a new documentary Together, Kill your darling. The film is narrated by Anuk Johns, a creative director from Germany who is looking for answers, positive change and a bright future for everyone who loves themselves and the business of creativity. His quest led him to meet with industry luminaries such as Anselmo Ramos, Greg Han, MoSide, Rob Reilly, Fernando Machado, Germany Lancaster, Karin Onsager-Birch, Plus Cindy Gallup, and others.
In the middle the picture takes an interesting turn. Jans meets David Sable, former global CEO of Y&R, and provides the necessary humor and perspective that was missing until then.
“Ever since I started, I’ve heard nothing but this: ‘Oh my God, the agency world is changing,'” Sabal said.
“It could be any company. Go and tell the client that their model is not working,” said Sabal.
I enjoyed exchanging lives with Mo Said, the founder of Mojo Super Market.
“Almost every month we have a four-day weekend. We don’t work on holidays. There is a lot of project management and account management that goes to make sure this happens because no one at other agencies confirms it,” he said. “There is a small line where you can be treated like a slave or you can be treated like an artist.”
The film takes you from difficult issues like industry burnout and stale business models to higher ground, where creative people in healthy teams can make big things happen to good people. I have my own struggles with the agency business, but I still believe in this core principle. I still believe in the power of creativity to drive and relocate companies and sometimes even to heal people.