Overrated Career: Advertising Executive

December 11, 2008 RSS Feed Print

The Appeal: It looks glamorous on TV, coming up with brilliant commercials and then watching them come to life in broadcast programs or print campaigns.

The Reality: Many ad agency employees spend a lot of time trying to win business from competitors or coddling demanding clients. And while the inventive part of the job is fun, many creative types find they're nagged by the reality that their biggest success is simply persuading people to buy Charmin instead of Northern.

An Alternative: Social marketing. A few ad agencies work to persuade people not to buy—cigarettes, drugs, or alcohol.

Tags:: advertising,; careers

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@One's Two Cents
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nemo of NV 9:16PM January 03, 2011

I have spent 3 years working in a less than satisfying job at Home Depot and thinking about what I would do if I had the opportunity to go to school. I came out with the plan to be an advertising executive. It is the only thing I become exited about thinking of as a career. Sounds a bit dumb, but I visualize Mel Gibson's character Nick Marshall from "What Women Want" as motivation. Not the part about hearing crazy women"s thoughts, but having a lavished lifestyle and a constant feeling of content for using my ideas and creativity to convince people that something is worth spending their hard earned money on. You get to be an artist. I agree with the first guy's little tiff, people shouldnt knock something that they cant do well. It's something you have to be good at to get anything out of. That appeals to me because I've competed my whole life. I don't lose either.

Devin O'Neil of NJ 3:36AM September 22, 2010

Whoever wrote this sucked at it, that's why he/she quit! I love advertising because it gives me everything, more than what you'll ever earn in a lifetime as a mere teacher... duh! Keep teching my friend, don't forget to tell your the kids (pupils) you are a quitter and a failure.
How about rehab?

Zeal Murapa 9:02AM September 03, 2010

Overrated Career: Advertising Executive

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