Last night, I asked my cat to name her top fifty agency thought leaders. Since she tends to avoid conversation at the dinner table, she ignored me at first. Looking like I taught her well. Nevertheless, I wanted to force the issue, holding her accountable for what ails the industry right now and, at the same time, cultivate a more dynamic dining dynamic. There’s a great deal written and spoken about disruption, but if you’re disrupting by day and snuggling safely under layer upon layer of thick, thermal Hudson’s Bay blankets, you’re not practicing what you preach. And more importantly, not practicing while you sleep. Disruption only matters if your home is in chaos, too.
Predictably, she gave me the standard answers that I could’ve found within the pages (behind a firm paywall) of advertising’s most popular trade periodicals. For whatever reason, she responded with only 49 names. Why? At first, I chalked it up to routine feline insolence. Then I thought better of it. I noticed she still hadn’t cancelled her trip to SXSW, insisting on going despite fear of the unknown. Though to be honest, I prefer empty convention halls to packed ones. What she was saying, in her silence mind you, was that the next great thought leader is out there. You just have to be open to the idea and look in the right place.
I have identified a disruptor who’s leveraging havoc on the industry, bringing data-obsessed iconoclasts to their knees. It’s not a man or woman or even a cat, but a virus.
Because when you really think about it, what’s more disruptive than a pandemic?
I’m seeing the greatest hands of my generation hiding behind face masks and antibacterial soap. When this is the disruptor they’ve been waiting for all along. After years of praying to the golden lions lining lobbies to no avail, someone finally listened. Apparently, this is the wrong type of disruption. Stupidly, I didn’t realize there was such a thing.
Because you can’t have it both ways. You can’t sing to the melodious tune of worldwide disruption only to dismiss it immediately upon arrival. So this slide might have been left out of your last presentation, that’s okay. We’re adaptable. There is historical precedence for this type of muted reaction. though. Does the name Jesus Christ ring a bell? If it doesn’t, then you might want to check your bell.
I’m not saying viruses are a good thing. But I am saying they are the purest form of disruption there is. Disruptors have come and gone through the hallowed halls of SXSW with pithy keynote speeches and memorable slogans. And yet, none of them were able to cancel the entire event. Not like this. Not even close.
Now that’s what I call disruptive.
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