Please please me, advertising

As far back as I can remember, the first thing I've always done before reading any magazine is remove and discard all of those subscription cards that fall into your lap. I grew up in a mute-all-TV-commercials house. I've only ever listened to NPR radio stations. Even at a young age, I found the “See, you looked!” gotcha-ads on city street benches offensive. My first instinct when my computer screen is taken over by a web banner ad has always been to divert my eyes as if it was a total eclipse of the sun--as if glancing at the interruption is letting it win. The obtrusive nature of billboards, promotional emails, and people handing out flyers on the street typically tends to make me a little angry.

And I'm a full-time copywriter at an advertising agency.

No, I'm not into self-torture and I'm not acting as a mole. Since I've started to immerse myself in the industry, I began to give ads more of a chance. I've learned to appreciate them for their clever ways of finding their way into my line of vision or earshot, and their ability to create suspense that really makes me want to click "learn more." I've learned to appreciate ads that speak right to me, to my gut or to my heart--and that show that the agency behind the ad has really done its homework. (I've also disproved my long held belief that all pop-up ads link you to porn sites.)

I feel my negative disposition to ads adds valuable insight to my agency. I equate it to a chef without a big appetite or a teacher who doesn't take instruction well. It's not that I turn my nose up at any ad that I didn't write, but rather that my highly skeptic nature drives me to create good, strong advertising. Advertising that catches your attention because it speaks to a universal truth or has an emotional tug--not simply because it's loud. Advertising that catches your eye because it's beautifully simple, not just because it's busy and bright.

If it were up to me, all ads would be understated, polite, and would tell a good human-interest story. But it's not up to me, and all I can do is bring that to the table in the work I do--and make use of the mute button and collapse link as needed.