Stephen Colbert explores branding

He's done it again. No one makes a comment more on the absolute ridiculousness of current advertising philosophies. Colbert's parody of sponsorship has long been a staple of his show, mostly with Doritos. In this video, Colbert again takes on the topic with Lucas Conley.

Conley's point is well taken. Companies need to stop focusing on applying lacquer to their products and stretching their brands into the "lifestyle" space; they need to start focusing on making better products.

Agencies hold some of the responsibility. It's no surprise though when you consider that the industry's genesis was the 19th century medicine show, a show who's sole purpose was to get people to buy worthless alcohol-elixirs by putting on a good roadshow. Little has changed over a hundred years later. The roadshow may have gotten more complex but it's philosophy still remains dominant in advertising.

What agencies need to do is evolve. They must find a way to foster innovation and provide something of value to those who engage with their advertisements. This does require a fundamental shift in how agencies do business, how they generate revenue, how they organize themselves, whom they hire, and fundamentally how they think. It's a big effort and truthfully, it's not a near-term necessity. Advertising is not in a change or die mode. But isn't changing the world important enough?

That's the opportunity. It's a good one.