Journey to the Center of the World

When I started working in advertising in the UK in 1990, London was the center of the advertising world. It wasn't necessarily that London
necessarily produced the best work. It was simply the only work we saw. The television, newspapers, magazines, and billboards we encountered daily represented the entirety of advertising. These were entered into and judged at London's advertising awards. The world was complete within that sphere.

Of course, Cannes hosted what was called the "International Advertising Awards," but no one paid much attention to its judgments. It wasn't that we never read articles about advertising agencies outside the UK. But it felt like events happening on a different planet.

When I decided to move to New Zealand and work in advertising in Auckland, my friends in the British advertising industry
all thought I'd lost my mind. The only world of advertising I'd see there was the Cannes Lions winning reel, arriving months after the festival closed.

Then the internet arrived. The dawn of an era where every corner of the world could be searched. Great ads born anywhere on the planet could be seen instantly, no matter where you were. Outdoor ads we created in New Zealand would cross borders within hours, shared everywhere.

The benefit of this high-speed global connection was a dramatic rise in the average standard of creativity, enabling top-tier ads to be produced in any country. The downside, however, was that what was called great advertising started to look the same everywhere. The unique characteristics each region possessed were almost entirely lost. Instead of expressing individuality, ad creators increasingly tend to copy last year's award-winning work. Some rule-breakers have even emerged who don't care whether the ad was actually used. Sadly, this is the consequence of a connected world.

There are both positive and negative aspects, but as advertising globalized, the center of the advertising world shifted.
This will never change. It's no longer London, New York, or Tokyo. Certainly not Cannes. The center of advertising is now "that place" where you are. For me, that place is aboard a ship off the coast of New Zealand. It's where I always go when I step away from work. That it is the center of the world, at least for me, is a most comforting thought.

(Supervised by: Dentsu Inc. Global Business Center)