And The Winner Is....

This weekend is the Academy Awards. Although I almost always watch the Oscars, I usually don't tune in until the last forty-fine minutes or so. It's kind of boring watching people get awards. I understand it's a great honor to them to be recognized by their peers. I just don't really care how much they want to thank everyone they've ever met. And the way Hollywood politics and box office success sometime trumps artistic merit bothers me. This year I may tape the show and fast forward through the boring stuff.

In my profession we have literally hundreds of award competitions. From the Clios for TV Spots to the Webbies for Web Design they span from National honors to the local PR Club competition. (We're a very self-congratulatory group.) My problem here is the opposite of that with the Oscars: politics and artistic merit sometimes are more important than success. Advertising's purpose is not artistic. It is to sell. Period. Sure it's great if it introduces groundbreaking creative ideas. But as one of my early mentors always said: "If it don't sell, it ain't creative."

Hollywood is in business, too. I agree, but movie making is also an artform. And perhaps it is the lack of creative thinking that has caused box office receipts to take a nosedive in recent years.

Advertising is ALL about business. Its purpose is to sell a product, service or idea. Making the audience laugh or cry along the way is great -- if it serves our purpose.

Today we have ads that seek to entertain and movies that seek to persuade. Perhaps that's the problem.

By the way, I'd like to thank my wife, Beth for always challenging me. And my son PJ for cheering me on. Thanks to my office manager Pat for handling all the details. My designer, Chad, for making our work look great. Thanks mom for telling me to follow my dreams. And my 3rd grade art teacher who told me to paint with my heart not my head. Oh and..

- Phil Sasso