I have been in the advertising industry for 25 years and consider myself fortunate and proud of this career path. I am an account guy whose father was an account guy. My father was an Italian from Cleveland who grew up with blue-collar morals and work ethic. He loved the ad biz and never had the luxuries of computers, email or cell phones. And was a staunch perfectionist. Whether it was a plan, a layout or a memo there was no room for imperfections of any kind. This would reflect poorly on the individual and the agency. I inherited that perfectionist gene from my dad. Mistakes always shine like a beacon to me and cut like a knife – especially if discovered by the client. Ouch.

My concern in today’s fast-paced, desktop publishing, spell-check software, text messaging world is the growing acceptance of imperfection. An email with improper grammar. A proposal with typos. Names misspelled. Incorrect titles. All of which are commonplace today. All of which seem to be excused as long as the deadline is met or the reply is swift. Well, call me old school, but that just isn’t acceptable from where I sit. To borrow and bastardize one of my favorite quotes from “Apollo 13,” my stance on this is simple – “imperfection is not an option.”

Agencies, and specifically account people, need to walk the talk when promoting their ‘unparalleled service.’ They should be genuine in their pursuit of perfection. If I was the client, that’s what I would demand from my agency.

Filed under: This and That

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