Advertising Sucks.

Advertising sucks.

Clients. Deadlines. Budgets. Being so young you can’t work on anything cool. Being so old everyone thinks you’re a hack. (Which I believe happens around age 32.)

Well, let me rephrase that. Advertising can suck. And the real reason my days-devoid-of-suck occur has nothing to do with wearing shorts to work or getting paid to pen smartass quips.

To me, advertising doesn’t suck all the time because people care. Not all. But the Some. The Some care about their work. They care about the state of the industry. And the Best Somes care about the young hope-to-someday-be-a-Best-Some.

I’m twenty-five. I look at stuff I did two years ago and it was shit. (I hope to say the same thing two years from now about my current work.) But a few Best Somes saw an atom of potential, told me how I suck, and showed me how to suck less. The Best Somes reply to a kid halfway across the country they’ve never met, take the time to write a page long email (how else do you easily describe how long an email is?) back saying here’s what I see in your book and here’s how to make it better.

Why does it matter? I’m not sure. Probably partially because we like to hear someone else talk about our work. Who doesn’t like that? But — at least to me — it matters because it shows good, talented people chose this same activity I will do for at least a third of my remaining hours.

When you step back, advertising is silly. Sure it has the power to do good, elevate culture, and get people unaddicted to the things it got them addicted to in the first place. But it’s still silly. Yet anyone who has ever presented a headline knows how scared shitless you are that those strung-together words are no good. And how awesome it feels when someone reads your headline and you see their lip slip the slightest smirk. That’s addicting. And to have grownup addicts share that passion is inspiring. It makes me want to keep caring. To feel lucky as hell to do this silliness. And that the silliness is a privilege, so I better bust my onions to create ads that don’t suck.

So if you are one of the Best Somes, thank you. Keep it up – you make the silliness worth it. Hopefully that makes you feel better about being such a hack.

Matt Meszaros is a copywriter from Des Moines that definitely doesn't suck.