The death of Don Draper?

Its interesting that if you watch Mad Men, this was actually discussed in a show set even in the 70s - that precise targeting and media would outpace any creative work.

Is it me or does this article contradict itself throughout the piece? It tries so hard to sell it’s headline, but every point and interview it does paints a completely different picture.

You want to sell a da Vinci? Well then you have to make private meetings with potential clients, and, you have to create ads that sell it as iconic.

You want to make people buy your brand of beer? Well you have to sell the story of it being generally accepted as a high quality brand.

You want to sell luxury? You have to sell timelessness and trust.

Aren’t those things exactly what Don Draper would have done?

In general the article skimps over how ads are actually made, and talks mainly in how they are delivered, but that has very little to do with the death of Don Draper. Because even if you’re not always shooting ads at everyone, you still have to tell stories that set you a part from everyone else.

It’s only valid point in the subject seem to be that advertisers are no longer in the front of business magazines. Ironically, neither are car manufacturers, except for one, Musk. Who coincidentally put one of his cars in space in a very spectacular PR event that I personally doubt he decided upon because an algorithm told him it would be popular.

I think the round about point is that since no one is tuning into the mass media which might build the collective mass culture (or that mass media is changing to target advertising that directly targets individual dreams and desires), that there is a problem in manufacturing mass culture... because culture has become balkanized. So basically you have a problem with individualism taken to its logical conclusion after the century of self, to a century of personalized amplified self which causes society to break down say in 50-100 years. It's an interesting idea, what are the things which bind us together culturally when we really don't have culture, we have commercial culture... we have cambell's soup ads.

While I agree with the general/intended sentiment of "Advertising is has changed from a bunch of slick white guys in suits, to tech", it might be worth pointing out that Don Draper doesn't _exactly_ have anything to do with what the author is discussing. The author implies that ad tech is ruining _traditional_ advertising, which is true on the Sales side, but have you seen some of the high PPC/CPM ads on some Youtube videos? They still _heavily_ rely on great creative. And let's not forget that Don Draper was the Creative Director - not head of Sales (which would've been Pete I believe).