A dark day for old-school agencies, thank god

[by Todd] Well if you had any doubts how much consumers are upending the advertising industry, then the picture should be perfectly clear after IPG merged Foote Cone & Belding and Draft Worldwide, with Draft taking the lead in the new entity.

"This is what clients are looking for," IPG's Benjaman Roth said in announcing the merger, "the big idea that can be brought across all media, all channels, all distribution models."

Translation, after segmenting itself into  smaller and smaller disciplines for all these years, agencies are learning that clients want (nay, need) is business partner that can think past the 30-second spot.

"In the old days, when clients came to an agency, the agency gave them everything," Howard Draft told The New York Times. "That's what we're going to build here."

There will be plenty of people across the industry that see this as the inevitable, and long overdue response to the growth of consumer control. Sadly, or perhaps comically, there are those that are bemoaning the merger. Check out this drivel from Lewis Lazare at The Chicago Sun-Times.

We hope your black armbands are securely attached by now. Without question June 1, 2006 will go down as one of the darkest moments in the history of an increasingly troubled ad industry, which, with each passing day, shows new and disturbing signs it has lost its way.

Lost its way? Lost its way!? Lewis what the hell are you smoking?

Like it or not, advertising is now almost always only about return on investment, something the Draft end of the industry has proved good at tracking and delivering. The big idea that used to manifest itself in unforgettable advertising -- something traditional agencies such as FCB were in business to deliver -- seems all but a dinosaur now.

Don't you just hate it when evolution makes thing better?