While I generally avoid using pictures of my own puppies and babies, in this instance I made an exception for a total of two reasons. First, the mass hysteria that seems to have taken over the internet ad biz in recent history (see what I did there) is making me hopping mad and second, no one can resist a photo of a dog kissing a baby. The dog alone is enough to garner 10 million views (42 by actual humans, the remaining by bots, but we’ll go ahead and call those view-throughs) but add a baby to that recursive Fibonacci and well, never you mind that I am too cheap to set up a stock photo account.
I realize part of the selling proposition for my firm is that our clients never have to worry about getting alternative facts in place of actual advice and solid data. So please accept a few humble words from a guy who’s made his living with straight talk who finds it really hard to stomach just how obvious a woefully under informed fourth estate and an opportunistic ad business has overblown YuTuGate.
With that, I’ll simply say sometimes bad things happen to good creative with accidental media placements. This possibility has always been there, it will always be there and canceling (a.k.a. hitting pause to distract and posture) media placements is hurting clients more than anyone in this complicated food chain. You see, pausing the arguably more visually creative upper funnel awareness media to focus on lower funnel directive intent placements like search ignores the essence of the purchase journey. One doesn’t exist without the other.
So please take a moment to read this absolute crap formulaic Gizmodo piece and follow it up with this piece from the incredibly bold and on point Tobi Elkin.