The advertising business is notorious for only hiring young people. To have a job in the creative department over the age of fifty is pretty unheard of.
Sure, we can argue about the short-sightedness of this, the “ageism of this”, but we’re not saying anything new.
More interesting, perhaps, is why this state of affairs exists in the first place.
The main reason is that young people are more resilient. This means you can work them to death and not pay them very much. Older people tend to be more expensive, have more complicated, family-orientated lives, prefer not to work over the weekend, and object more forcefully to abuse.
But there’s a second reason, just as important.
The thing about young people is that the world is still new to them. And this “newness” is essential for coming up with new ideas, which is, of course, the lifeblood of the ad agency. One the world stops seeming “new”, you stop seeing new patterns, you just start rehashing the old ones.
“Seeing the world anew”- the seeing of new patterns- is one of our most important survival skills, and is something that ALL organizations need to build into their culture, not just the “creative” businesses. Yes, there are companies that can help you do that (like here at Gapingvoid, or over at IDEO, etc), but at the end of the day, it’s on you. YOU have to take that first step. You have to DECIDE.
Good luck. Let us know how you get on.
