• Yep, I take some of the credit that!

    Yes, there is a tension constantly between short termism and the fact that people are bonused on what happens this year and actually thinking long term. Econometrics only picks up short term effects (anyone who says they build in long term effects is selling snake oil), and in most cases adverts do not pay back in the short term even in revenue terms let alone profit, so people intrinsically buy into the fact it is having a long term effect, even if it is not being measured. The issues comes from knowing how the long term effect differs by media, there is a long held assumption that TV has a bigger long term effect that other channels (plenty out there on this, see Len Lodish for early examples), but it is very hard to prove.
    I have worked on a number of highly creative campaigns, and they have all had varying results, off the top of my head

    Cadburys gorilla: little to no impact on sales (despite what the award entries say...)
    Honda Live ads: Clear uplift in some key metrics
    Hovis 120 anniversary spot: worked OK

    so good creative can certainly move the needle, I'm a big fan of ehrenberg principles, so often point people towards "How brands grow" by Byron Sharp, to try and get people to really think about how advertising really works, and not just base things on gut feel or even worse what they did last year...

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