The account guy is a more complex creature than what originally thought. Sometimes pegged as the “yes-man”, or the douchebag, or the worthless middle man that knows a shit-ton of cliche phrases (see: doucheyaccountguy.tumblr.com), or even worse seen as the bottom feeder of the advertising world. Some view us as talking heads that only echo client complaints, while the clients themselves think we’re some sort of manipulative worm that’s simply trying to bill more out of them.
But we’re more than that. We, too, have feelings. However, it is part of our job to bury those feelings into a deep, dark hole in the hopes of making everyone satisfied, much less happy or even thrilled. We manage the crap to keep client’s companies busy with customers and to keep the people at agencies/ marketing departments employed. Sure, there’s the occasional after-work or mid-afternoon “strategy session” at the local watering hole, or an expensive dinner to “keep up client relations”, but it’s not always sunshine and rainbows.
With that in mind, it should be known that we in accounts put up with a lot of bitching and degrading from all sides. We aim to please and when we don’t, we hear about it. No one gets to hold our hand or sugar coat the blunt reaction from a client to a despised ad. Most AE’s know how to explain how a creative concept originated and we understand how the emotional attachment is what drives brand loyalty. However, not all people get it, and that’s when we step in to see if the concept is as horrible as the client’s reaction portrayed.
Some people don’t like the color green and others are under the suggestion that the public won’t understand a product unless you include ALL the features in a given promotional ad. We, account people, get that a cluttered ad is typically not the best route and we know about complimentary colors; some shit just makes sense. However, not everyone sees the vision despite holding it right in front of their face. Two plus two will never equal four to these folks.
When that’s the case we have to go back to work. In an effort to minimize the number of expletives and derogatory comments we hear in a given day, we may look to simply shoot the changes along with the understanding “it is what it is.” This doesn’t mean that we, account people, can’t push back, only that some battles are not worth our effort and time.
At the end of the day, however, we want to put out the best work possible for our entity. We want push back from clients and more importantly from the creative team when they feel strongly about their work or idea. But please note that we may have already fought that fight and we can’t save the world on that given project. We’re on your side, so stop bitching and make the damn logo bigger.