CAREERS MEDIA: Don't flush your talent down the toilet, creatives warned

A more relaxed, liberal society has led to an increase in vulgar humour in ads - but this could have negative repercussions for your brand, warned New York Festivals president Gerald Goldberg. "About 15 years ago in Japan, there was a TVC showing a boy farting while sitting in a hot tub of water; you could see the bubbles slowly rising to the surface. It was attention-grabbing and charming at the same time. But I have to say that it has gone downhill from there," he told MEDIA. Mr Goldberg, who has been with the New York Festivals for about 20 years, said another factor was that it was getting more difficult to get noticed in the marketplace. "There's so much being produced and so much being pumped into every media channel imaginable, that doing something original is far more difficult to achieve these days." But he stressed that for this type of ad to be effective, it had to be humorous. "Being vulgar in the direct sense of the word isn't going to cut it; it could, in fact, have negative repercussions for your brand." Does he believe that the belching and farting will continue to be a genre unto itself? "Who knows," he said. "Maybe we are waiting for a new wave in creativity that will put us onto a higher plane. Can't really see it from where I am sitting right now though."

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