Why Brands Need Agencies

Pepsi’s recent ad debacle laid bare the one key element missing from any in-house creative department.

- Richard Huntington

David Ogilvy famously asked clients of his agency wanting to write their own work: “Why keep a dog and bark your-self?” Half-a-century later, it appears that, for some clients, the answer is:

“Who needs a dog?”

Which brings us to the thorny question of why use an advertising agency at all.

One of the more curious things about the advertising business is that it hires strategic and creative talent that might otherwise go straight into client organisations and rents them back at somewhat of a premium.

This is true of most professional service firms (from accountants to management consultants) but the practice is all the more peculiar in marketing, where the people on either side of the fence are so alike. Indeed, many move from one to the other throughout their career.

So it is no wonder that the idea of cutting out the overheads, the general argy-bargy and the five sashimi selection at Roka, and taking the whole advertising process in-house, appeals to some clients.