15. Was advertising better in the past?

Patrick Collister is non-exec Creative Director at Ad-Lib, and Editor of Directory Magazine. He is also one of the few people to have had serious Creative Director roles in adland (Ogilvy) as well as in digital organisations (Google). So what has changed over the course of his career? Why do people keep harking back to the good old days – and what has happened to the funny ad? Jane and Patrick talk about the importance of format, the definition of advertising ‘craft’, the emergence of new platforms, and the demise of the ‘big idea’. They discuss how creative and effective advertising (and the role of CMO) may look in the future… and whether any of the big UK Christmas ads this year hit the mark.