Patti Smith On Advertising: Speaking the Truth

From June 19th through 25th, creative royalty met at the Cannes Lions Festival to celebrate and discuss cutting edge creative and communication strategies.  The usual suspects - traditional agencies, boutique shops, and major brand advertisers themselves (such as Nike, Coca Cola, and Apple) - were joined this year by punk rock royalty Patti Smith, who not only performed for "convention" attendees

but also spoke extemporaneously about the benefits and ills of advertising, and offered sage advice to advertisers:

Sometimes it takes a "real" person to give us the best advice out there - (1) always tell the truth; (2) never exploit [young] people; and (3) "less, more creative advertising."  It reminds me of the brandDr's favorite equation for good great ads:

Relevance + Originality = Impact

Thanks Ms. Smith - let's hope Madison Ave has the courage and intelligence to heed your advice.