Advertising doesn't have to be though, that's the thing. There are a lot of really good ads out there when you consider what they are. 30 seconds to grab someone's attention and sell them something. It's a hard thing to do, but I find it really interesting when it's done really well.
That Quiznos ad on the other hand epitomizes what you're saying - advertising is shit. There's no value to it at. All it's saying is "we now sell a prime rib sandwich". There might be one joke in there, but I doubt it's really intended and it's not really funny. It's also got that whole fake satisfied customer thing, which is the worst kind of ad possible.
The worst fucking part about it is you know a ton of effort and man hours went into that, and I'm sure a very 'respectable' advertising agency created it. The thing is that the more well known agencies for the most part make these lame ass sterile ads because they hire the exact same people for all their positions. People with MBAs from good schools, and people with marketing degrees (ugh). There's nothing wrong with that, but they all think the same way for the most part and that kind of enviroment kills any shining stars in their creative department.
I did a bit of work experience for an advertising agency when I was younger. I basically did it with one guy (who went on to start his own agency, win a bunch of awards, and buy sweet fucking toys with his bags of money), but he had what seem like a lot of smart observations about it. Basically he said that ads suck, and there's no way around it. People hate the fact that they're even there, let alone what they're saying. Working with them sucks at the same time because 90% of the interesting ideas get shot down because a lot of the team and the execs want to go the safe route....like the customer satisfaction ads. Everyone knows they're fake, but since everyone you worked with learned that it made people feel safer with their purchase in some text book, it's very hard to argue against in a big firm. I'm sure they use other ways of justifying it, like reduced cost, but I'd doubt it's even any cheaper since so many man hours go into making sure everything conforms to whatever subliminal details you learned were important in marketing 407. That shirt has the be red, that one blue, this girl has to have a short haircut and laugh after her own joke. You get the point.
The other option is to work at a smaller firm that's more creativity focused, do some low profile ads and hope to create enough of a buzz to land a contract and get you into the big time. The problem with that is the buyer is also shooting down your ideas so even if you do land that contract, there's no garuntee you won't end up doing some lame ass dry ad anyways. A large percentage of good or at least interesting ads are based on risk, and if you lose that gamble your company could be going under.
But that's all besides the point. I'm telling you, cheaper ads, more creative development, more variety and lower rotation would be the way of the future if I was in a position to buy or sell ads. The problem is I'm not and the people that are are the kind of people that are very reluctant to venture out into new territory.
