I've been thinking a bit about Howard Gossage and the reasons I wanted to make ads in the first place.
And why some people hate what we make so much.
The common criticism is that we're all liars, but if all advertising was false then our work wouldn't resonate.
The problem isn't that great ads aren't 'true' on some important level...
It's that the solutions offered (e.g. buy a better perfume) aren't sufficient to achieve the aspirations presented (fulfilling relationships).
More than A.I., this will be the biggest problem facing our industry going forward.
Adverts know us well and therefore tease us with promises of love, friendship, calm and success - but then go on merely to sell us things we don't particularly need: like bars of chocolate or sports cars.