Ismail Al-Ghussein, manager – business development, TBWA\Raad
“Groupthink is the concept of having many people go along in agreement with a discussion, essentially because either someone in authority has spoken and others are afraid to contradict their idea, or because in the silence of a discussion, each individual believes that others won’t agree with the ‘apparent’ consensus and don’t want to stir the pot. One other cause of groupthink is that everyone in the room has the same frame of reference for the discussion. In other words, they actually do think alike and make a decision in agreement, even though that decision may be uninformed.
Now, how is that reflected in the regional advertising industry? It’s everywhere. When you take a look at the media landscape, one cannot help to avoid it. Elevator music, corporate art, and a majority of the terrible ads out there try to appeal to everyone at once, while trying to offend not to offend anyone, and the result is this watered-down, politically campaign that no one likes.
Why? Because clients and agencies alike could sacrifice creative for safe, will not try to push for additional approvals once the status quo has been met and will not try to argue against the boss. It takes a lot of time and effort to convince people with a creative ‘idea’, and people seldom chase for approvals. But a ‘straightforward’ campaign, on the other hand, will get approval in seconds.
If you stick enough people in a room they will eventually conform to the dominant view – even if it is glaringly is ‘not the right one’. Groups sometimes fall into a style of thinking where the maintenance of the group’s cohesion and togetherness becomes all-important and results in very bad decision-making. Additionally, and what comes as a surprise to me, is groupthink happens most often when the group is already cohesive and is isolated from conflicted opinions.
The sun always shines in ad land, everyone is always smiling, and overall, the effect is entirely unbelievable. What needs to be celebrated are the messages that do work; the ones that bring a bit of reality, thoughtfulness or edge along with them. Only then will we find our region generating more and more awards-winning, yet effective campaigns.”
