Surely clients can see through this?

Image courtesy

I found this on the JWT site today (click on the Ford campaign from the scrolling menu) and I couldn't help but feel it was like the intro to some ridiculous reality TV programme.
‘It'll be disruptive and shocking to people, in a good way', claims one of the vox pops, and I’m thinking to myself, will it? really? I think the only thing that would be shocking was if a client was watching the so called ‘no holds barred’, ‘candid’ films and saw quite how much they were slagged off by the creative teams or maybe how little time is spent on the ideas.

Now I'm not in the habit of slagging off other agencies, JWT have got a good reputation and I'm sure on an account like Ford they pull some very long days making sure they get it right, but seriously, putting together a trailer like this is just teeing yourself up for ridicule. If I was a client with any marketing sense who had a vague idea of the way media is headed (permission marketing, conversations with consumers, etc etc) I would demand this type of honesty from my agency from the outset. The fact they have to put something like this together just screams 'contrived' at me and I would be less inclined to get involved with an agency that feels it has to tout itself in this manner.

Ultimately, it is the work that counts and the results that work should achieve. I couldn't give a toss how what processes/discussions/shocking debates are involved in producing the work, I just want to make sure the people working on my brand understand the brief, maintain good honest communication and produce work that both stimulates and communicates with potential consumers. Don't give me all this dramatic 'Real World' style footage, it's only going to make me think you're all a little bit frayed around the edges or smacked up on Columbia’s finest.