WHY ADVERTISING AGENCIES ARE LIKE THE CIA. BUT NOT IN A GOOD WAY.

Reading article earlier today I was struck by the 

similarity between the CIA in 2000 and modern Advertising Agencies.

The Article goes into the reasons the CIA failed to analyse the threat from Al Qaeda in the run up to the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Among the reasons was that The CIA pretty much only hired white Anglo Saxon men with a certain education.

They hired a homogenised work force with a homogenised way of thinking.

It’s Called ‘Perspective Blindness'.

It refers to the fact that we are often blind to our own blind spots. Our modes of thought are so habitual that we scarcely notice how they filter our perception of reality’.

Hire the same type of people and your perspective blindness increases and rather than challenging these blind spots they are multiplied further distorting the perception of reality.

The ranks of white men in dark suits simply weren’t capable of understanding Bin Laden’s appalling and Murderous intent. 

But a Muslim with knowledge of The Koran would have seen the threat all too well-understood the subtext, meanings ‘the cultural codes’ of his initial verbal- only attacks on The West.

Complex problems we now know, require diverse ways of thinking and a diversity of people.

What’s this got to do with advertising?

A homogenised work force of predominantly millennial urban white people?

Hired by predominantly millennial urban white people?

Do they bring cognitive diversity to complex marketing problems? 

Can they tap into the thoughts of a suburban, 50 year old single mother of two north of Watford?

No? 

Time to take a look around office. 

The one with the exposed aircon ducts felt-tippy mural and ping pong table.

The smart money has the organisations with age, cultural and gender diversity having a key competitive advantage In the future. 

It’s not about political correctness.

It’s about survival.