Richard Waugh

Actor

I really believe there is a future for television advertising. The competition from multimedia isn’t something that has paralyzed the advertising community. Instead, I think it inspires the tv ad creatives to get more creative, to take different slants, and overall treat their product a little more seriously.

Today there’s more humor, more technology, and wonderful work with computer graphics involved in commercial production than anyone would have thought possible 10 years ago. When you look at the boon in funny commercials, I think people are taking it seriously, almost as an art form, instead of just advertising. In the best cases, it’s become more like a one-minute or 30-second short film than an ad.

So, do I think the end is near when the work is getting smarter and more creative? No.

As an actor, there is a somewhat different discipline required in doing commercials now than there was five years ago. I have the feeling that people are creating characters now, as opposed to spokespeople.

In most spots now, it’s not a straightforward holding the product up beside your head and telling the audience what it does. Now you’re playing a character and acting out a scenario. It’s becoming more of an acting job, and less of a spokesperson’s job. And the quality of the spots is getting better all the time because of it.

To maintain its relevance, I think the more the client relies on the creative team to do what they hired them to do, the better the spots they will be able to make.

The client needs to worry less about market surveys, because it’s only going to be the really original work that’s recognized by people on tv. What some of it needs to get away from is including every little piece of information about the product in the ad. Some of the best spots out there barely mention the product, but you still remember what it is.

I really believe that the things we have that the computer doesn’t are real people, real personalities, real original ideas and stories. The answer to the question of what television advertising has to do to maintain its relevance in the future is to maintain its humanness, and not become overwhelmed by technology.