I have only recently recovered from my foray with Carnival 2011. It was a first for me. I actually played with a band, something I swore I would never do. For the most part, I had a great time, despite having trouble walking home on Monday night because I was foolish enough to heed Machel’s instructions to take “Advantage” of the stage. I did trample, stump and jump on it, leaving my leg muscles in a painful mess. Foolishly, I went for more on Carnival Tuesday. I survived…barely. Two things happened over the Carnival weekend which I relate to my work in the advertising sphere, causing me to question our (agency and client) accuracy of judgment.
During the arduous hours on Frederick Street waiting to get to the Savannah, to my surprise, one of the hit songs on the road was Allrounder’s “Body Wine”. This non-wine-down-the-place-like-you-eh-christen tune played several times during the course of the day and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. To me, this was unusual in the heat of Carnival. My other surprise was Benjai’s “Trini” placing second in the Road March race. If Machel had not “come back again”, Benjai’s groovy soca number would have won the title in a time when Soca at break neck speed is the in thing. So what am I getting at? I think if we in the advertising world were their consultants, they may not have had those hits on their hands.
As we know, in advertising, agency and client tweak the work to ensure that it connects perfectly with the target audience. This requires an understanding of market trends, current affairs, demographic etc. Relating this to the subject matter, I believe if Benjai had spoken to any of us saying that he wants to win the Road March, he would have been told, “It’s a nice song. It might get Groovy but not the Road March. It too slow. People want to prance and get on when they crossing the stage.” As for the evergreen Allrounder whose onstage presentation definitely had an impact on all of us liking “Body Wine”, he might have been told, “You too old to do that kind of song.” Or “That tune might do good in the tent, not on the road.” Who would have expected Allrounder to be a contestant on Fantastic Friday, and one of the most memorable ones as well? If they had focused on the “market trends” Carnival 2011 may not have had these two popular musical contributions. Sometimes the taste of the populace is unpredictable and maybe we in advertising do not always get it right by trying to get it right.
So yes, there are many changes, touch-ups, tweaking, adding, subtracting, manipulating, scrapping and restarting until the work satisfies the agency and the client, but who knows the many “gems” which would have satisfied the target that instead ended up in the Creative Works Cemetery.
