Advertising should be an art form (BHAVIK KSHATRIYA)

Advertising, by definition, means the activity of producing advertisements for commercial products or services. However, does it mean that its disposition is only relevant in business or politics and has no relevance to be considered as art?

Absolutely not!

The very thought of advertising being pushed into a corner of non-artistic creativity is not only demeaning to the industry of marketing/advertising but simply uncalled-for.

Advertising has evolved from the days of making movies filled with cigarette smoking lead actors and actresses to subtle indications of product placements in scenes of movies, TV shows, and billboards. The creativity required in today's subsequently diverse, globalized media makes advertising not just a form of art but the very essence of art.

Advertising is no longer just about putting up a catchy slogan next to a product to sell. It's more about how diversely you can approach a mass audience to talk about the product being sold. In the age of digital marketing, there are so many platforms through which advertising needs to be processed that by the time the end product comes through, the amount of creativity, attention to detail, and emotions behind each piece is an art.

Mary Warlick once said, "Art is visual imagery that is meant to elevate thinking in an aesthetic context." Today advertising is not just about selling a product for the benefit of profitability. Advertising appeals to the average person; it speaks in a language that makes everyday folks understand.

A soap advertisement, with the right message, the precise tone, authentic colors, the right texture, accurate placement, and a good product, has a profound and deep impact on the consumer's minds. If what Mary Warlick said is true, then a simple ad for a bar of soap can be just as thought-provoking as a Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, or The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali.

Today experts argue for and against the idea of advertising being regarded as a form of art because some people say art is an end unto itself. William Bernbach said, "Advertising is fundamentally persuasion, and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art." In my humble opinion, artists today work in advertising, marketing, and sales because of the notion that their creativity, ability to think of new, vibrant, and out-of-the-box ideas allow them to flourish in this environment.

There are no new ideas anymore. There are new ways of projecting old ideas with a tweak or two and using the latest platforms available to make them seem fresh.

We are now in an era where scientific data, art, and business intertwine to make art in its evolved state. We can no longer submit to interruption and repetition as the way to get a message across for a product or service. It needs to be catchy, fresh, inventive, thought-provoking, heart-tingling, creative, and, most importantly, reach the masses of people who will understand its language, which is art is advertising, and advertising is now an art form.