The pitch: Sell the flash cars and shoes, wake up and smell the poses

By JENEAL ROHRBACK*

Okay, I'll admit it. I don't know the price of eggs, I have two virtually unused European cars and a closet full of designer clothes, some with price-tags still on them.

I have 32 pairs of black shoes, I buy copious amounts of expensive deli food because I can't be arsed to cook, I have four gold credit cards and two for the nanny, and I've just bought my partner his second digital camera for $4000 because I didn't know what to get him.

To some this might sound like an amusing brag list, but to me it's a sign of someone who has lost the plot.

It also sounds like quite a lot of people I know in advertising who have lost touch with the important things in life and become accumulators of things and people they don't need. All because they have money.

How can we even contemplate what the everyday consumer wants or feels when we live in chi-chi land?

It's hard to pinpoint when people start losing the plot, but we all know people who have started off as humble, honest, fun guys and within a few years transform into inaccessible, all-important, hierarchical, hobnobbers.

Does this switch start when the voicemail message changes to the affected porn-star voice? Aargh!

Or maybe it's the flash car, the flash house, the flashier second house and so on. They may even have an inkling of the change when they catch themselves wondering whether $65 is a bit stiff for a bottle of extra virgin olive.

But that moment doesn't last. Soon it's right back to the superficial friends, the meaningless and competitive buying, all that so-serious pontificating, and all the condescending gossip.

How can people existing in a culture of shallowness that has absolutely no parallels with the everyday person possibly lead a team into doing the most relevant work, never mind do it themselves?

And are you part of the problem? Do you know what it feels like to take a bus to work, or to need a second job to support your family?

In London, I frequently saw John Hegarty (chairman BBH, London) sitting across from me on the Tube. He owns a successfully creative agency and makes buckets of money, but he still finds time to keep in touch with real life. Maybe that's why BBH continually does world-class advertising that connects with people.

I also had the pleasure of meeting another influential man, Kevin Roberts, worldwide chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, who said the further up an agency you get, the stupider you become. And it's not your fault.

Kevin believes that agency CEOs lose touch with consumers such as rural New Zealanders, teens and lower-income groups.

It happens because they have a lifestyle very different from the bulk of consumers. Also, just as critically, no one tells them the truth. They are managed, positioned or sold to by subordinates.

So what can we do to change? Start by getting rid of everything and everyone not useful or special to you.

Keep your life simple. I'm not saying you should live in the woods with little money and few possessions. You work hard, make good money and are entitled to spend it, but keep grounded in the people you're talking to - they're your livelihood.

I'm selling a car. I've got rid of the credit cards, the cleaner, the ironing guy, and nearly all my clothes and black shoes.

I proudly admit that I love beans on toast, and I can turn a single chicken into five meals.

I feel great, and I'm also better equipped to communicate with my consumers.

By the way, eggs are $4.40 a dozen.

* Jeneal Rohrback is creative director for Singleton Ogilvy & Mather.

* The Pitch is a forum for those working in advertising, marketing, public relations and communications.

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