Copywriting has changed – get over it

So, the DMA wants to know, is the art of copywriting dead? At a basic level, the argument goes that British copywriting was a craft of the finest order that used to rule the world yet today’s practitioners can only just about botch together 140 characters for a Twitter campaign.
So, is the art of writing great copy alive and kicking or is the cost-cutting, time-sheeting, track-changing technological world we inhabit leading to death by a thousand cuts?
To kick off the debate, the industry body gathered two groups of practitioners – what it called the Madmen versus the Mavens – to discuss the current state of play.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Madmen – sitting in the rather comforting environment of Elena’s l’Etoile in London – were less than impressed. They are not quite in the Don Draper mould but you get the drift. And with comments such as “I hate advertising”, “copywriting hardly exists”, “I just cringe at the advertising” and “I find it boring, predictable and not engaging”, it was more like a script from One Foot in the Grave than pearls of wisdom from industry founding fathers.
No-one would argue with their pedigree – Barbara Nokes, Howard Fletcher, John Salmon and Tony Brignull, and, of course, the DM industry’s very own John Watson – started working in the sector before most of today’s practitioners were but a glint in their father’s eye.
Maybe back in the Seventies and the Eighties when this lot plied their trade, all copywriting was razor-sharp, caught the consumer’s imagination and the brands they were writing for simply flew off the shelves.
Then again, for those of us old enough to remember, there were some good ads but there were also a lot of crap ones, much like today. And, let’s be honest, other than Mr Watson, how many of the Madmen have seen the inside of an agency in the past 20 years? Could it just be that those rose-tinted spectacles are blocking out the harsh realities of the industry today?
On the other side of the fence sit the Mavens, who gathered in a trendy coffee shop. Some well-established practitioners, like Lida’s Nicky Bullard and Partners Andrews Aldridge’s Ross Newton, are joined by the young guns of the agency world. They point out that the industry has changed – which it undoubtedly has – and that copywriting is not quite so easily defined.
And there’s the rub. The world of advertising and marketing is unrecognisable from when the Madmen had their day. The pressure on copywriters – whether in agencies or working directly for brands – to get it right first time is immense. There simply isn’t time to write and rewrite it until the cows come home. Or, as was often the case back in the day, once you’ve chewed it over, over more than a few cold ones down the boozer.
Clients are under greater scrutiny, so it’s only natural that they want their pound of flesh from agencies – many of whom are paid handsomely for their work. And let’s not forget, copywriters are supposed to be commercial writers. All the industry awards in the world can’t detract from the fact that copywriters are ultimately judged on whether their work sells stuff.
Then there is the small matter of the Internet, where the need to weave in keywords, metatags, hyperlinks and other search engine friendly guff and still make the copy readable makes the 12 Labours of Hercules seem like a walk in the park.
The sad reality is that the industry has changed beyond all recognition. You can stamp your feet all you like but as the old adage goes, you’ve got to adapt or die.

Charlie McKelvey is publishing editor of DecisionMarketing

Related stories
DMA asks: Is copywriting dead?
To join in the debate check out the Twitter tag #DMAwriting and take the census at the DMA microsite http://dma.org.uk/greatbritishcopywriting