We can’t let them win: why better ads are worth fighting for

I’ve been feeling a little defeated lately, to the point where I considered quitting the blog.

Ever since Google changed its search algorithm to shortchange small blogs like mine in favor of “trusted sources,” sponsored links, and AI overviews, The Cranky Creative has lost 75 percent of its blog traffic (and ad revenue).

Too often now, when I publish a blog post, it feels like I’m screaming into the void.

I began to wonder whether all of my hard work was worth it anymore.

How much happier would I be if I just stopped caring about bad ads, bad business practices, and advertisers bent on subverting the culture?

After all, I reasoned, it’s no longer my business. About 18 months ago, I’d decided to leave the soul-sucking world of marketing and advertising, and this past year, I finally stepped onto a new career ladder. (I’ll tell you more about this soon, I promise.)

So I really don’t have to bother anymore.

But then I realized: The moment I stop calling out the bad actors, terrible ideas, and predatory practices that have infested the ad industry — that’s the moment that I let them win.

“Win what?” you ask.

Well, the craft, for one thing. Because taken as a whole, today’s advertising is not just bad; it’s an affront to both the great men who built this industry — think Ogilvy, Burnett, Bernbach, Reeves — and to us, the unfortunate souls subjected to these modern travesties every time we turn on the TV or watch a video online.

Secondly, but far more importantly, it feels like quitting this blog would be tantamount to ceding the culture.

Because, as I have said time and again, advertising does not simply reflect the culture — it shapes it. And nowadays, shaping the culture is something that far too many ad people with strange ideas have way too much interest in doing.

So I think it’s important that I keep blogging.

And anyway, despite its best efforts, Big Tech hasn’t muffled me entirely.

Last January, I was interviewed for an article in The Telegraph, one of the “big three” newspapers in the UK, about the quality of today’s TV commercials. And just last week, I received an email from a man who’d seen The Cranky Creative cited in a book he’d just read called The Unprotected Class: How Anti-White Racism Is Tearing America Apart. (In a section devoted to advertising, the author quotes parts of my blog post, “Let’s talk about forced diversity in TV commercials.”)

Somehow, despite being suppressed by Google and even having pages demonetized, I’m still getting the word out.

And if this little page on the internet can make a difference, then that bodes well for all of us.

Because let me tell you, I am nobody special. I’m just a feisty former copywriter who’s fed up with bad ads and agenda-driven ad people who want to push their politics and worldviews on the rest of us.

While you, on the other hand.

You are the all-important Consumer.

Individually, you have the power to tell brands what you think of their products and ads. And not just with your words, but with your hard-earned dollars.

Collectively, you are the only thing they fear.

You have the power to build brands up into beloved household names (hello, Chewy!) or tear them down into a million shattered pieces (I’m looking at you, Bud Light).

But, here’s the rub: you have to speak up.

You must commend brands when they excel and hold them accountable when they fail.

Whether by writing reviews, supporting or boycotting products, or voicing your opinions online and in real life, your actions matter.

Because we get what we tolerate. And as the past many years have shown — with terrible ads, intrusive ads, ads in bad taste, and ads made to push agendas — companies will continue to push the boundaries of what is acceptable in advertising and in our culture until we tell them to stop.

So, get loud on Facebook. Raise hell on X. Write that email or post that comment or review.

There is a lot more at stake here than just having your next YouTube video interrupted by a crummy 40-second ad.

So let’s hold advertisers accountable for their ideas, their practices, and the messages they send into the world (and our living rooms).

Let’s fight to restore some sense and dignity to this once-proud profession.

It’s time for us to demand better from advertisers — for ourselves, our culture, our future. Because we deserve it — and because we know damned well they’re not going to fix this mess on their own.

Thank you for reading The Cranky Creative. If you see something here that you like, please share it with others. It costs you nothing, but it makes a big difference to me!

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