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Ahhhh this subject is near & dear to me heart, but alas I can't make it to Hug Nation this afternoon. :o/
I went to school for advertising. I was very very very good at it, won some student awards, was headhunted by more than one agency before even finishing my 3rd year, but after one particular class, I immediately dropped out of the program and decided to pursue a different career path.
I asked, in class, what would happen if I refused to work on a campaign for a pharmaceutical company, as it is my belief that pharmaceutical advertising plays on our natural hypochondria and makes us all think we're sick and I don't think it should be legal to advertise prescription medication at all? Why, I'd be fired, my teacher said. In some instances, like working on on alcohol or cigarette accounts or political campaigns, an employer will be okay with you sitting out every now & then, but if your own politics and beliefs come to work too often, you're out. It's career suicide to even HAVE ethics, it seems.
So I thought long & hard and the list of things I couldn't in good conscience work on got bigger and bigger and it became pretty clear that should I take a job an any agency, I would face some of these products and have to make a choice or be fired or whatnot.
There's no such thing as a copywriter that only does work for non-profits and I'm not green or informed enough to work for Adbusters, so I decided to stay away from advertising altogether, despite being very very good at it and it being one of my passions. Instead, I use my knowledge and expertise to help the little guy and people I believe in - for free.
So I couldn't be myself while working for the man, but I'm okay with that decision.
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I have had some questions (and some attacks) based on my consulting work, recently. I want to take an opportunity to discuss my choices. I’ll try to get into my beliefs about about personal responsibility while being a part of “The System.”
