The Myth of Advertising: The Art of Legitimacy

This essay looks at the transformation of advertising over the past two decades. Three myths define the worldview of advertising practitioners and sustain their daily practices: advertising as art(istic), advertising as war, and advertising as revolution. They are all a response to the lack of industry legitimation: for more than a century, advertising has been unable to prove that ads cause sales. The digital era is no different in this regard. The mythmaking enables practitioners to legitimate their industry and their role in it.