Last week a UK telly bigwig had a go at advertisers in a high profile RTS convention speech (tis the season, after all) over the current perceived lack of creativity in broadcast commercials. It’s interesting, even shocking, that a media owner would take this stance publicly, presumably at the risk of alienating their own customers: the folk with the media budgets.

So how to explain? Well the outlet with the beef is a resurgent ITV. On something of a rollercoaster since regional consolidation, the loss of its monopoly, platform fragmentation and wildly variegated ad revenues, the channel is finally coming to terms with our brave new media world. And it’s once again delivering content people like, above and beyond the basic menu of karaoke-and-soap.

To advertisers this means a whole bunch of highly desirable eyeballs, so they want in again. But ITV is thinking of its station imaging; my guess is that ITV programme directors would dearly like spots that match the quality of their luscious idents and spanky new progs, thereby keeping the overall tone nice and consistent.

Of course, advertisers don’t make advertisements, agencies and production companies do. So no doubt the blame will shift in due course to our small corner of the galaxy... but what should the appropriate response be? I’ll post some ideas soon; in the meantime, feel free to contribute your own.

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More enlightenment and opinion from Madhouse, Manchester’s leading integrated marketing communications agency