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Excuse Me, But You Have Spinach in Your Teeth

Excuse Me, But You Have Spinach in Your Teeth

Spinach Teeth How many times has someone come up to you and said, “Um… You have spinach in your teeth.” Or, “There’s toilet paper on your shoe.” It happens occasionally, but rarely, if ever, right? It’s called civil inattention.

No one likes to point out the flaw because we all know that the receiver is likely to be embarrassed or upset, or worse, he could possibly “shoot the messenger.”

Sadly, the agency business has gotten a bit like that. We don’t want to tell our clients that we think the approach they’ve taken, or the one they have asked us to take, is the wrong one. Why? Because it’s an awkward conversation, certainly, but also possibly because times are tough. Don’t rock the boat. Maybe.

My suspicion, though, is that it goes a bit farther than that. It goes way back to our childhood, when our mothers and fathers told us that it was impolite to point at the man with his fly open (even if it would have saved him embarrassment as he walked into church). In the euphemistic South, we are embarrassed by the mere mention of something untoward. We are taught not to embarrass and instead simply pretend not to notice.

Clients need to hire agencies that are bold enough to tell them the truth, to tell them what their customers won’t, to call out the elephant in the room. It can be a bit painful. We don’t want or need to do it to be overly critical. No, we need to be brutally honest because our client’s business and reputation depend on that kind of candor, and the client needs to know that they can trust us to provide that truth when others won’t.

Gap got a lesson in candor this week. My guess is that both the agency and Gap execs were “breathing their own air” when they came up with the new logo. They must have used up all the oxygen in the room that would have allowed them clearer thinking. When they emerged to show the world their new logo, the world said, “Eeeewww.”

Did the agency tell Gap what they wanted to hear? Was that logo the agency’s 20th solution down the list? Was it the president’s son’s version? “I like this logo. Yes, I agree. Let’s go with this one.” I don’t know, but it happens every day. Anyway, you get the point.

Agencies have a responsibility to tell their clients the truth about their advertising and marketing, which is sometimes brutal. But it’s necessary to ensure that the agency is providing the very best work and counsel — the work and counsel for which the agency was hired in the first place. To become a trusted and valued advisor, sometimes you have to tell your client she has spinach in her teeth.