I've been a big fan of Mark Fenske's writing and observations. His latest post ups the ante even more.

"If clients don't like advertising why do they come to ad agencies?

Story.

They want you to tell them what their story is.

Then they want you to tell that story to the public.

Until a client has a story they believe in you're wasting your time trying to sell them ads."

Brilliant.

I totally agree with this argument. Story is core. But what's really compelling for me is how the story of Story has evolved so much in the past few years--affecting Who tells the story and How it gets told. These forces have bent and shaped the traditional definitions of Story as it relates to Advertising.

I suspect Fenske might agree...

"A client's story is what the public thinks of the client's company minus two times their worst advertising."

"A client's story could have to do with the president of the company or the lowest paid employee on the salary list or with someone who never worked for the company."

"A client's story may be a surprise to the client, the public, and the ad agency."

"A client's story does not have a format."

His latest post is definitely worth the click.