If Advertising Is So Great, Why Are We So Unhappy?

Clap along if you feel

like a room without a roof

Because I’m happy

Clap along if you feel

like happiness is the truth

Because I’m happy

Clap along if you know

what happiness is to you

Because I’m happy

Clap along if you feel like

that’s what you wanna do.

— Pharrell Williams

Look at us.

We work in an industry that is arguably the closest thing to the entertainment business that most of us will ever know. We have a dress code that is virtually non-existent. Some of us get to travel to some pretty exotic places that I’m pretty sure the guy that prepares your tax return every April will never come close to experiencing.

And yet, study after study tells us that we’re not happy. That’s right. I’m talking to you, associate CD in Omaha. You too, newly minted creative technologist fresh out of Hyper Island. And don’t worry, Global Chief Creative Officer in New York City. I didn’t forget about you. Regardless of who you are or what you do or where you do it, chances are, if you’re an advertising creative, there’s something missing.