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The Government's regulatory assault has added substantially to the jitters of the traditionally insecure ad field. In many agencies, all promotions must now be cleared by lawyers. Increasingly, specific claims are being dumped. For example, Wonder Bread has discarded a campaign that drew consumer criticism by asking children "How big do you want to be?" and hinting that the product could make them grow; the new "Fresh Guys" theme features animated loaves in TV commercials. More candor is creeping into ads. Pitches for Sta Dri now note that no antiperspirant really keeps people dry. The product's name, the ads say, should "probably be 'Stay Dryer.' "
Many admen fear that increasing Government intervention could dry up the creative juices. Says William Bernbach, chairman of Doyle Dane Bernbach: "The demand for stating things that are provable will dull some ads and make people reluctant to make some claims that are provable." Chicago Advertising Consultant Robert Humphrey sees an inevitable drift of advertising away from the commonly used motivational techniques aimed at subconscious fears of rejection and desires for security; he feels that agencies will move toward better market research to determine what products consumers really need.
Agencies are also losing their hold on clients. A study by the Harvard Business Review last year found that more than half of the 2,700 business leaders polled thought that too much was spent on advertising, though almost all of them agreed that it is essential to marketing. Many major firms, including PepsiCo, Pfizer and General Foods, are keeping costs down by dividing some of their work among small agencies that specialize in a single advertising function—market research, space buying, copywriting, artwork. These shops work for negotiated fees and have had a major impact on full-service agencies in one key respect: to keep their clients happy, most large agencies have also had to offer separate "à la carte" services for a usually modest negotiated fee. Thus the flat 15% of billings that advertisers traditionally paid their full-service agencies is disappearing—and with it the fat agency profits.
All this is happening at a time when many agencies are still trying to shake off the effects of the recession. In 1970 the bottom fell out, profits plunged, and an estimated 10% of the agency-business work force lost their jobs. Even now, few agency chiefs expect a buoyant year in 1972. Says Foote Cone Belding President John O'Toole: "I see a gradual return to former levels—maybe not 1969 levels, maybe never those of 1969, but certainly in excess of 1971."