A week spent flyfishing in the Canadian Rockies empties the mind of most thoughts about advertising. Which allowed this thought to find its way in:
We coastal sophisticates use irony to keep an emotional distance and to avoid embarrassing displays of enthusiasm and happiness.
Southwestern Alberta, however, is a 100% irony-free zone, and it’s like breathing pure oxygen—utterly refreshing and slightly giddy-making. So how do flyfishing guides, who are among the coolest people anywhere, keep their cool in the face of jaw-dropping scenery and 24-inch trout?
Understatement.
“Pretty nice sky, there, don’t you think?”
“Decent fish you got there.”
We in the ad business could use more understatement and less irony. Is the advertising world ready for “Introducing a new truck that’s not half bad”?
I don’t know. But we’d feel better. We’d be less ironic. And we’d be a whole lot better-liked.
Belly of the Beast 