Keeping up appearances: The truth about 2024

Our industry obviously knows the importance of keeping up appearances—on LinkedIn, in pitches, and even in the stories we tell ourselves.

But as the year winds down and I reflect on the past twelve months, I can’t help but feel that 2024 somehow felt different—even more fake than usual. The economy wavered, clients slashed budgets, postponed or outright canceled projects, the talent crisis deepened, and the pressure to deliver ideas in a more “nimble” and “agile” manner intensified. And somehow, instead of addressing the cracks beneath the surface, we doubled down on projecting success.

On LinkedIn, it was either a parade of self-congratulatory posts—“humbled to win,” “thrilled to announce,” endless “well-deserved” promotions—or celebrating campaigns that, frankly, were mediocre at best. I get it—it’s a quick dopamine rush, a way to feel like you’ve achieved something. But behind closed doors, many of us were struggling—fighting to make quarterly numbers, retain people, and deliver work under impossible conditions.

The reality is that much of what we celebrated this year wasn’t really success; it was survival. And that’s okay. But we’re not admitting it.

In pitches, we faked confidence, promising clients innovation and transformation at speeds and costs we knew weren’t realistic. We overcommitted and overpromised because, honestly, saying no wasn’t an option in a hyper-competitive landscape where pitches worth more than one million HKD (roughly $128,000) are almost unheard of. The result? Beyond questionable integrity, we ended up with work that often feels and looks rushed—uninspired—or disconnected from the cultural zeitgeist we claim to lead.

In awards submissions, we took loads of creative liberty in telling our stories—selectively highlighting results or exaggerating case studies to craft narratives that looked better on paper than in reality. The truth? Maybe our culture initiatives didn’t actually mean that much to the people who went yet another year without a salary bump. Maybe our campaigns didn’t move the needle nearly as much as we’d like to think. And maybe we were too afraid to be truly bold, choosing instead to mask the status quo with some nice-sounding initiatives that we have no intention of sustaining into the next year. But the awards circuit doesn’t reward honesty; it rewards the best story.

None of this is new—it’s a reflection of the system we’re all part of. Faking it has become the industry’s survival mechanism. But at this point, faking it has become dangerous, and it prevents us from addressing the real challenges we face: The talent exodus, the commoditisation of creativity, and the growing gap between what’s expected of us and what we can credibly deliver with the budgets available. Worse, it creates a culture of comparison and imposter syndrome, where everyone feels like they’re falling short because they’re comparing their real-life struggles to someone else’s LinkedIn highlight reel.

But here’s the thing: It’s not just on agencies to change. Clients need to be part of the solution too. The pressure to “fake it” often stems from a culture of unrealistic expectations, where agencies are pushed to overpromise and overextend themselves just to stay competitive. Unrealistic timelines and shrinking budgets force creative compromises and maintain the cycle of appearance over substance.

If we’re going to create a healthier, more honest industry, clients too, must join this conversation. That means building relationships based on trust and transparency, rather than fear of losing the account. It means valuing long-term partnerships over transactional arrangements. And it means prioritising the quality of ideas and collaboration over just speed and cost efficiency. When clients embrace honesty—about budgets, expectations, and creative risks—they create the space for agencies to do the same. Together, we can move from a culture of appearances to one of authenticity, where great work is born from mutual respect and shared goals.

Now, will I stop posting wins on LinkedIn, selling the sh*t out of our agency in pitches, or submitting to industry awards? Of course not. But one more honest post, one more open conversation, and one more contextualised piece of information could be a step in the right direction—away from the need to fake it and toward focusing on what really matters: doing great work, supporting each other, and building an industry we’re proud of (make advertising great again?). Not just on LinkedIn, but in real life too.

Happy holidays!

Andreas Krasser is the CEO of DDB Group Hong Kong and a regular contributor to Campaign Asia-Pacific. Read his past pieces here.