The panel titled “The Advertising Journey in the Second Century of the Republic,” organized by the Advertising Department of the Faculty of Communication at Istanbul Aydın University, brought together experienced figures from the sector.
The panel, organized with the support of the Advertising Foundation and the Advertisers Association, featured Aslıhan Anarat, President of the Advertising Foundation and General Manager of Strategy and Business Development at WPP Turkey; Berkant Avcı, Chief Strategy Officer of Medina Turgul DDB Advertising Agency; and Fatih Tüylüoğlu, Chief Strategy Officer of VML Advertising Agency, as panelists. The panel was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gonca Yıldırım Öge, Head of the Advertising Department at Istanbul Aydın University.
Following Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gonca Yıldırım Öge’s opening remarks, Berkant Avcı gave a brief history of advertising in Türkiye. Avcı emphasized that the history of advertising is actually simultaneous with the history of the Republic, and that especially in the early years, advertising had a mission to raise public awareness, inform, and educate.
In the first part of the panel, which discussed brand and consumer attitudes based on advertisements made for the 100th anniversary of the Republic and other special occasions, Berkant Avcı stated that consumer attitudes in Turkey and the world have focused on the social role of brands in recent years, that brands are also operating in this direction with the reflexes of communicators, and that due to increased consumer awareness, brand credibility, sincerity, and common sense are of great importance.
“Sincerity is Needed in Celebrating National Days”
Aslıhan Anarat emphasized that brands’ advertising and celebrations on national and important days are related to sincerity, stating that a brand’s past actions should align with its present actions. Anarat said, “The sincerity of a brand that suddenly starts talking about certain issues and events, rather than never speaking about them before, is measured by its lack of sincerity.” She stated that brands have significant responsibilities in the face of increasing global problems, and that they provide training to agencies and advertisers within the framework of sustainability. Anarat continued, “When a brand gives a brief, we need to ask ourselves if it touches on issues that are meaningful to the world and will make a difference. For example, if we can touch on the issue of overconsumption, even if we can say just one sentence, we can change something. A dishwashing detergent can create a behavioral change by saying ‘Don’t waste water because our resources are running out,’ instead of just talking about how well it cleans dishes.” Anarat added that advertisers bear great responsibilities, especially during times of crisis, and therefore, as the Advertising Foundation, they provide research data on national issues to advertising agencies and share information on how to act proactively.
“Even though it’s very difficult during times of crisis, common sense is important.”
Stating that advertising is affected by many social, political, and economic factors, Fatih Tüylüoğlu emphasized that brands should act strategically and with common sense during times of crisis. Tüylüoğlu said, “Depending on the specifics of the crisis, some brands are relaxed and some are not. Unfortunately, even our crises can divide our country for various reasons. For example, during the earthquake, GSM operators remained unresponsive to all the criticism for a while; they couldn’t respond. Those were very difficult days for all operators. The CEO of one GSM operator made a statement, which was the only statement indeed. He explained the reasons one by one. Sometimes, even explaining the reasons one by one is very difficult. It is important for brands to act constructively and with common sense during times of crisis.”
Artificial Intelligence Has Accelerated Advertising
Regarding the future of advertising and advertisers’ reactions to artificial intelligence, Berkant Avcı stated, “Artificial intelligence currently presents a point of uncertainty. In this uncertainty, we will either fight or flee. While I don’t find either approach correct, ignoring it is also not right. People reacted similarly when the internet first emerged. People thought that computers and the internet would take their jobs. But things are changing. While some professions are disappearing from our lives, new ones are emerging. If you are an advertiser, you have to constantly keep up with current trends. You can’t be afraid of innovations. Artificial intelligence, for example, is very different from the metaverse, whose infrastructure is not yet fully established. Artificial intelligence is much more applicable and has many tools aimed at making our lives easier. There are still humans behind artificial intelligence. The important thing is to be able to see the purpose and benefit of artificial intelligence. Today, in an advertising agency, artificial intelligence can speed up many things; for example, we can create a visual we envision much faster with artificial intelligence.”
Fatih Tüylüoğlu also spoke about the future of advertising within the framework of artificial intelligence, saying, “If it enters our lives, that technology will work. The important thing is to be able to use the functions of artificial intelligence correctly. Artificial intelligence can draw an illustration that takes three days to draw in a few minutes, and can instantly produce a brand’s social media posts for a month. Yes, this may put some people out of work, but I’m sure it will also create new job opportunities.”
“Generation Z doesn’t have to save the world”
The panelists stated that Generation Z feels they have been treated unfairly and that they have been burdened with very important responsibilities to change the world. They emphasized that Generation Z doesn’t have to save the world, and that it’s wrong to make generational distinctions; every generation should understand each other.
