In what can be described as a searing reflection on the state of modern advertising, Franklin Ozekhome – one of Africa’s leading brand strategists – pulls back the curtain on why he stepped away from traditional agency life. Through his lens as an industry veteran, Ozekhome examines how the once-mighty advertising agency model has been reduced to a shadow of its former self: from the diminishing role of account managers to the triumph of quick-fix solutions over thoughtful strategy.
As someone whose strategic work has shaped brands across Nigeria and beyond, Ozekhome articulates how the fundamental power dynamics between agencies and clients have shifted, how creativity has become commoditized, and how the rise of in-house teams and digital platforms has challenged the very relevance of traditional agencies. Yet beneath his critique lies a deeper concern: the loss of advertising’s soul and its metamophosis from a culture-shaping force into a mechanical process of churning out content.
Behind the Scenes: Days of Future Past
The conference room smelled of burnt coffee and recycled air. A big pitch was on the table—one that could keep the agency’s lights on for another year. The account manager, overworked and underappreciated, delivered the opening remarks. The creative team sat stiffly, waiting for their turn. The planner—cool, collected, and armed with ammunition (data, insights, presentation deck)—commanded the client’s full attention.
The walls, once filled with mood boards and creative scribbles, were now blank—because the client preferred “data-backed insights” over “gut-feel creativity.” The air was thick with anticipation. Another pitch. Another chance to prove that agencies still mattered.
The account manager cleared their throat, launching into the carefully rehearsed intro. They had spent nights fine-tuning every slide, crafting the perfect balance of strategy and storytelling. The creative team sat at the edge of their seats, hoping—praying—that this time, their ideas wouldn’t get watered down into a generic, risk-free campaign.
Midway through, the CMO of the energy drinks company leaned in and asked, “Can we just hear what the campaign idea is? Oh, and let’s quickly look at your go-to-market plan and the results we should expect within the next 30 days.”
Silence.
It was subtle, but it was a dagger to the chest of the entire agency model. The account manager, once the trusted bridge between brands and agencies, was now seen as a middleman. The creative director, the lifeblood of campaigns, was waiting on the sidelines like a benched player.
A decade ago, this would have been unthinkable. Advertising agencies were seen as the rockstars of business—visionaries who shaped culture and commanded boardrooms. Today?
They’re often treated as service vendors, scrambling for relevance in an industry that no longer values them the way it once did.
The power dynamics had shifted.
This wasn’t an isolated moment. It was a series of moments, a pattern I couldn’t ignore. A pattern that began when clients stopped respecting the process, demanding instant results over thoughtful strategy. When agencies, once the beacon of creativity, began to cut corners, resorting to formulaic, recycled ideas that no longer sparked anything fresh.
It became clear that advertising, as I knew it, was becoming a machine—one that cared more about ticking boxes than truly speaking to people. The deeper I dove into this, the more I realized the soul of the industry was being lost. The system was broken, and no amount of creative brilliance could fix it.
The turning point came when I saw how ad agencies were treated. Account managers, once the glue that held everything together, were increasingly sidelined in favor of planners and strategists, who were now seen as the key to delivering bigger, faster value. But here’s the thing—this wasn’t about delivering better, more thoughtful strategies. It became about cutting corners, chasing trends, and using shortcuts to meet demands. It was a race to get ideas out quicker, not smarter, leaving the art of real strategy and human connection in the dust.
Advertising was broken.
So, I walked away—not because I lost my love for creativity, but because I could no longer play in an industry where the rules had become outdated, and the spark of true innovation had been replaced by repetitive patterns.
When Did Agencies Become So… Powerless?
There was a time when agencies weren’t just in the game—they were the game. Madison Avenue in New York. Ikeja GRA in Lagos. Sandton in Johannesburg. Westlands in Nairobi. From David Ogilvy to Biodun Shobanjo to John Hunt, advertising was the industry that built brands, shifted culture, and redefined commerce.
But today? Agencies are in survival mode. Here’s why:
🚩 The Client-Agency Power Shift
Once, agencies dictated strategy. Now, clients view them as execution partners rather than thought leaders. The rise of in-house creative teams and consulting firms like Deloitte Digital and Accenture Song has made traditional agencies look slow, bloated, and overpriced.
🚩 The Broken Compensation Model
Agencies still charge fees based on outdated retainers and billable hours. Meanwhile, creators on TikTok are making six figures from a single viral post. Who’s really influencing consumer behavior?
🚩 Creativity on Life Support
For many creatives today, their biggest inspiration is… Twitter threads and Instagram reels. The industry that once birthed disruptive campaigns is now recycling the same influencer-driven, meme-based content. Where’s the originality?
🚩 Flawed Strategy Development
Strategy is no longer about deep consumer truths; it’s about fast insights, data dumps, and PowerPoint decks that look good but say nothing new. Clients want answers, but agencies are giving them algorithms.
🚩 The Death of the Account Manager
Once the most powerful role in an agency, account managers have become note-takers rather than deal-makers. Clients now bypass them to speak directly with strategists and creatives—because those are the people who bring tangible value.
🚩 Clients Now Think They Can Do It Themselves
With AI tools like ChatGPT and Canva democratizing creativity, many brands think they can run their own campaigns without agencies. In some cases, they’re right. If an algorithm can generate 100 social media posts in a minute, why pay an agency thousands of dollars?
How Agencies Lost Their Edge (And Their Respect)
There was a time when advertising was the beating heart of business.
Agencies weren’t just hired hands; they were the architects of culture. They made brands cool.
They made ideas immortal. They didn’t wait for briefs; they shaped consumer behavior.
But today? Agencies are being squeezed out. By clients, by consultants, by algorithms. Here’s how we got here:
🚩 The Power Shift: From Agencies to Clients
Once, agencies set the rules. Now, clients do.
Companies are in-housing creative work, relying on consulting giants like Deloitte and Accenture instead of traditional ad agencies. Even entertainment powerhouses like Netflix and Disney are building in-house marketing studios, cutting out agencies entirely.
Clients now demand:
- Full control over their messaging
- Faster turnarounds (no more three-month campaign cycles)
- Strategists over creatives (because strategy feels more tangible than “a big idea”)
Agencies used to be the brains behind the brand. Now, they’re just execution partners
🚩 The Compensation Model is Broken
For decades, agencies have operated on an outdated compensation system:
💰 The Retainer Model—slowly dying as brands opt for project-based engagements.
💰 The Media Commission Model—obliterated by digital and performance-based marketing.
💰 The Billable Hours Model—forcing agencies into a toxic cycle of over-servicing.
Meanwhile, tech platforms like Meta, Google, and TikTok have trained brands to expect instant, measurable ROI—something agencies were never built to deliver at scale.
The result? Agencies are struggling to justify their fees. Some have pivoted to consulting. Others are diversifying into content production, experiential marketing, or AI-driven insights. But most? They’re just trying to survive.
How do today’s real influencers make money? One viral post. A $50K brand deal. A meme that sells out a sneaker collab in 24 hours.
The model is upside down:
🚨 Clients pay agencies AFTER the work is done.
🚨 Influencers get paid BEFORE the campaign even starts.
And that’s why creators are winning. They aren’t waiting for approval. They are cashing in on instant influence.
Strategy & Creativity Are Stuck in a Loop
“He’s the creative, I’m the strategist.”
Remember when strategy meant uncovering deep human truths? When creative ideation was a mix of philosophy, psychology, and cultural immersion?
Too many strategies start with, “This is trending”, instead of “This is meaningful.”
Too many creatives think “This will go viral”, instead of “This will move people.”
We’ve replaced bold thinking with borrowed thinking. Originality with remix culture. Agencies once created trends—now they just chase them. And clients notice.
Once, creatives pulled ideas from books, films, underground subcultures, philosophy, and street art. They spent hours in record stores, watched indie films, studied the streets of Trans Amadi, Port Harcourt, Rue Princess, Yopougon or Zaventem, Brussels for raw, unfiltered human insights.
Now? They scroll. They remix. They regurgitate.
- Memes become billboards.
- Viral TikTok sounds dictate ad scripts.
- Every campaign looks like an extension of a social media trend.
That’s why more brands are taking creativity in-house. They don’t need agencies to copy what’s already online. They need something they can’t get anywhere else. But too often, agencies aren’t offering that anymore.
The Death of the Account Manager
If you worked in advertising 10 years ago, you knew:
- The account manager was a power broker.
- They knew the business of creativity better than anyone.
- They built relationships that drove billion-dollar brands.
Today? They’re just email forwarders.
Clients don’t need a go-between anymore. They go directly to:
- Strategists (for insights)
- Creatives (for execution)
- Influencers (for distribution)
The account manager’s influence has evaporated. Some agencies are even ditching the role entirely.
Flogging the Same Flawed Process
Here’s the brutal truth:
🚩 The briefing process is broken—too many agencies still rely on vague, templated briefs that lack cultural depth.
🚩 The strategy process is outdated—linear and rigid when it needs to be agile and adaptive.
🚩 The creative process is uninspired—trapped in focus groups and brainstorming sessions that recycle the same old ideas.
And the worst part? Most agencies know this. But they keep playing the same game, afraid to challenge the system that’s slowly killing them. {Big headache coming up….choi}!
The Agencies That Are Still Winning… Do THIS
The ones still thriving aren’t just making ads—they’re building movements.
🚩 They Act Like Culture Architects, Not Vendors
Nike’s best campaigns come from Wieden+Kennedy, but they feel like social movements. The agency doesn’t just sell shoes; they help Nike define what it means to be an athlete.
🚩 They Own Their Intellectual Property
Translation (Steve Stoute’s agency) didn’t just make ads—they built UnitedMasters, a music platform. Goodby Silverstein integrated AI into their existing services through initiatives like GS&P Labs, their in-house innovation lab. Smart agencies aren’t just selling ideas—they’re creating products.
🚩 They Monetize Attention Differently
Agencies charge for hours. Creators charge for impact. The smartest agencies are pivoting—launching branded podcasts, licensing creative assets, and owning content instead of renting it.
So, What’s Next for Advertising?
I left advertising because I refused to be part of a machine that no longer works. But I didn’t leave the game entirely.
Because here’s the thing: advertising keeps on evolving.
Brands still need stories.
They still need movements.
They still need culture.
But agencies? They need to unlearn everything and rebuild from the ground up.
The Future of Advertising Belongs To:
🚩 Agencies that build culture, not just campaigns
🚩 Strategists who understand psychology, not just data
🚩 Creatives who see beyond social media trends
🚩 Brands that collaborate with consumers, not “target” them
It’s a new chapter.
🚩 The future isn’t ads—it’s ecosystems.
🚩 The future isn’t campaigns—it’s culture creation.
🚩 The future isn’t selling—it’s participation
The question is: Are you adapting, or are you getting left behind?
Your Move
If you’re in advertising, I want to hear from you.
🚩 Have you felt this shift?
🚩 Do you see agencies struggling to prove their value?
🚩 What do you think the future of advertising looks like?
Drop your thoughts below. Let’s talk strategy.
