You might be new here.

Or, a seasoned, salt and peppered, piri-piri flavoured veteran. But you’ll understand when I say this. Every day when you work in advertising and marketing feels like day one.

It never stops, does it?

The universe keeps hitting the refresh button on us ad professionals faster than we can load. And load we must. Or else...

Just when you thought you’d cracked Instagram reels, boom! Say hello to ChatGPT. You’re learning prompts and suddenly we can make videos on AI now? Does LinkedIn now have video? WHY?  Twitter is called X now? Like I needed another reason to be reminded of my ex. Why are we all voting on which dress an influencer should wear? Why is everything LIVE? Why is everything CG? Who was supposed to give us mainline people the memo that everything is computer now?

So this AI and AR and VR and tech and satellite and spaceship and alien and galaxies far away, ALL of this needs to be integrated into our marketing plans and content strategies to show that we’re in with the times. I would insert a few Gen Z words here. I swear I know them. No Cap.

Brand needs, they’re changing. At 3000km/hr.

I mean I’d just learned about impressions and reach and now you’re telling me we’re supposed to mind-read? What is the Zuck is happening? Do you know there are mega, micro, nano, and giga influencers now? Everything is a thing. Cringvertising, madvertising, sadvertising, dogvertising, himeshvertising, Jaggu-dada-vertising, just-get-Ranveer-vertising.

A day at the office is like a musical. Multiple dialogues to learn. Many, many costume changes. An entire orchestra which not only you conduct, and you’re also responsible for selling multiple tickets. Sure, storytelling ties it all together. But now, confetti needs to be sprinkled on it. To make it ‘sNacKable.’  The razzmatazz. The hologram and 5-D and I feel old writing this and I’m not even 40.

Brainstorms in my office  start with ‘Did you see THAT ad?’

‘Which ad?’ The ad came out last night. I was supposed to have seen it already, at 10 am this morning. We are on time, and we are already behind. I am years in, and I am still waiting for someone to induct me.

So, induct me, why don’t you?

Tell me – should I talk to Gen Z? But it's millennials spending the money. Who IS the TG?

Is the brief document a WhatsApp message now? No, tell me. It’s my first day. I am a 30-something baby.

Is it virality or functionality or herd-mentality – what are you looking for?

Do we want to mean something?

Or do we just want to meme everything?

Explain to me like it’s my day one.

Because guess what? 11 years in... it feels like it is.

The author is creative director, McCann Worldgroup.

This column was first published in our April issue. Click here to buy it!