There’s a new report out called A Bit Rich? and written by Eilis Lawlor, Helen Kersley and Susan Steed at the New Economic Foundation (NEF). It might help to nudge us towards a more socially and economically progressive new decade: the caring twenty-tens.

This report has got a lot of media attention, and understandably so with quotes like:

• For every £1 in value created, £7 worth of value is destroyed by a highly paid City banker.
• For every £1 of value created by an advertising executive, £11.50 is destroyed.
• For every £1 paid to a childcare worker generates £7 worth of benefits for society.

A Bit Rich? explodes some of the myths about the value to society and the economy of certain jobs over others. For example, it tackles the idea that we need the City and the mega-earners because of the value they generate. It uses a methodology called Social Return on Investment (SRoI) to quantify the value of certain jobs.

Understandably, we homed in on the negative contribution advertising executives make to society that, according to the report, encourages over-consumption and status anxiety. President of the IPA and celebrated ad man Rory Sutherland refutes the claim, which is somewhat more plausible than Lloyd Blankfein’s defence that Goldman Sachs does ‘God’s work’.

It is important to recognise a lot more honesty and social consideration needs to go into the way we all promote brands. Many ads contribute a lot of enjoyment and stimulate thinking around important issues, but they are by far and away outnumbered by other less virtuous communications.

The report parodies the difference between professions by creating fictional job postings:

The last part “suspend his or her social and environmental conscience” reminded me of what a friend said when I told him about our Civil Branding movement: “oh, so it’s branding with a conscience then”. Thanks Dickie, spot on.

There is a way for brands and advertising executives to redress the negative effect they may have on society: building in socially-progressive messaging to brand communications. A recent post of ours talks about the contribution Orange RockCorps is making to society. We look forward to improved figures for advertising executives’ effect on society in the next decade.