Why Ad Legend Cindy Gallop Warns Youngsters To Stay Away From The Business

When advertising turned startup legend Cindy Gallop — you might remember her from her R-rated "Make Love Not Porn" TED Talk — was speaking at the Art Director Club's panel about creatives who ditched the agency life to launch their own startups, she relayed some simple advice to any audience members who wanted to go into advertising:

Don't.

Gallop's energetic opening speech recalled a time when the former BBH chair was asked: "What's the single piece of advice you'd give a young person going into advertising today?"

"And I said 'Don't,'" she said.

Gallop continued, "Let me explain what i mean by that. Don't go into advertising to go into advertising. Go into advertising to make what you want to have happen, happen ... You'll never invent the future if you really care about what the old world thinks."

Gallop herself left the agency world to form her own startups IfWeRanTheWorld.com and MakeLoveNotPorn.com.

"Working for yourself is the only way to be," she said.