What Line?

Remember the days when marketers used to create ‘above-the-line’ or ‘below-the-line’ campaigns. Everybody knew their place. You were on one team or the other. And you worked with an agency who spoke the same language; one who specialised in marketing that was either side of the line (but never both sides, God forbid).

Then things began to get a little blurred and we couldn’t quite distinguish where the line started and ended. To accommodate this blurring, marketers and agencies came up with another beautiful term to classify the type of marketing they were producing; ‘through-the-line’.

How about acknowledging there is no line? Perhaps there never should have been one in the first place. But it certainly seems a little silly to me to still talk about a line that simply doesn’t exist. Trying to explain it would be a little like that episode of Father Ted, when Ted was trying to convince Dougal about the existence of heaven and hell. The conversation might go a little like... 

Dougal: "Ted, you know when they say 'above-the-line' and 'below-the-line'. What are they talking about? I can't see any line." 

Ted: "Well Dougal, the line is invisible and a bit of a mystery. It's a lovely line our Lord gave us to distinguish between different forms of marketing." 

Dougal: "Well it all sounds a bit mad Ted if you ask me, sure isn't it all just marketing."

And the fact is, Dougal would be right. Marketing no longer exists in silos. There is no ‘above-the-line’, ‘below-the-line’, ‘online’ and ‘offline’ in marketing anymore. Communications, in all its forms, have converged. It’s all just marketing.

So, let’s draw a line under this one. There is no line. Fair enough Ted.

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