It Is Better To Be Trusted Than Loved.

Here are results from the latest Gallup poll showing the percentage of adults who rate people in various professions as honest and ethical:

Nurses – 82%
Pharmacists – 67%
Doctors – 65%
High School Teachers – 64%
Policemen – 61%
Clergy – 54%
Advertising practitioners – 11%
Telemarketers – 7%

Based on my memory of the last ranking, we’re up 2%. Party time. Meanwhile, the clergy percentage fell dramatically based on scandalous revelations over the past handful of years.

To further improve our image, I propose the more we in the ad biz eliminate flowery, cliché adjectives, the better off we’ll be. The more we can avoid exclamation points, the better off we’ll be. In fact, let's shun them altogether. And the more we meet promised deadlines and budgets, the better off we’ll be. If all else fails, maybe we could get a nursing school as a client.

On the bright side, Gallup notes we rated on a par with lawyers (I guess that’s a bright side), and more highly than congressmen and car dealers.

Like my dad would always say, "David, it's better to be trusted than loved."