No, look, seriously, really. I have nothing against self-promotion.

But there is a new agency here in the Washington area that so far is sort of all form and no function, to mix metaphors.

The owner of a successful medium-sized agency has decided to Call it a Day and Enjoy Life, and is closing the doors. Which ended gainful employment for a whole lot of people. A few of the senior folks are going out on their own and are positioning their new venture as a "new breed" of advertising agency. The agency of tomorrow.

Um, ok. Where have you heard that before?

Funny thing is, the most significant quote about what the agency of today (or tomorrow) ought to be is from the guy who just closed the shop. As in "you won't see him hanging around the new office." Of course, the new agency is made up of forward-thinkers, whose expertise covers everything. They're going to be a different sort of agency from all the existing schlubs around here.

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty freaking excited.

Of course, there's not a single word of just how they will be different. Oh wait, they are going to generate powerful ideas and make every marketing dollar count. Now that's a novel approach.

Look, this post sounds kind of mean-spirited. I don't mean it that way. But come on. If you're going to crown yourself as something new, don't start off with a bunch of old-fashioned agency B.S. hyperbole. Be something new. Be a mutant.