“Copywriting is an essential part and it’s being neglected,” according to British advertising’s most awarded copywriter, Tony Brignull in a new film created by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

The ‘Madmen v Mavens’ film, produced by the DMA to head up The Campaign for Great British Copywriting, explores the views of copywriters new and old, filmed over two days.

“I hate advertising - I throw away the supplements with the ads in it. I find it boring and predictable and not engaging.” states John Salmon, former chairman of CDP, while Barabara Nokes, co-founder of BBH adds “I just cringe” at copywriting today.

“You would think that a 48 sheet poster is a wonderful opportunity for any copywriter to use five or six words and one picture to tremendous effect but I challenge anyone to name a great poster that they’ve seen…lately. It just seems as though it doesn’t exist as a medium.” Brignull claims during the discussion with his peers.

Meanwhile current creatives, including Lida executive creative director Nicky Bullard, offer their views on what writing within advertising involves in the current age, including how social media posts are written.

Explaining the development of the 10-minute film, executive director of the DMA, Chris Combemale said: “We want to shine a light on the art and craft of great copywriting and give copywriters a voice. As part of our initiative to champion creativity, we have set out to listen to copywriters’ views on the state of their craft.”

Another aspect of the campaign is a census for copywriters to offer their views which can be found online here.