“People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.

You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.

Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.”

I’m not thrilled about the way Banksy lumps all advertisers into his assessment of our industry, but I agree with his point: we have tremendous potential to cause harm and we often forget about that fact as we get wrapped up in trying to create a successful campaign.

Before they are allowed to practice medicine, doctors have to take the Hippocratic Oath. They vow to do no harm. As advertisers, we “operate” on people’s minds with the most powerful methods in the world. The content we create has incredible influence on people’s beliefs. I believe a person’s beliefs determine his or her life. So why are we not required to take an oath? Why does the government clear roadblocks for us without even checking to see if we have some sort of license to practice?

Because we have such extraordinary influence over peoples’ aspirations, self-image and concept of what is possible in their lives, I believe an oath is fitting. So here it is. If you’d like to publicly state that you abide by this oath or if you’d like to recommend changes, please comment below.

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will honor those who came before me by practicing the craft of advertising with respect and dignity.

I will use my skills for the benefit of commerce in so far as that commerce benefits humankind.

I will remember that regardless of the medium, concept or execution, warmth, sympathy, and understanding underlie the best of our craft.

I will endeavor to benefit those companies who seek to benefit people, even as I endeavor to help each company I work with deepen their service to humankind.

I will remember that I do not create work for awards, ratings, or numbers, but for human beings.

Above all I acknowledge the power afforded to me to influence people because of my role and I vow to ever deepen my understanding of human beings so that my work will cause no harm but will instead uplift, celebrate and amplify the human spirit.

Faithfully,

Fernando