An ad is an is an ad

I often hear people say that today’s creative work must not look like advertising, otherwise savvy consumers will sniff it out and ignore it. 

It makes me wonder if those people know what savvy means.
Do we really believe that savvy people think “guerrilla” tactics are not ads?
I’m pretty sure even the least savvy among us can see through our cleverly camouflaged stunts, twitter battles and pop-up “experiences.”

Here’s the general rule of thumb most people use: 
If a corporation is talking, it’s an ad. 

And that’s okay.
Advertising is okay.
Selling is okay.
Crazy “non-traditional” work that totally doesn’t look like advertising but is absolutely recognized as advertising by 99.9% of consumers is okay. 
As long as the work solves the problem it’s been asked to solve. 

We’ve been doing this kind of work for decades now.
It’s not new.
Sure, 99% of it is faked for the award shows, but that still leaves several dozen actual examples in this century alone.
So, people get it. 
And when these totally-not-ads 😉are executed well, people like them. 
Not because they are fooled by our masterful misdirection. 
But because the work is interesting and relevant.
You know, like good advertising is supposed to be.