• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, June 7, 2015

You've probably heard the phrase "fail fast." It's a favorite among those working in and who cling to the Silicon Valley startup life. The notion, of course, is to take big risks, take them quickly and then make adjustments from failure. That might be fine for an early stage company with nothing to lose but for more established brands, it's "idiotic" according to Sapient Nitro Australia National Strategy Director Phil Phelan.

Speaking on a panel at the Mumbrella360 conference, Phalen, whose name sounds very much like "failin" said, “I hate the cult of failure, it’s idiotic. It’s a concept that makes some sense at the early stage startup. But when you take it out of that context, it’s a bad idea. What we should be promoting is a culture of learning. Experimentation is a good thing, but it’s not the same thing as celebrating failure."

Of the "fail fast" notion catching on in the advertising world, The Royals Founder Dave King said, “‘Fail fast’ is a phrase we’ve taken from the startup world, but clients don’t like us failing on their dime.” Apparently failing on a venture capitalist's dime is perfectly fine. 

Sure, the ad world needs to experiment and take risks and bet on that "big idea" but this sort of gambling, in most cases, gets done with boatloads of research and brand history behind it. Of course, none of this will stop Madison Avenue from adopting yet another buzzword to toss around the conference room in order to feel important .