So much for snake oil.

This post at Tribble links Mahatma Ghandi with advertising (talk about the profound and the profane!), but it’s a wry and relevant adoption of one of the great man’s observations.  Big ad agencies, heretofore threatened and dismissive of SEO and social media practices since nearly the inception of those innovations, are now tripping over their checkbooks to bulk up on those capabilities through acquisition.

(Good luck to those nimble and innovative digital firms as they’re joined to the Interpublics and WPPs of the world, by the way; let the schlerosis and calcification commence! There are a host of good reasons why game-changing marketing innovations seem to nearly always happen outside of major agencies.)

As one poster put it dismissively, back in a day that seems a long, long time ago already: “Every good techie knows that SEO personnel are just blowhards who couldn’t hack it in any real vocation. Calling their product snake oil really isn’t fair to snake oil manufacturers, as I believe snake oil is effective at oiling snakes.”

With attitudes like that, it’s no wonder big agencies — and big IT departments at those agencies — have taken an enormous hit these last few years.  Small shops know the importance of keeping on the cutting edge, and recognizing competitive advantage when it presents itself.  Maybe the author of that post is among the 180,000 advertising job casualties over the last few years; we sincerely hope not.  But they can look on the bright side: maybe there’s an open spot or two as a snake oiler.