A convergence of events happened last week, causing me to spend quite a bit of time contemplating an idea I’ve already spent too much time on. The nature of identity.

It was Halloween yesterday. My grandfather died last week. I gave a talk at the Miami Ad School about digital reality two weeks ago. All of these things circle back to the same theme…. Who are you, who were you, could you be someone else… or are you already someone else?

At a funeral, the majority of the service is always spent trying to answer one question-just who was the person in the coffin? What effect did they have upon the world, or just on those close to them? It’s also the central theme of almost every great movie or novel. Who are you? Who were you? ROSEBUD.

Halloween is the one day where you’re granted the freedom to become anything. The serial killer, the slutty (insert profession here), the opposite sex. And the online world is a place where nothing’s as it seems. The irony of this is- while some of the population remains holed up in their computerized bunkers, letting their real bodies waste away or balloon in size while their avatars are in full effect in a digital world, partying & living like royalty, another portion of society spends their fortunes achieving the “perfect” look… whether it’s their lips, tits, lipo, eyelids, etc. Two distinctly different paths born of the same intent- the quest for perfection. Just pick which reality you want to be perfect in.

I find the ad biz to be a heady mix of the sublime & horrifying. We have the power to influence culture and create beauty. We have the tools & the opportunity to change the world. But then again, those are the same tools that created Joe Camel.

I stopped worrying about if my job is beneficial or harmful to society long ago. I’d LOVE to have every campaign I touch change the world for good, but I know it doesn’t work that way. Not everything can be the Tap Project or a solar powered billboard that powers a village.

It’s a terrifying world for those who still believe in absolutes. When I think back about my Grandfather- his reality was almost as different from my reality as the “actual” is to the digital. Who are you? Whoever you want to be. You are free to choose your own mask.

- Patrick Buchanan