Advertising and H-1B

The 13 October Ad Age carried a "Viewpoint" column by Mark Koestler, an immigration lawyer specializing in the advertising industry. He complains that the business is being hindered by the restrictions on H-1B visas.

US advertising agencies have to be able to hire the best and the brightest talent, regardless of an employee's nationality.

This is an odd time to argue that US advertising is suffering from a dearth of prospective employees. In July 2000 the industry employed over 500,000. That number has dropped to 428,000 as of July 2003.

Mr. Koestler's clients are not frustrated because they can't bring in the next David Ogilvy or Bill Bernbach. The positions he complains about-- account managers, art directors, account planners-- are not senior executives. They are typical advertising jobs that range from entry level to middle management.

It is also a little odd that large agency groups like Omnicom (one of Mr. Koestler's clients) think that they can't compete in the US if they must rely on only American citizens to staff their agencies. Omnicom normally argues that Coke et. al. needs an agency that has offices in Lisbon and Tokyo staffed by Spaniards and Japanese. Only then will the advertising be appropriately tailored to the local market. Yet for the largest market in the world Omnicom believes expatriates do a better job than natives.