Niche one.
Public/third sector comms. There's so much partnership working and collaboration that results in a lot of meddling. Just created a simple graphic and copy for a social post and submitted to a local authority (not their comms people, I may add) for approval. They batted it back and asked it be rewritten using language and terms that make it so much more difficult to understand for the layperson. Some people just can't put themselves at the other side - the reader's side - of the table.
Been there so many times. It's why I left my last job, actually. The last straw:
I was told with a few days' notice, by a consultant who had been made a director because they were best friends with the CEO, "it's national love-your-pet week this week - make an advert that says, 'treat someone you love to a gift card for their pet'".
A) You can't use the gift card in question at any pet stores. The person was fully aware of this, and didn't see it as an issue.
B) It takes 2+ weeks to get ads past this person, because they have to change everything about the ad, because there is zero trust in any employee (however many years' experience they may have) to know their job.
C) Are you on drugs though, mate. Every step of this idea is
fucking insane. Who - on a whim - to celebrate "national love-your-pet week" - is going to buy someone a gift card - to use on their pet.
All of the above points were raised, and ignored. By the director, by my manager, and by everyone. "Just do as you're told, it's all we can do."
So I did, and it bombed. One month later, I'd got a new job and handed in my resignation.
Over the last six months, my entire team, bar management, has left the company.
Their business practices continue to this day.
Since January, their share price has halved.
They all still think they're geniuses, and that the problem is the employees.