In this op-ed, Ben Walker founder and director of Those That Do explores the chronic overuse of the word “moment” is diluting meaning in the advertising sector and why the term must be reclaimed with intention.
There was a time when calling something ‘a moment’ in advertising meant something. It implied intention, timing and emotional relevance: a real intersection between a brand and a person’s life.
Today, the word is everywhere. In strategies, briefs, executions and case studies. “Moments” have become so commonplace they’re starting to lose meaning. And in doing so, they may be revealing a deeper issue about how the industry thinks.
Most of us have used the word, many still do. But that familiarity is exactly why it’s worth interrogating. When everything is described as a moment, it’s fair to ask what we’re avoiding by calling it one.
In theory, a moment should be precise: a point where something shifts emotionally, behaviourally or perceptually. In practice, it now describes almost anything, from fleeting interactions to year-long platforms. When a word can mean everything, it stops doing any real work.
Instead of sharpening thinking, it becomes a placeholder and perhaps an easy one at that. It sounds human-centred without demanding clarity. What kind of moment is this? For whom? In what state of mind? With what lasting impact? Too often, those questions go unanswered because the word itself feels like the answer.
Part of the appeal is abstraction. “Moments” gesture toward real life without forcing us to fully engage with it. It’s easier to say we want to show up in moments of connection than it is to admit we want to help someone feel less alone when they open an app out of habit on a quiet weeknight. One sounds strategic. The other sounds exposed.
Advertising has always favoured language that feels elevated and safe. But safety rarely produces work that resonates. Abstraction protects us from being wrong, but it also protects us from being meaningful.
The deeper issue is what the word has come to represent: a tendency to prioritise tidy frameworks over lived experience. “Moments” often allow brands to sound important without taking a clear stand or expressing a genuine point of view about people and culture. Audiences can sense that emptiness, even if they can’t articulate it. Even my 10 year old daughter called this out when she saw an ‘enjoy the moment’ campaign billboard. ‘Daddy, what does that mean?!’ Great question, and along came a 10 minute answer which I’m sure she switched off to!
There’s also an irony here. Many of the strongest brand relationships aren’t built in moments at all, but in habits, routines and small decisions repeated over time. These experiences don’t look cinematic, but they’re where trust is earned. By over-indexing on moments, we risk overlooking where brands actually matter.
Rather than abandoning the word, the more useful approach is to reclaim it with discipline. When we use “moment,” it should force sharper questions: What tension existed before this interaction? What changes after it? Would anyone genuinely miss it if it disappeared?
The litmus test is simple: if it doesn’t evoke a reaction, does it matter?
Advertising doesn’t need fewer moments. It needs more meaning. Meaning doesn’t come from labels, but from depth: from understanding people beyond touchpoints and resisting easy language when more honest truths are available.
Moments can still matter, but only when they’re earned, clearly defined and rooted in real experience. Otherwise, they’re just another word we hide behind. And audiences can feel the difference.
