Kerry, I’m not sure I follow why you’re seeing contempt in Zak’s actions. Your premise is that it’s galling to operate in an environment that calls for spec work and then call out your own clients for requesting the same spec work you’ve been providing them. Zak begins his article by stating that his agency hasn’t participated in the spec work game for 5 years. If anything, their video release was a 5 year anniversary call-to-action for other agencies to follow their lead.

You state that it’s the fault of the agencies who participate in this behaviour, giving those clients requesting spec work continued incentive to do so. By Zak’s account, Zulu Alpha Kilo isn’t one of those agencies. He’s leading by example and not at all biting the hand that feeds him, acting hypocritical, or seemingly any other assertion that you find contemptible. He’s managed to afford nice offices and by extension pay his employees and their rents and their mortgages despite not doing spec work and not working with clients who require spec work from his agency. In which case, he has every right to point the finger at both the clients and agencies who provide speculative work. And good on him for doing so.

Your segue into what you view as the greater and more pressing issue has absolutely nothing to do with Zulu Alpha Kilo’s video or Zak’s followup post. Great points to be sure, but out of place in this context. As a result, I fear your call-to-action on aspects of the industry you’re clearly passionate about is going to get lost in your misdirected rant.

Instead, I urge you to use your pulpit, build towards the change you seek, and lead by example, as Zak is doing.