People may say the end of the 30-second spot is nigh but I say: thank God we have commercial breaks to counteract the ponderous, sky-is-falling daily polemic that now besieges us via the broadcast media. I don't know if it's the fault of George Bush, Tony Blair, the BBC or CNN, but people have become so neurotic, they're hearing fish talk about Armageddon.

Fish? Why yes. A New York Times article recently reported that a local fish cutter was about to chop the head off a nine-kilo carp when the fish began yelling apocalyptic warnings at him in Hebrew. Terrified, and more to the point, unable to understand Hebrew, the man went to fetch the Jewish storeowner, who was able to translate the carp's warnings as: "Everyone needs to account for themselves because the end is near." It was only when the fish ordered the storeowner to pray and study the Torah that he tried to kill it with a machete, sliced his finger instead and had to call the paramedics. (Perhaps the fish actually said: "The end of your finger is near.")

On the brink of the war on Iraq, the fish tale was viewed by some as portentous, while others thought it stank. Coincidentally, not far from the scene of the carp incident in New York, the Association of National Advertisers conference was trying to instill the fear of God into its audience by declaring that the advertising industry is, just like the US, "under unusually concerted attack" and must, like George Bush, issue a preemptive strike.

I never knew the ad business could sound as stodgy as any other, but trust me, it can. The ANA event did raise one interesting spectre: the possibility of rating commercials for offensive content. It's a discussion fuelled, apparently, by a law in California that empowers private citizens to sue advertisers for "false or misleading statements". Then there's the dreaded t-word: taxation. Turns out the ANA spends a lot of time fighting state tax proposals for "inessential services" - in other words, media and advertising. Inessential? Now hold on just a doggone minute... Other commercial-killers supposedly include PVRs, Google, Yahoo!, long-form, branded content, product placement, etc. etc.

On the bright side, advertising can be credited with the end of the Cold War. At least that's what one speaker suggested. His rationale had something to do with spreading the message of democracy. Wow! I'd always been an ad junkie; now I had newfound respect for the humble commercial's role as diplomatic ambassador.

Thankfully, it's our job here at Boards to shelter you from some of the big-picture mumbo-jumbo. Sometimes the beancounters lose sight of what's really important: the work itself. Sure, formats are morphing and different communications media are jostling for supremacy, but clearly, the stronger an agency's creative, the better its chances of survival. And so, congratulations to our 2003 First Boards Awards winners, who all understand the meaning of the expression 'seize the day'. Or, as the fish's Latin-educated cousin might say: carpe diem.

One more thing: this is your magazine. Let me know what you'd like to see. More creative? More carp? Catch me at aeastwood@brunico.com.