The "out of phase" stuff is meant in the electrical sense - while they (and you) are often more sensitive to trends and the like, they (and you) tend to look at and perceive different elements of a problem/reality than do we normal mortals. It's how they are sensitive enough to find that one item that will pull the strings of someone's heart and cause them to do something that the client desires.
Take our "saxophone playing" guy in the photo. To us, it's pretty obvious that he had never seen a saxophone prior to the taking of the photo in question. There's the neckstrap, the finger placement, the mouthpiece inversion, and the general posture thing. and boy, are we dead right about everything that we've said.
The ad person doesn't see any of this. What they see is a dynamically posed "cool" guy (the haircut, the shades, the shirt - he oozes cool, and a "interesting" camera angle, and the superimposed "message", and all of the elements that would make a prospective music student want to attend Whatsamatta U. And, if those elements are not present in the first place, they know what needs to be done to make it that way.
Musically, we are right as rain, and can wax on and on about how dumb it all is. But, from a marketing angle, the photo does most everything right. And, since they are trying to get prospective students into a music program, not impress hoary musicians, they are doing it right.
However, being so attuned to what pulls at people's heartstrings means that they (you) can't really look at things like the rest of us, the uninitiated. They always get to see too much of the inner workings of "the human condition", for want of a better term. So, we move through life seeing "normal" things, while they always get to see the gears and levers that make it all work.
Of course, the same thing applies to every specialist swimming in a sea of generalists. For example, while others hear entertainment when a musical group performs, we tend to understand the nuts and bolts that are all assembled to make the finished product work as a whole. Ditto a butcher viewing a family meal with a roast laid out on the table. Ditto a mechanic looking at your pride and joy of a vintage MG GT and hearing that the timing is just a tad off.
But, the big difference is how comprehensive the impact of those "in the trade" (advertising) is on life as a whole. Thus, while the butcher eats meat perhaps three times a day, perceptions of "things" are with us 24/7 (or, as I heard on a television show this week, "31" (twenty four plus seven - get it?)). I don't see how Don Draper has enough undistracted time to do all of the stuff on Mad Men, being bombarded by all of this so much of the time.
And, remember, being out of phase isn't bad if you happen to be right...
