I work at an advertising agency, however I don’t really fit in. I’m a rarity in the creative world of advertising. I’m not creative, not even a little bit. Sure, I do some arts and crafts, but generally they’re very structured crafts. I like order, symmetry, structure and organization. So yeah, you could call me obsessive-compulsive (and I’d take it as a compliment). I’m sort of the square peg trying to fit in a round hole that is the advertising world.
Recently we started a remodel of our Creative Department and it was my job to oversee the construction and design of the project. And I can only imagine what our Art Directors were thinking when they found out that the OCD-one would be in charge of the project. But I’d like to think that in the weeks before construction started that we spent cleaning out the clutter and hoarding that had been collecting for years, hopefully they found my OCD-ness a little refreshing. OK, maybe not refreshing, but at least somewhat useful. I mean, we found boxes from design software that came out in 1987…do you know how often design software is updated?!? And we still had that box crammed in a cabinet from 1987?!? Needless to say, I hauled load after load after load out of the creative department to the garbage, recycling or donation pile. My theory was, even if someone needed this stuff, they would they have any idea where to find it? Probably not…
So once we cleared the clutter construction could begin. We tore down walls, put up lots of glass, stained the concrete floors, painted the walls, and put in new ceiling and lights. And the result is such a bright, fresh and exciting place! What was once dark and unwelcoming is now the place that everyone wants to be. And it’s clean…and organized. The hundreds of books of paper samples are organized alphabetically by manufacturer. Stock photography books are organized, design reference books are in order. So while some might say there is no place for my obsessive-compulsive behavior in a creative environment, hopefully we’ve created a place that is more conducive to creativity. You don’t have to be distracted by the clutter, and you don’t have to spend 2 hours searching for the perfect paper. It’s all right there within reach and the creative team can spend their time doing what they do best…creating.
So…maybe a square peg can fit in a round hole. Just remember…I’m watching you all back there, and everything better stay in its place.
Being in the world of Advertising is almost like being in another country. At first you only understand every third word so you try to piece together what should make sense, of course 9 times out of 10 you are way off. Here’s an example:
When I first started helping our previous Production Manager with her Purchase Orders, my job was to create the purchase orders from the quote the vendor has provided. We were ordering Clings (“the window stickers” for the lay person), Translites (Panels) and a memo, to be delivered to each store in a market. These items were supposed to be held together for Kitting. Kitting meant one cling, one translite and one memo would go to a store as a “kit”. As I laid the PO (Purchase Order) on our Production Managers desk, I was as proud as a peacock knowing that I had nailed it, it was my first one after all. She reads it over she busts out laughing….I had typed “Knitting” instead of kitting. I couldn’t quite understand why someone would knit these things together, but what did I know. In the world of SUBWAY stores where they “MOP and “SOP” products in (MOP=Market Option Program and SOP= Store Option Program), knitting could very well have been something we required.
Moving on… When I first started I was a Media Coordinator. As I was being trained in this media buying software called “STRATA” I had no clue if I was going to be able to understand that MTWTHF=MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY and FRIDAY…makes perfectly good sense now..but at the time the only thing I knew was that Strata was a band that only had one good song. Now I know all the good stuff, TRPs, Reach, Frequency, Value Added, Under Delivery, Posting and Makegoods.
Because we are an awesome agency when you first start working here, we provide you with a list of terms you might here around the agency and the meaning of them. We call it our “Bene-bonics”. I guess with all this being said, working in an agency is like getting a language lesson. Below is a video poking fun at all the stuff Media people actually say.
Several websites including Wikipedia went black Tuesday night in protest of 2 proposed bills: SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act). Supposedly the bills were written to put infringements against sites that use pirated content- mainly music and movie/video clips.
There is a fierce argument that these acts would actually cause more harm than good as legitimate sights such as You Tube, Google, Wikipedia and Facebook would be negatively affected. They could be fined, could lose ad dollars or even be shut down.
Google had a black strip over its name yesterday in protest and had a link to sign a petition against the 2 acts. They also posted information about the 2 bills as well as videos produced by various groups and businesses who were in opposition.
What is your opinion? Do you think these acts would help protect licensed content on the internet in the U.S. or do you think it is censorship?
I’m currently involved in highly publicized lawsuit that you may have heard about. Apparently sitting on the couch with my Reebok Easy Tones on while eating ice cream will not actually give me toned legs and solid rear that the commercials led me to believe. Ok … I knew that these “miracle shoes” probably couldn’t create super model legs as effortlessly as the commercials make them seem, but who isn’t a sucker for the thought of getting fit by doing as little as possible?!? And it looks like I’m not the only sucker when 5 of the top 10 best selling infomercial products are home fitness products. But false advertisement doesn’t pay and Reebok found out the hard way when they were slapped with a lawsuit that required them to refund $25 million dollars for their Easy Tone line when they couldn’t back up their claim that the shoe would “ lead to 28 percent more strength and tone in the buttock muscles and 11 percent more strength and tone in hamstring and calf muscles than regular walking shoes.” A good lesson to consumers, including myself, that if it sounds too good to be true it probably is and that $25 refund that we’ll all get 3 years from now may be better spent on a gym membership rather than a shake weight.
Every year you will hear the resolutions people will set for the new year and how they are going to make sure they stick to it this time. The top resolution of 2012 and I will have to say I think it may be one for every New Years, is to lose weight. Starting with Thanksgiving, you become bombarded with the cookies, cakes and all around holiday treats. You will tell yourself, “No, I need to stop eating these delectable treats, but wait is that homemade fudge?” You end up fighting with the good angel and bad angel on your shoulders! Finally as the New Year approaches you look back on the past couple of months and say to yourself, “why did I have to go into temptation?” Hence the resolution that this year I will lose the weight and get fit comes around once more . I cannot lie and say I have not made that same vow this year to get fit and rid my body of all the sugars and carbohydrates I have consumed in the past couple of months. Yet, I think the importance of these resolutions it to truly make a lifestyle change and to set the resolution for yourself and not anyone else. It shouldn’t be to look like the supermodels on television or live up to a status quo, but to better yourself within and without. No matter what time of year it is, there will be the one person to bring in the baked goodies that make your mouth water. But, instead of setting an unrealistic resolution to rid yourself of all carbohydrates and sugars for the year, make it a goal to maintain a healthy lifestyle and take care of your body. Resolutions are not something unattainable, therefore let’s welcome in the New Year of 2012 with a positive mindset and heads held high!
The Christmas season brings many things with it: manic shopping, cold weather (unless you live in Florida- hello unusually warm holidays) overflowing plates of cookies and carbohydrates, and of course, holiday commercials.
So this year, instead of fast-forwarding through all the commercials when watching your favorite shows on DVR, why not take some time to enjoy the Christmas ads. Below are a few to look for, and to avoid.
Apple reveals that Santa may be a little more like us than we thought in their holiday themed commercial. St Nicholas is showed using Siri for directions, to check messages and to keep his schedule organized. However, I hope for your own sanity that no one else has 3 billion to-dos on their calendar.
And you don’t want to miss Old Spice’s Mantaclause series, where the well known “Old Spice Guy” gives 7 billion gifts. A few of my favorites are his video to Ellen Degeneres and his gift to Ladies. You can check out many more of his gift giving videos on the Old Spice YouTube page.
However, there are some holiday commercials that have me punching at the fast-forward arrow on my remote. Please stop singing, jingling cat! And I hope you knew what you were doing purchasing that Lexus as a Christmas gift for your husband, I’m pretty sure high end cars don’t come with gift receipts.
Enjoy these commercials while you can, in a few weeks they’ll be gone and we’ll have nothing to look forward to until Superbowl Sunday!
This year at BA, we decided to do something different for the holiday season. We usually make funny awards/gifts to give each other at our holiday party, but instead we decided to use that money for a charitable cause. We picked an organization to support and each employee could pick a family to buy gifts for. It wasn’t mandatory for us to participate, but I believe everyone chose to contribute.
As I embarked on my journey to find the perfect gifts for my selected family, only one place came to mind. I can thank one of my favorite holiday commercials for that – Wal-Mart Shopping List Commercial. I mean come on, that cracks me up! Wal-Mart may not normally be my first choice for shopping, but their advertising strategy definitely won me over this year! In a funny and concise way, they demonstrated that all of your holiday shopping can be completed in one stop, and who doesn’t want that?!?
But on a different note other than our typical advertising related posts, I wanted to thank BA for giving me the opportunity to spread holiday cheer to more than just my family. It brought me a lot of joy to pick out presents for my selected family and really hope it helps make their holiday brighter! I imagine the kids’ faces lighting up on Christmas morning when they open their gifts – at least I hope so anyway! It makes me realize how fortunate I am in my own life and I think this is a tradition I will continue on my own.
As a University of Florida graduate and fan of the football program, we had an amazing run toward the end of the 2000s decade. The most visible player from that decade was the quarterback position lead by Tim Tebow. If you were a fan of the Gators, it was a great experience having Tim as the leader of Gator Nation. Naturally, as a big fan I wanted to follow his progress to the next level and watch him play in the NFL. Many critics pointed out that he would never make it, he could not throw the ball, he lacked the prototypical skills of an NFL quarterback and the list goes on. The one thing that everyone agreed upon was that there was a lot hype around him and the intangibles that he brought to the game. As the hype increased leading to draft day, many teams started to listen and believe the hype and they stopped listening to their fans, most notably the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tim Tebow was from the Jacksonville area and that area has one of the largest and most vocal gator clubs, ie built-in support and season ticket buyers. The Jacksonville Jaguars over the past few years have been dismal and they needed a spark to start selling tickets again, as they have started to tarp off entire sections because no one wants to come watch them. The fans were vocal – draft Tebow and they will buy tickets, merchandise and hope. However, in the NFL 2010 draft with the 10th selection, they picked a defensive end which few people can name. Tim Tebow went to the Denver Broncos and started breaking records right away, but not on the field. He sold the most NFL jerseys in a month, the ticket office received record calls for info on season tickets and the media could not stop talking about the pick. Fast forward to today and the Denver Broncos against all odds have won 6 of the last 7 with Tebow under the helm after starting 1-4 with a Tebow-less offense. The fans were vocal in Denver and they got what they wanted and in the end so did the Broncos ownership, they got wins. The NFL is built on hope, hope that your team will be good this year, hope that the draft picks turn out, hope that this could be something special. What happened in Jacksonville will be a story of what could have been. Everything lined up for Tebow to come there and be welcomed and successful. But they didn’t listen to the customers, they listened to the outsiders, the media and people that were never going to buy tickets or apparel of the team. Regardless of Tebow’s initial success if he came to Jacksonville, he still would have provided the hope that was desperately needed to a team lagging identity, and maybe more importantly he would have provided sales, fans and excitement. The lesson here is don’t get lost in what your customers are asking for and listen to outsiders of your business. Customers know what they want and are willing to tell a company. With the advent of social media and the ease of which a customer can offer insight and feedback to a company, make sure as a business owner or employee that you take the time to listen and act.
I recently had the opportunity to review about 150 resumes. I must say it was quite an eye opening experience. I believe the number one course today for anyone graduating with a degree is creative writing.
But let me start at the beginning. What happened to rule number one -never have a resume over one page. Oh and that really cute font you picked, not so good. I am not a 100 years old and my eye sight isn’t the worst so if I can’ t read it with my glasses on, chances are it’s too artsy.
I understand that in order to get experience you need a job. But I can tell you have been in school so those part time jobs that got you through school are just that. Don’t make them sound like they were the most important job in the world. You surely do not need to put down everything single thing you did just short of bathroom breaks.
That leads me to internships. Be proud that someone thought enough of you to bring you in to gain experience in the real world. But you don’t have to make it sound like you were just below the President.
A good check list:
-Keep it to one page.
-Use a normal freaking font!
-Be proud you put yourself through school and let your resume reflect that.
-Just because you have been unemployed doesn’t mean you had to start your own business. We can tell that’s what that business you started on the Internet was.
-Oh and when you prepare two resumes, you know one for a restaurant job cause you need the money and one for the position you want, don’t send both resumes. That’s just dumb.
-And one final thing, if you seriously have eighteen charitable organizations you have worked with, that means one of three things: one you’re lying, two you aren’t doing a very good job at any of them or three, you don’t need a job.
Common sense people. Be brief, be brilliant, be done!
As ad-folk, we’re constantly tasked with telling stories in a compressed manner. Whether that be by way of a single image or sequentially, in a campaign series for example. But not often are we able to tell that story, in every detail, as a fluid organism.
I was recently able to publish my first art book. An adventure in design, the likes of which I’ve not yet seen. And it’s been a fascinating endeavor from beginning to end. In so many ways I approached it just as I do any other design project. Brainstorming out concepts and scribbling them out in my sketchbook(s) or my iPad. Trying to figure out just how I wanted to present the information and who the audience was I was aiming the book to reach. Did I want it to be playful and esoteric? Or more informative and to the point?
Months of work in the form of layout concepts, bits and pieces of written word, and digging through years of my fine art resulted in seeing a childhood dream come to fruition. The journey wasn’t without its obstacles, my particularly absurd grasp of grammar for example, but in the end I felt accomplished and somewhat proud of the finished product. Sixty-four pages of who I am as an artist and a writer on display for all to see.