Day 19 - Rest Is Good

It was a long week. We finally got the new business pitch out the door, and finished up other projects that were 80% done. So, that means I have very little on my plate right now. That's a good feeling. That's all I have to say today because I'm tired and I'm going home to sleep for the next 13 hours. Goodnight!

Day 18 - When To Call It A Day

It was 7pm on a Friday night, and I was hitting a wall, creatively. We still had a few more hours to go for this pitch stuff to be tightened, so people started suggesting just calling it a night and coming in tomorrow (Saturday). I just wanted to keep going since everyone was here, but I was outvoted. But I'm glad I didn't. it's Saturday now, and things are just a bit clearer and easier. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is just quit for a day and let your creative mind get recharged.

Day 17 - Hierarchy

One of our AEs came to me today asking for a last minute job to be done. (Last minute, as in 24 hour turn-around, which is pretty crazy ridiculous.) It sounded weird, but I assumed it'd all been cleared by the ACD, so I said I'd do my best. Come to find out there _was_ a conversation with the ACD, who declined, saying there wasn't enough time.

When it was discovered that the AE went over the ACDs head, there was some unhappy indians around the office. Supposedly, it was just a miscommunication, but I'm not sure if I believe that. Who knows? Anyway, it's all good. The assignment ended up being accepted, which is why I'm here at 10pm on a Thursday. Fun!

What I've learned is that you should never go around the structure of communication that's been established, whether explicit or implicit. It's a good rule of thumb to follow and less sadness is felt in the land.

For the n00bs:
AE = Account Executive
ACD = Assistant Creative Director

Day 16 - Late Nights and Food Comps

Because of this pitch that's going on, we've been spending 15 hours at work each day. normally, when you're spending that kind of time, it's cool to eat dinner on the agency and put in hours for overtime (assuming you're on an hourly clock).

it's kind of weird, but at a smaller agency like this, it's good to save them as much money as possible. Like, don't rip yourself off, but don't go to a super nice place for dinner and charge them for every penny. it makes sense because, if you don't look like a total moocher, you won't be the first one on the chopping block when they're trying to cut costs when times are lean.

Day 15 - Client Presentations

Presenting to the client is an experience. not always a good one, but probably one to be familiar with. we presented nine lines, and they said they liked all of them, but at the end of the meeting, they said they only really liked two of them and to keep going with more lines. that's cool...But they went with the safest, tamest lines, and consequently, they're missing out on some really great lines. One comment was, "I'm in the target market demographic and if I read that line in a magazine, I'd just think it was dumb and cheesy and I'd turn the page." nerd. oh well.

Day 14 - Commitment

There's a last-minute pitch we got invited to that's due in 6 business days, but it seems like there are only a few people who are interested in making it seriously awesome. it's like, everyone else is just assuming it will happen. so, when 5:00pm rolled around today, most everyone was already gone. I definitely understand that people have lives to live outside of work, so I can't really fault them for it, but I'm kind of astonished, at the same time, that we don't have the whole staff pulling all-nighters to make sure this goes off without a hitch.

i really want to see us succeed with this (having more clients = more revenue = greater likelihood that I'm offered a job, so it's not all selfless), so i stuck around with a few other guys and we shot the bull for a while. i don't think we have any solid concepts yet, but we've got some decent ideas and they can be molded. i have a feeling, though, that at least some of us will be having a few more late nights to come. i guess we'll see what happens.

so, this is not a rant, but an observation. cross fingers and toes.

Day 13 - Solid Feedback

At the agency I'm interning for, they only have one writer, who was hired in March. (He's not a new guy though. He's got some experience in some nice-sized agencies and he's a good one). Before that, they didn't have a writer for like 6 months or something; the ADs would just have to wing it. Weird. Anyway...

This guy's been on a TV shoot for the first week and a half that I've been here. He's been back now for a few days, but things have been so busy, as far as finishing editing his TV stuff and other projects that have come up, we haven't had a chance to really get to know each other. Even though the CD is teaching me about agency life and the overarching things to expect (which isn't actually very accurate, come to find out. this agency isn't run like the normal ad agency out there, for better or worse), this other CW is really going to be my mentor, I believe.I've learned to take everyone's opinion with a grain of salt, no matter how genius they appear, because in the end, this is all subjective anyway. With that said, he had a lot of good things to say and some real eye-openers too. Here are some nuggets:

- Be gentle with your Creativity - you can't force it or you just end up pounding your head against the keyboard and that's not productive at all. You need to learn, specifically for you, what it feels like when you're on fire, and almost as important - how it feels when you're not on fire, so you don't just waste time. When you're off, it's time to reset your mind. go to a movie. take a walk. whatever helps you recharge the old brain. go back to things later.

- on a similar note, you need to figure out for yourself what time of day it is that you're most productive and what things you need to be surrounded by, or what things you need to purge during that time, so that you can let the Creative flow. everyone's different. This CW will get up early in the morning if he needs to crank out some lines. I have found that I can't do that; i'm better off in the middle of the night - like, 11pm-3am is when I can focus best for some reason.

- keep track of your lines, even the ones that get tossed. They may not fit the assignment you're working on, but there are nuggets in a lot of the lines and is salvageable for future jobs. it takes some time and practice, but you'll begin to figure out which lines are complete shite and which ones might hold some nugget of truth. but who knows when you'll need it, so just save it.

- more now than ever, the purpose of a book is to make the hiring CD laugh. Make them think, sure, but mostly just make them laugh. this is what makes you memorable. what that means is: you don't need a finance campaign, just to say you know how to do that. you don't even need three pieces in each campaign. in fact, he said that's a real sign of a student book - that every campaign looks the same, you have a real estate ad, a long copy ad, a image-heavy ad, and that they all come in threes...that's all BS. it's perfectly okay to have one-offs and two-fers. instead of worrying about making a third one that just ends up being mediocre, just make sure that everything in the portfolio rocks, whether it's one, two, or a whole integrated campaign. one of the main reasons is that you rarely sell more than one ad to clients. it's not as common as it once was for a client to buy three ads. the assignment may just be one from the outset. so don't stress about the "must-haves" in your portfolio. just make sure it rocks, everything is tight, and that it's memorable and/or funny.

there was a lot more that we talked about, but i haven't gone to sleep yet this evening, so i think i'll save it for another time and go hit the sack...it's 5:30am, so i guess i should say morning instead of evening.

Day 12 - Is it ever done?

So, at the end of the work day yesterday, I was under the impression that I was done with a project and it just needed to be comped up and shown to the client. This morning, I found out that the CD didn't feel like we had enough options to show the client, so I needed to work on it more and crank out some more. Apparently, the lines all pretty good, but no real winners.

Bummer. I'm not annoyed that there's more work to do; I've grown a pretty thick skin, I think. The annoying thing was just thinking I was done with something and then finding out that I'm not. No big deal. Nose to the grindstone, right?

Day 11 - Team Struck

I was invited to lunch with a few of the creatives today. It was great Mexican food in an industrial part of town. But the more important part, to me, was feeling a bit more like I'm part of the team. It's a small gesture, but it helps me to feel a little less self-conscious about being "an outsider." It helped me to open up a little more and be less anti-social/shy/whatever. It's a tough job market these days, so I'd rather not have to keep making new friends and keep trying to be assimilated into a different team every few months...Hooray for job offers! (Whenever I get one, anyway.)

Day 10 - Quantity vs. Quality

I was told by one of my teachers at ad school that, oftentimes, hard work will be mistaken for talent. With that in mind, I've been trying to over-deliver on each of my assignments. Granted, there have been a few times where I was asked to perform on command and didn't do too well (typical for me, just ask my wife), but overall, the CD has seemed pleasantly surprised when I show up with a hundred headlines when we need one. So, whether the old adage is true or not, I'm going to continue to bring as much to the table as I can and hope that people will soon mistake me for a genius.

Day 9 - Time Management

It's funny how things are constantly being shuffled between back burners and front burners, depending on a myriad of reasons including, but not limited to:
- whether the client has paid or will be paying
- whether the client and the agency are on the same page as far as strategy, concept, or execution
- being in a holding pattern while we wait for feedback from the client on executions

You have to be ready to perform if something suddenly goes from "pending" to "live and due by the end of the day." I suppose that could be one of the main reasons people find themselves in the office at all hours of the night trying to rush a final draft out the door...Either that, or you're just overworked and have too much on your plate, like a kid at a buffet. A buffet you're being forced to consume, even when you've assured the hostess that you've already eaten and you're not very hungry.

Breath mints? Sure.

Day 8 - Writer's Blockage

Just because you can't come up with ideas, it doesn't release you from your duty to deliver...And if that means going in on a Saturday and/or Sunday to make it happen, that's what you have to do. So, it's Saturday morning, and with only 5 hours of sleep, I'm returning to the office for some more idea generating...That or a few hours of hitting my head against the desk. Hopefully something will get knocked loose that has some semblance of an idea, anyway.

I'm sure this is just a "self-fulfilling prophecy" situation, but I've been told so long that B2B is tricky, and it's become true...I think I just need to remind myself that selling to another business is just like selling to an end consumer - you just have to figure out what motivates that business to buy the service/product being sold. Businesses are just networks of people.

By the way, we wrapped up filming and we're moving on. Only two more weeks of filming (we're halfway done, thank goodness!) Alyssa was great to work with; I hope our professional paths cross again...Maybe a sequel? Who knows?

Day 7 - Distraction

Today was pretty rough, from an output standpoint. It wasn't all my fault either (this time). For whatever reason, my agency agreed to host a film crew that was making a feature film for the silver screen. There was a 30-second shot that took about six hours to film, during which time, the actors and extras were milling around my desk and the surrounding space. I was told to "just look busy." I figured that would be easy, since I actually DO have to write a bunch of lines for a project that is due tomorrow, so I just thought I'd roll with it.

Well, it turns out, I can't concentrate as well as I thought I could. With the director yelling "action!" and actors doing their thing, and general cacophony you'd expect to find on a film set, I couldn't really think about the assignment (btw, pretty lame topic - "how to make an event planner's life easier"). I mean, I got some stuff done, but not nearly as much as I should have for the time spanned. That just means I'll be taking work home with me tonight...Which means I'll probably be watching a lot of TV tonight. (I mean, where else am I supposed to get inspiration? That's my rationale, anyway.) Maybe in another post, I'll tell you how to deal with distractions...I just have to figure it out myself first.

On a sidenote, I did an awesome job as an extra, and I'm ready to break out of these bit parts. I had to tell Alyssa Milano that i'm already taken (man, she's persistent!), but I'm used to that kind of attention. It just goes with the territory of being a sex symbol.

Day 6 - Internships and Family

My wife just told me that my daughter had one of her friend over to our house for a playdate the other day and they were looking at a picture of us as a newlywed couple. My daughter said, "that's my mom, and that's my dad...he's dead right now." Her friend gasped and said, "What????" The reply was, "I'm jut kidding. He's just out of town." I've only been gone for one week of the twelve that this internship spans!

I was so proud of that joke - that's not the normal humor of a 7-year-old, but it certainly is for one of my kids. But, it puts into perspective that it's kinda tough for families to be separated for long periods of time, even when you're trying to facilitate your lifelong dream. I'm not excited for the next ten weeks, but hopefully the fam will be out here before then...We just have to secure a free place to stay, since we can't get out of our Minneapolis rental lease, and we don't have the money to pay two rents.

Day 5 - The Never-Ending Sto-ory

I've written about 12 radio scripts for a client in the past week, and we've selected four of the least crappy to present to the client on Wednesday morning. (Really, I only like two of them, but apparently you sometimes have to shine a piece-o-turd as much as possible to make it presentable, and then hope that the client chooses the good work, which only happens sometimes.)

So, as we're printing the scripts out, there are last minute changes that are suggested. That's cool, but just a bit surprising - I guess a part of honing the craft of writing - to never be satisfied with what you've written, but to know when to stop and present what you believe is your best at that point. It's a fine line to walk. I'm not so sure I'm always on that line...Sometimes, I'm sure i'll find myself on one side or the other. tightropes scare me. :(

Day 4 - Terminology

It's late and I'm ready for bed, so this is going to be a quick one. Here's what I learned today - a "pitch" is for a new business proposal. After that, it's just "client presentations." It may seem obvious to you, but I wanted to give a heads up, because you look like a goon if you use the wrong words when you're trying to be hip. I should know. My skinny jeans are giving me "muffin top" and rashes on my inner thighs.

Oh yeah, here's something else. I came to a realization last night - this internship is replacing the time I would have spent in school and on homework (approx. 20-30 hours) but, considering I got laid off from Wells Fargo and I'm currently living on a less than generous severance, this is also acting as my full-time, 40/hr per week job...So I should really be spending 60-70 hours a week at this place. Before this realization, I was just going throughout my 8-hour day like I've done in all of my previous jobs, and not really thinking about overtime as a learning opportunity (because at all my previous jobs, it was just a hassle and a drain on my soul). Now that I'm recognizing overtime as an opportunity to hone my writing skills, and at the same time try to impress my CD enough to give me a job when all this is over, I'm embracing the OT.

As a caveat though, I still get burned out after working on radio scripts for 20 hours. So, I'll still give myself an out if all that's coming from my ballpoint pen is ballbag-errific.

Day 3 - Last Minute Fun

My brother-in-law gave me a piece of advice the night before I started this internship and I found it strange at the time. He said I would find myself enjoying the job so much that I wouldn't mind working overtime and that I may not even notice it. Sometimes, he said, you'll just want to keep working, but you need to know when to go home, because you have a wife and a life outside of work to which you need to attend. I'm the kind of guy who has always looked at the clock every few hours, waiting for the eight hour shift to end so that I could get out as soon as possible, so when he told me this, I shrugged it off.

So today (Friday), we had an assignment come through about and hour or so before it was quitting time and it needs to be ready by Monday morning. Since I'm working on being an awesome copywriter, but I'm far from my goal at this point, I can write some decent headlines and copy but it requires more effort than a seasoned writer. For this reason, I was plugging along at it and didn't notice that two hours had quickly passed by. I wasn't ready to leave yet (I'm still not ready with lines I think are good enough), but I knew that I needed to get out of there. I needed a change of scenery so that I could let my mind rest. The worst thing I think I can do right now is work so feverishly that I burn out too quickly...so I guess I'll be working a bit more on things today and tomorrow.

On an unrelated note, I was walking along the street, taking a little mid-afternoon break, and I saw a van parked with a sign printed on it that said something like "The Homeless Advocacy Group" or something like that. Some dude was standing behind the van, doors swung open, handing out hygiene kits and food and stuff to a couple of residentially disabled people. As I walked past, one of the guys asked, "do you guys have any penis pumps?" I guess it's a valid question, but it took the guy off-guard. I should have waited to hear his response, but it was getting late and I had some writing to do...who knows - maybe he has all kinds of stuff in that van.

Day 2 - Oopsie

Okay, I thought I'd be able to avoid this topic for a little while longer than this but I underestimated my own capriciousness. So, here it goes: I'm not a good diary keeper which translates to me not being a good daily blogger. So I supposed my third day on the job will house Day 2 and Day 3...deal with it.

Day 2 involved tightening up seven radio spots, finding out that four of the seven spots are either lame, funny but off target, too weird, or obtuse and nonsensical, revising the few spots that were salvageable, writing about 100 lines for the landing page of a website and a correlating two-page magazine spread, and the ECD taking me and another intern to lunch. It was a pretty eventful day but it was fun too, so I didn't notice that I had worked for an extra hour...it's funny how time passes when you're doing something you love to do. Okay, that's all for now. I need to get to work!

Day 1 - Initiation

Today was my first day working as an intern in an advertising agency in SLC(Punk!). I'm not going to lie - I love it so far. There's lots of work and only one other writer, so I'm definitely being tossed into the deep end without having put on my inner tube or other flotation equipment. Radio spots and retail body copy are dancing in my head like effervescent bubbles in the bottom of an Alka-Seltzer'd glass. I also have the following waiting for me in the wings: interactive body copy and packaging copy.

Everyone was quite nice and they mostly seemed apprised of my coming, because each person I was introduced to warned me of all the work they had in store for me. It was good though. There's some huge talent in this shop. I'm really stoked to be a part of it. I hope I can deliver at the level they're expecting...I want to impress them and I also wouldn't mind a proper job offer after these next three months pass.

But, the most important information of the day: reading material in the men's room. I was disappointed to find that the tank was decked with nothing but car magazines. There was no varied selection. Not even multiple publications - just several issues of the same title. I'll have to upload a photo, so that you can fully appreciate the dispair I felt.

Note to self - bring in some alternative reading material. Maybe a Transworld Skateboarding mag. A music 'zine could be good too. Maybe a novella or something. (David Sedaris' short stories would be nice. Perfect in fact, since he's actually written a story about a turd at a cocktail party...I mean, the turd wasn't attending the party...It was lain in the toilet by one of the guests...nevermind, just forget it.)

Also, my chucks were stolen and someone made fun of my skinny jeans. I guess they weren't skinny enough. (My massive bank of emoticons is on the fritz these days, but I'm sure you can imagine a rather distraught yellow globe, maybe one with fountains of tears coming from its eyes and pooling around its limbless body, following the previous sentence.)

Day 0 - The 11th Hour

So, tomorrow is the day I officially join the creative workforce of an advertising agency...well, if "join" means act in a temporary capacity whereafter a full-time job offer is made. I want to make sure everyone there gets the impression that i'm up to speed on the latest pop culture and fashion, so i went on a shopping spree. Please let me know if I've forgotten anything:

Converse Chucks = check
skinny jeans = check
ironic t-shirts = check
faux-hawk = check
apathy = whatever
keffiyeh = pending; Urban Outfitters was out of them (apparently there was some ridiculous controversy and they pulled them from the shelves, the posers), so I had to order one online, direct from The Estate of Yasser Arafat! And to answer the question that i know is on the tip of your tongue, no i have no Palestinian affiliation, neither blood or otherwise. Perez Hilton told me to get one.

Wish me luck!