I’ll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours August 24, 2007

LOVE this site that features the creative departments of various agencies. I was just talking to one of our art directors yesterday about our upcoming office move and he was thinking of hiring a truck to move his area’s various accouterments, which include 3 unicorn posters and a collection of rubber ducks. My favorite photo on Ad To The Bone so far is the one below from Wieden + Kennedy in Portland. I wish I still had a soul to sell - I sold mine a long time ago for a ball gag and a grilled cheese sandwich.

At Least I Don’t Work There August 22, 2007

Last night I was wondering whether other ad folks’ offices are as strange as mine. Does your new business director use your wall mirror every 5 minutes to make sure her breasts are perky enough for the new cute guy at the office? Does your creative director have more product in his hair than you do? Do your art directors dress up an inflatable clown with underwear and elaborate Mardi Gras masks? Sounds fairly routine to me. I’m just glad that I don’t work at BBDO Cairo. The couple of videos I watched on YouTube completely frighten me. Here’s an example:

Way To Kiss Ass August 21, 2007

Just got off a conference call with two clients and another agency we’re partnering with. In the spirit of my “actual conversation” theme I’ve got going on, here’s a recap. We’re waiting on the phone with the other agency (represented by their AE, Bryan) and one client on mute. Marissa, the second client is late getting on the call. She finally beeps in.

Marissa: It’s Marissa. Sorry I’m late.
Bryan: That’s okay! We’d wait forever for our favorite client. We’re just glad you joined us to discuss the robust plan we have to tie in your POP with the website.
Me: ……… (gagging)

This Is How You Do It August 10, 2007

Interactive agencies watch out - every time I look around, there’s another traditional agency with a sweet site that looks tremendously better than most of yours. Take the Danish shop, &Co (site by In2Media). It’s dark and brooding, has that 1940’s film noir feel, but still has all the latest interactive bells and whistles to make your creative director cry.

(via Favourite Website Awards)

Agency Site Bios August 9, 2007

While I do like to read the bios on agency sites (I like to see if the person I’m dealing with looks like a dumbass), I think some shops need to rethink what they contain. Some agencies bios, like TribalDDB’s, are SO boring that I tried to slit my wrists with my pen while reading about one of their creative team. I like Risdall’s (below) since they combine a little bit of humor with business. We don’t have bios on our site - if we did, we’d definitely have to leave off the pictures or we’d lose a ton of business. Someone would see our VP’s picture and wouldn’t be able to click off the site fast enough. Although, I happen to think comb overs are really hot.

I’m a Peeping Tom. I need help. June 27, 2007

Yet another live web cam site this week, but this one is somehow more interesting to me than that pansy Trevor. Poke, a digital agency in NYC, has one trained on a sofa in their office with usually one or two Pokes sitting on it. Not much going on, but I’m sure they’re totally annoyed with the whole thing. And the two I saw seem to really like to talk on their cell phones. I’m positive they have brain cancer by now. I wonder if they’d respond to my request to eat a bunny - Trevor totally blew me off on that one. I’ll ask.

I’m A Moron, But You Knew That June 8, 2007

In my post yesterday about the new site This Ain’t No Disco, I linked the photo of Soap’s interior to Soap’s site instead of the blog entry.  How about you just go to This Ain’t No Disco and check out the whole site because I’m already confusing myself.

Consolidated Feedback June 6, 2007

Clients: is one email with consolidated feedback too much to ask? Yesterday, I got TWELVE emails from a client, each with one tiny little change to make to a comp. My project manager had to send out so many amended work orders that I thought the traffic manager was going to strangle her. You might say, “Agency Tart, you’re not managing your client very well.” And to that I’d say, “Screw you. Yes, you’re right.”

I love when ad agencies do creative things just to show off and have fun. On Ads Of The World, I saw that Bailey Lauerman (Lincoln, Nebraska) did this cute, cute birthday card for their clients using Oddcast. Love the work, but hate that everyone in their office is good looking. Makes our shop look like a group of people rounded up from the bathrooms of a Greyhound station.

Creative Directors Who Suck May 2, 2007

We’re secretly interviewing for a new Creative Director - it’s posted as “company confidential”. But I really don’t think we need a new one. Matt is very busy thinking up the next big idea (read: talking on his cell in the lobby) so he just doesn’t have time to lead the team on client creative. He’s so misunderstood. I mean, don’t all clients love work that is actually just like the templates that come packaged with Illustrator?

I found this agency on The Daily Slurp - Second Story Interactive. Love that their site is not typically uber-modern, like most interactive shops. The intro music sounds like the beginning of a fairy tale, which is exactly like I imagine a biographical movie about me beginning. Seems most of their clients are museums - the list looks like The History Channel on acid.  You’ll like them - I do.

The Takeover Cometh May 1, 2007

As I was limping out of work at 8:15 last night,  I noticed the conference room door was shut and the suits that had been in there all day were still there.  I had heard them earlier on their cells in the hallway whispering in their fancy European accents.  The accents made me want to sleep with half of them, but that’s another story. The announcement is coming tomorrow and I still don’t know who’s taking us over.  I hope they impose their Euro-trash, advertising agency dress codes on us so I can wear long skinny black scarves and pointy shoes.  More to come.

Beating the Ad Agency Odds April 24, 2007

Since I’ve been on both sides of the fence, I’m going to share a little advertising agency not-so-secret. As the the client, never, ever, ever tell the agency how much money you have if you’re working within a budget (unless it’s media $$). 9 times out 0f 10, they’ll come in about 4k less than what you said you had to spend on creative. Let them tell you the pie in the sky number and pare it down from there. Agency people: tell me you don’t play this game and I’ll tell you you’re full of crap.

Speaking of games, Ogilvy Germany (I bet they’re too ethical for numbers games) did this cute, interactive banner ad for the PSP. Oh, how I miss mine….PSP, not ethics. I still have those.

ad courtesy of BannerBlog

Top Heavy April 23, 2007

And I’m not talkin’ about our project manager’s surgical enhancements. Nearly everyone in our agency is producer or director-level! And it’s not just our agency. Our media managers are even called Brand Reach Directors. Clients have no idea this is all posing - they’re just happy they’re talking with someone “important”. I guarantee you there is an agency out there where everyone is a vice president. It’s just too bad no one here can do any work now.