A little over a month ago I accepted a senior copywriter position at BBDO Moscow. Reactions ranged from “you’re crazy if you go there” to “wow, what a cool opportunity!” I arrived last Friday, and in my first week here, I haven’t even scratched the surface of the city. Honestly, this whole process of moving myself (and my cat) was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, and I’m still FAR from getting “settled in” by any stretch of the imagination.
My first impressions of Moscow? It’s HARD. That’s …

For all of you creative rock stars out there, here is a link for a quiz to see if you
really are on top of your shit and knowing about the biz…Or at least knowing the
names of the super.cool indie bands you listen to everyday.
(Click pic to go to the site)

- Philipe Diao

Mother came out with this great idea for Stella to use the whole side of a building as a blank canvas like it was done when computers weren’t used for advertising…
I have appreciation for stuff made by hands, not that I am a crafty person, just because it takes a lot more time, patience and a whole lot of love to make something look this good!
This 13 minutes short-film shows the the work behind and the creation of this awesome piece that took 21 days to be done and also tells …

I’m a big hip hop fan and I came across this rapper about a week ago, Nicki Minaj. She’s got crazy skills and her style is so different from anyone I’ve heard of. She’s been around for a few years but hasn’t gained popularity until recently. I relate it back to what we do as creatives in that she does her thing and it’s not how everyone else does it. Either people will love her or they won’t but I doubt she cares. I don’t want to be for everyone …

Getting to bring dogs into work was one of the things that really drew me to advertising. (Definitely due in part to the fact that I had a puppy with severe separation anxiety… in case you’ve never had a puppy with severe separation anxiety it usually means destroyed shoes, doors, carpet and floors covered with piss and shit. Everyday.) Anyways, after scooping some poo up off my bedroom floor one night I started brainstorming jobs I could get that would limit the amount of poo I was having to manage. …

Here’s a story about crushed advertising dreams. Now that I have a full-time gig, I feel alright about posting this. All the names and locations have been changed to protect the identity of those involved.
So I sent my book to this agency – a well known, but far away from my home agency. Maybe even a top 10 agency (in my opinion) and we’ll call it Agency A. Surprisingly I heard back. Their freelance coordinator/creative services something or other (we’ll call him “The Dude”) emails me and says, “I love …

During my first week at the VCU Brandcenter, one of the professors asked what we thought about the application we submitted to get in. In response to many people saying that the application had a lot of stupid questions, the professor responded, “Then why did you answer them? Instead, say that it’s a stupid question and write something else.” I asked a couple of other professors if they would have been cool with that and they all agreed that it’s refreshing when someone breaks out of the expected behavior. I …

Apparently they do, these recent ads for Stella and Scheweppes are taking us a few decades back. Interestingly enough they were both created by Mother, London. What do you think?
http://creativity-online.com/work/stella-artois-utopia/18041
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnMOgsQXhaQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7OOgo0PI1c&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH1sgdT7Ib8&feature=player_embedded
To see more of the Schweppes 10 secs go here:
http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/schweppes-christmas-entertainment/
- Julissa Ortiz

This week I want to share a motivational speech from Leo Burnett himself, not because is where I work, because I think it applies to everybody that starts in the business of creativity.
It’s amazing that after so many years, almost everything that he says stills applies nowadays.
(Video Embedded)

-Pablo Jimenez

I overheard someone at work talking about our holiday party and it got me thinking… One of the first bits of advice I got when I started working at an ad agency was don’t get too wasted at the Holiday party. (This came from my older brother, not a coworker.) And, after four years of humiliating myself at the holiday party, it’s safe to say that I never really took this advice to heart. Putting an open bar in front of me and asking me not to drink till I …