In my short time in advertising this is what I’ve learned:

Always be positive
Offer up ideas on stuff you’re not assigned to, you never know what might happen
Don’t drink too much at the office party and get into an argument with a
co-worker especially if you’re an intern
If you don’t know someone’s name, just smile, don’t just look down in passing
Participate in office activities, even if you …

I wrote a limerick to start this post. It’s kinda amazing. Check it out:
There once was a writer from the city,
who was talented but acted quite shitty
he was so very cocky, no one wanted his copy.
What an ass. What a waste. What a pity.
Lesson: Don’t be a jerk to people unless you’re sure you’ll never need those bridges you’re burning. And even if you are sure, you never know what the future holds… some lowly hack right now may end up being an ECD at your dream agency and they …

Creatives have the tendency to bounce from place to place rather often, especially at the beginning of their careers. Sometimes it’s because they’ve produced some badass work and another agency came calling. But for most of us, a new gig means moving to an agency that will help us do better work and give us better opportunities. Below is a list of several reasons why it might be time to look for a new gig. If you can answer yes to more than one of them, it might be that …

I’ve been riding a skateboard for about half of my life so far. I’ve never really progressed beyond the talent of a casual skater, but it’s been a hobby I enjoy and I don’t mind (too much) that the 12-year-olds are doing tricks now that I won’t even dream about. Despite my unimpressive skills, I’m still glad I never slipped into the role of crybaby hardcore skater. If you’ve hung out with skate crews, you know who I’m talking about – the guy who throws a tantrum when he can’t …

Believe it or not, despite all the wonderful things that can come from portfolio school, it’s not 100% awesome 100% of the time. At least for me it wasn’t. Perhaps at another school things would’ve been different but I tend to think many of these problems stem from this type of education generally and not from any one establishment. And now – on to some of the bigger negatives of ad school.
1. The partner selection process is a crapshoot. Sure, the same can be said for real life in …

I grew up in my parent’s grocery store as most of you know. Our playroom was right off of the kitchen. So when we got hungry, we didn’t have to go far. We got to watch my parents cook all sorts of stuff and this is where we learned how to cook our first meals. When I was in second grade, kids were bragging about making mac’n’cheese I was making pork pot roast with potatoes.
Now when I cook, I take a recipe I find online or that my parent’s gave …

I love watching demo reels. I love the way you just get little snippets of the best stuff, and the way it’s chopped up so the context is missing and all you’re left with is a whole bunch of pretty. And how every trick is pulled out to show you just how gnarly they can get. I love how important the music and sound design is, and how much attention is given to the mood and pacing of the piece. Basically, I LOVE watching demo reels. (good ones of course)

Here …

They say, do what you love and the money will follow. But as ad people, we have to know that it’s not that easy.
Some of us like to think, historically myself included, that having a strong book is good enough. But if Chad Ochocinco and Paris Hilton have taught us anything, it’s that we have to brand ourselves.
Heads of agencies are in charge of creating a culture where good work can flourish. And a big part of this is piecing together the right people. They are looking for you to …

Filmmaker Aaron Trinder and Director Mark Gardner talk with various creatives to see how their desks influence their work and how they relate to their space. Great little 6-minute video.
Desk – Music and Sound Design from Aaron Trinder Film:Motion:Music on Vimeo.
- Sean Leonard

Inspire. If there’s one word that would make my job easier, that would be it.
I’m talking about the creative brief, that distillation that springs from myriad hours of research. After months of dissecting every thought of our target audience, the creative team is given the assignment to… “create excitement around the product”? WTF? You’ve got to be freaking kidding me! You spent all this time and money doing this research just to tell me the most obvious, uninspiring thing you could possibly say?
Instead of letting a creative brief simply be …