First Week Second Week

First week has come and gone.

The nerves are starting to calm down.

I've written my first ad. I've worked on my first pitch.

I've shown up at 8:30 and left by 5:30.

And all of that is about to change. 

because Advertising is a business that ebbs and flows.

And I'm about to be baptized by fire.

And the funny thing is, I'm itching for it.

Wish me Luck.

PJL

Very, very, very, very, very strange.

I've seen an albino before.

I've also seen a transvestite. 

Last night on the train home I sat next to both, in the same person.

I was a little freaked out. I did my best not to stare, but an albino transvestite is not something you see every day.

And the only thing I could think of is; "How can I work this into an ad?"

Right then I realized that advertising is about absorbing strange little truths around you and using them to express an idea that will stand for your clients brand.

I don't know the guys/girls who created E79s Gatorade: Is It In You? campaign, but I'd like to think that their ad was more of a metaphor to the consumer for everything they do. You have to love it, you have to ooze it. That doesn't mean you have to be thinking about advertising all the time, but if it is "in you" then when you see these little oddities in the world, you'll immediately think: "Gee I wonder how I can get that into an ad?"

Thanks,

PJL

World's Most Expensive Personal Ad

Amy Borkowsky wants a man.

Bad.

So bad that she's trying to raise money to buy GMs abandoned Superbowl time slot.

Now, I'm only a Jr., but who ever is in charge of the Match.com, E-harmony and Chemistry.com accounts needs to jump all over this and fast.

This could make for the best Superbowl ad of the year if a dating site picks up the tab and lets her do it.

Just my opinion.

PJL

Day 3

Today I have nothing planned.

I'm guessing that's the way it goes with the new guy. 

They've got to feel you out, figure out what they trust you with.

That's fine, I'm doing my best to make sure I'll be  up to my ears in work in a few weeks.

But for now I'm making work for myself.

I've already pitched a new idea for a project to my Sr. Writer.

He thought it was really cool and we're going to pitch it to the Account Head today.

If advertising is a "What have you done for me lately?" business.

I'm going to make sure that they only have to think back a few minutes to answer that question.

PJL

Today I wrote an ad.

Today I wrote an ad.

It was for the unveiling of a new wine created by a former sports personality.

The headline was 7 words.

The copy was 31 words.

The location and contact information were 15 words total.

The phone number was 10 numerals.

The dimension of the ad was 3 inches by 3 inches.

This ad will run in a small town newspaper in Florida.

It will be seen by no more than 20,000 people.

And yet I spent 4 hours writing it.

Why?

Because it was my assignment and that is my job.

And I love my job.

Thus begins the career of Perry J. Littrell, jr. copywriter. 

First Day Recap

So I got on the train expecting a 30 minute ride.

An hour and 15 minutes later, I was running through the MerchMart screaming, "Shit, shit, shit, I can't be late on my first day."

And somewhere in the back of my mind I heard my father say in his smarmy preacher voice, "Welcome to Chicago son, don't ya wish you'd picked a career that would have let you stay in Southern Illinois."

The answer is still a resounding no, but a few more train rides like that one yesterday and I may be singing a different tune.

At the office I met Ben, he's the other new guy. Cool, skinny, I wish him luck.

Craig kept text messaging me and calling while I was trying to fill out my paperwork.

There was a lot of paperwork.

I found my cubicle. 

Sarah sits kitty-cornered, we have the same insulin pump. Jaclyn sits over the wall, she hates the cubs too, I really haven't gotten to talk to my other cube mates yet. But so far so good.

I get the 10 minute DVC walkthrough, then the 1-hour DVC walkthrough. Then I get the 150 page and the 100 page DVC manuals.  

My day is spent reading, I am now confused as to whether Walt was a mere mortal or a God who walked among us.

Day ends, I have not written a single thing, but I'm excited. I've gotten an e-mail that invites me to a meeting to start working on my first piece.

I go with Craig to have a beer in the only Bar in the Merch. It costs 5.50 for a Miller Lite. I once again here my father say.

"Don't ya wish you were back in Southern Illinois."

And I responded, "Only when I'm buying the beer."

Later, 

PJL

T-Minus 2 hours 'til go time.

Well this is it.

My last 2 free hours for the next (hopefully) 40 years. It's exciting, terrifying, and completely boring all in the same breath.

I've worked before, even had somewhat of a "career path", but none of that means squat now. Now, I'm the new guy. I'm the guy who has to prove I'm the best (sorry Craig), so that when it's time to pitch, time to launch a new campaign, I'm the first person my bosses look to.

I won't talk much about my first "job" in Advertising. If people from that agency read this, I really bare your no ill will. But I think there was only one really important lesson I learned and it came at a time when the owner was yelling at me.

"Perry, you've got two jobs as jr. copywriter for *name witheld*, the first is to make me look good. When you do good work, it is a reflection of me as the creative director and as long as you're making me look good, we'll have a great relationship here. The second is to improve yourself until you can leverage this job into a better one."

At the time I thought he was just being an ego-maniacal dick, part of me still feels that way. But I realized the truth in his words. If I do great work and get into the award shows, I make my bosses and my company look good. Their name gets posted right there with mine, even if the only thing they did was glance at it for a second and pass it along. And that's fine, they've paid their dues. They made their CDs look good when they were juniors too. And now, their job is to find people like me who will work hard to make them look good. It's the circle of advertising life.

As for the second part of my job. I already knew that part.

I'll post later to tell you all about my exciting day of signing forms, learning about Aenta Health Insurance, our Investment Bank, and the dangers of Sexual Harassment in the workplace. Quit undressing me with your mind Craig.

Later, 

PJL