another day......
haa... another fast paced day...
I know what u all think of advertising..the super glamourous profession, where u get to brush shoulders with the top models of the country and smoke and dream about nike, harley davidson and the likes, and work with rajiv menon for shoots...
hold on folks..lemme tell u abt some miserable facts of life..coming frm the sheer bliss of working in an (m)ad agency...
The average life of an above average ad professional (heehee thats me!) is spent thus:
1. Coordinate meetings between boss, big boss,, creative and creative big boss. Not to mention the fact that all of them hate you because u r the only living (?!) witness to the agony they have to go thru with their respective bosses...
2. Talk to studio to make the third logo in the top left corner of the poster 800% bigger .Am sure 'brilliant creative' to a client means just the branding & logo in an unimaginably huge (read ugly) amount of space..!
3. Run back to studio, because client stuck between his boss and sales people realises the logo has to be (aw.. u guessed it..) bigger.
4. Run and beg to copy writer to sign off his ad ("huh--wwhere is the ad i just see the damned ugly logo of ur ch****ya client..!")
5. make presentations on arbit topics such as 'reason for rainfall drop in timbuktu and if it concerns share drop for our brand in faridabad'(which will never be shown to client, for fear of appearing smart) . If u r lucky & get to work on
p(b)itches, u can make presentations on 'what our agency lives, breathes and excretes for (how lovely..!)
6. Master the art of acting as if u have a split personality especially when u get calls from suppliers for money ("I understand ur situation, but I dont know why she isnt at her desk will definitely tell her"). Some brave souls go to the extent of ducking whenever a phone goes ringing in any corner of the office.
7. Feeling guilty about 'not loving advertising', & attempting to write a ppt all urself on 'semiotics of advertising itch creams' . which will never be understood and hence be dismissed.
8. Learn the art of writing minutes, where a perfectly innocent 'ahmm...the boards are ahmmm...' by the client needs to be interpreted as 'Client loved the boards presented by the agency and jumped out of his chair & offered to kiss the whole team'or the likes...
Coming back to the topic - 'glamourous' ?? my foot..!
want proof? ever experienced having to go all scarlet and feel inadequate when trying to answer a seemingly simple question such as 'so what do u do at work?' the following will be the drift my conversations in this count: ( a sentiment I bet wud be shared by co-ad ppl)
nattu mama (strictly fictionary character, who appears 'vonly' in tam weddings): so u work in advertising what do u do?
self: oh iam in client servicing..
nattu mama (taking in his sniff powder for the nth time)-
o-ho..so what do u do - make the films?
self: no mama, that is made by production house
nattu mama ( suspisciously) - so u write the script for it?
me: no mama, that is done by creatives...
mama: (slightly exasperated, and giving a wait-till-i-expose-her look to the junta that has gathered ard): so what do u do? the strategy...?
me: (giving him a you-nose-poking-moron look): no mama thats done by the clients...
Nattu mama: (with a wicked smile appearing in lips..): so u dont do anything at all & still earn money??!! ho-ho-ho ( laughter shared by Junta)ennavo po, nalla vazhila sambathicha pothum
(whatever it is, hope u r earning in the straight way..!)
The rest of the family suddenly starts looking at you with the suspiscious glare reserved for siren look alikes (not that they ever had any hopes on u in that front!)...
oh damn..there I lose another opportunity of ever finding a nice tam-bram boy..for nattu mama will single handedly ensure loss of 50% of my TG, thanks to his sniff powder connections with every tam-bram eligible bachelor's dad!
Ever wonder why single southie men never find babes? now u know..!
And to think that all this is inspite of working for an agonizing 28 hours a day! glamour world - wither art thou?!
