Ninja, my ass

This video has been making the rounds in the advertising circle lately. I love it because it so accurately skewers our business.

The digital inmates have taken over the asylum. I'll give you a good example. And try not to burn any bridges in the process.

At the end of 2009, a not-so-good year for the self-employed freelancer, I thought about trading in my mercenary status for an assigned parking space. A local digital shop was looking for an Executive Creative Director and they wanted someone who had some big brand experience and had produced a lot of award-winning work. These opportunities don't come around every day, so I threw my hat in the ring.

I didn't get the job. And now, close to a year after interviewing with the agency, neither has anybody else. They still have not hired an ECD.

I suspect other factors may be at work here. Maybe I should have packed another tin of Altoids. Or maybe my aluminum chlorate anti-perspirant wasn't firing on all cylinders that day. But my suspicion is that the agency brass had not seen enough web banners in my portfolio.

Why do I say that? Because these days, as the video implies, the production of web banners, and/or anything web-related, seems to be not only an important criteria in any hiring situation, but the only criteria in a hiring situation.

Is that the whiff of sour grapes in the air?

It's not. I'm actually happy I wasn't offered that job. I don't know how eager I am to fly all over the country, sit in client meetings or go to semantic warfare with 27-year old planners who think they have great insight into the human condition (hint: most of them don't.)

Besides, 2010 was an exceptionally busy (good) year. I've been involved with a lot of cool projects and worked with Creative Directors who recognize that ideas have greater value than the medium in which they are produced.

And to those who don't recognize that fundamental truth, I share the same sentiment of the little bear in stripes: Fark You.