Hired!!!

I don't usually do postings on Sunday.  I like to hold off my efforts until Monday when I can properly promote my blog and get maximum traffic by disrupting people while they are at work.

But today's news is so big I cannot keep it on ice.

After nearly eight successful years as a freelancer, I have decided to hang up my mercenary cleats and rejoin the ranks of the steadily employed and dental insurance carrying class. That's right, I'm going staff.

Why you may ask?

I've been courted by David Murphy, who was President of the Y&R office in Irvine where I spent 2 &1/2 years running the Jaguar Account. David is now Partner and President of Barrie, D'Rozario and Murphy, the 47th largest ad agency in the Twin Cities region. This is a great opportunity to collaborate with my former boss.

Certainly my move to Minnesota will not be anywhere near as lucrative as my free-wheeling freelance days. But David assures me that my standard of living will not suffer. I will be paid in Minneapolis money, which apparently is different than Los Angeles money. The disparity is so overwhelming, I can literally purchase a 4-bedroom, 3 & 1/2 bath lakeview home on 2 acres for less than $7,000.

And while the accounts in the state of 10,000 lakes are not as high profile as some of the recent work I've been doing on Acura, Vizio and the G4 Network, I have been promised autonomy on two of the agency's primo clients: Pete's Parkas and the Minnesota Ice Fishing Tourism Council.

I don't know much about ice fishing but it involves dropping a string.
In a hole.
On a lake.
How hard can that be?

But what clinched the deal was something far more intangible. A chance to fulfill the dream of every creative. Or anybody who has ever toiled in an ad agency. The opportunity to see my name on the door. You see, recently David and his partners took the opportunity to generously recognize the collective contributions of every employee by changing the name of the agency.

BD'M will now be known as BD'MHSRLCZNUKGWQUPDEFJVOTHWICYSTEFMGLPBAH.

I know that is a mouthful, but how refreshing is it that the agency principals want to acknowledge the people who push the rock up the hill every day of the week. And make it possible for the guys at the top to drive their gold-trimmed Maybachs.

Of course I was little concerned that my hiring came after the initial name change had been announced and all the logos and stationery had already been printed. Now an additional S for Siegel will have to be added. I'm somewhat familiar with production costs and I know this new addendum could cost upwards of $50,000, particularly when you consider envelopes, notepads, coffee mugs, invoices, accounts payable forms, time sheets, etc., etc.

But once again David reassured me, "Don't worry about it, Rich. I got a guy in Minnetonka that'll do it all for 38 bucks."