Next week is no time to be working at an ad agency. And thankfully, I won't be.
I'll be gleefully employed by a client and working directly for their in-house department.
So what bullet will have I dodged?
Well Monday the Adverati, that is the elite royalty of our business who have long ago given up flying in economy class or ridden in anything but a Lincoln Town Car, will be returning from their debauched soiree in Cannes.
They'll be bringing back more than swollen livers, deviated septums and gut-busting stories about how they almost fell off the company yacht as it hit rough waters rounding the Cap d'Antibes.
They'll be coming back, dare I say it, Inspired.
And of course if an agency is going to lavish $50,000 on every one of their top-rung creative people, an agency is going to want a return on that money. That can only mean one thing -- inspirational speeches.
There will be the "We've got work harder" speech.
This despite the 60-hour work weeks, followed by the mandatory/voluntary Saturday and Sunday office appearances.
There will be the "We've got to work smarter" speech.
This despite the contracted timelines, the fluid strategies and the growing bureaucracies found on the client side of the table.
And finally, there will be the "We need to win more awards" speech.
Of all the speeches, this is the most critical. Because as any Francophile can tell you, the only thing more important than going to Cannes, is going back to Cannes.
Thankfully, I will be spared all the Rose Koolaid, the Ra-Ra-ing and ear-bending. And it's just as well, because I don't have the time for that fire-in-the-belly nonsense.
These banner ads are not going to write themselves.
People knock all the ad awards as a scam and a huge waste of money. The former is arguably true. But any agency that wins a handful of high profile shiny objects automatically attracts better quality talent, and more importantly, they have the luxury of paying that talent 20-30% less than the agency that didn't didn't win. Better still, they can expect their better quality talent to work 20-30% more than the loser agency across the street. So from a business perspective award shows are a sound investment.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right, and I am so dreading those speeches. Been opening my mailbox ever so carefully expecting an email calling all of us for a big meeting about "The Cannes Experience" and worse... the way forward.
ReplyDeleteMan, if only they'd given us the air ticket money to spend on execution, we wouldn't have to listen to other people's success stories.