Last week was unusual.
I was in an office. An ad agency office.
Actually, I was in two ad agency offices on two different projects. For discretionary purposes I won't mention either one. But I will say, having worked as a freelancer for the last 15 years, more often remotely as of late, it was interesting to be back in an agency environment.
For one thing it got me back on a regular hygiene routine.
Showering and shaving have become much more haphazard as an employee of Me. I'm not proud of that. But I'm not ashamed of it either. I like living free of the certain soapy demands society places on people.
I also like that my beard comes in Santa Claus white.
That said, it was refreshing to break out a new Fusion razor blade and crack open the box on a new bar of Zest.
More pleasing consequences, I had the chance to drive my Audi S5.
A car that I still love a year after its purchase. Without giving too much away, I also love any opportunity to drive on the Marina Freeway, LA's only freeway that never gets crowded and has never had a Sig Alert. So, for just a few short miles, I can switch to manual drive, play with the paddle shifters and tap into gears that often go untouched.
Most refreshing however was being in an environment with other ad folks. Granted, they're all young enough to be my great grandchildren, or so it seems, nevertheless the buzz and activity was a pleasant change.
The other noteworthy change was being able to collaborate with creative people I respect. There was no posturing or politicizing. There were just professionals, who have been around the block a few times, wanting to solve a puzzle. Moreover the emphasis was more on the thinking and the execution. And less, significantly less, on the process.
That's not always the case. As I have found more and more agencies producing fewer TV commercials, fewer print ads, even fewer digital executions.
What do they produce?
Electronic meeting invites.
Lots and lots of electronic meeting invites.
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