The final countdown

This week, Ian and I are working on the Army account. The Army team are one of the most integrated accounts in Publicis, and this week we are working with the digital part of the team. You can see some of their great work by visiting http://www.publicis.co.uk/adcademy/, and click on case study.
Ian and I got to help with brainstorming for a new project’s creative work yesterday, which was great fun. Other than that we have been analysing how the different regional armyjobs websites have performed over the past few months since their launch, and going to lots of meetings to see how the Army team work.

We have also been helping to prepare some 2008 year in review materials for the Army. The weeks before Christmas are busy as many of the accounts have year end reviews with clients and/or internally. In addition, retail accounts will have a Christmas shopping media push which may require new creative.
And so the end of our 3 months training draws to a close. It’s been a fantastic learning experience and we have been able to meet a large number of the people who work in Publicis, Modem and Dialog. We are off to Paris this evening, for a long weekend before visiting the Publicis HQ on the Champs Elysee on Monday. We can’t wait!
In January, we start on our new accounts – the first of our three rotations for 2009. I will be spending 4 months in Garnier, Jenny will be working in Publicis Dialog on the Sabre account. Ian is heading to Renault as part of the Dialog team, and Patrick is going to be working on the Army.

Renault Shoot

During our week in production, we got to go to a Renault Megane shoot near Bedford. Whilst we were generally there to observe and learn, we also got taken around the Milbrook tracks at top speed by a driver. The Alpine circuit was particularly wild, and we found out that the Aston Martin crash from Casino Royale was filmed there. Fortunately, we made it back in one piece (although Jenny did get into the driving seat and try to drive at one point).

Training galore!

As a member of the IPA we have to fill in CPD (Continuous Professional Development) logs, and while this sounds pretty dull, filling it in yesterday got me thinking about how much training we’ve had over the past three months. The first two weeks of our training ranged from ‘how to order a courier’ to ‘how to write a good creative brief’. We have had a lot of exposure to senior management, who have given us their insights on everything from data planning to how to win new business.

We had six weeks of IPA1 training in October/November. Every Thursday evening we met lots of the other grads from other agencies, had talks from important advertising people such as legendary Jeremy Bullmore, and in the final week had to present for 5 mins per team on "What are the conventions holding the advertising industry back, and what are we going to do about it." We learned a lot, and I’m sure we will bump into many of the people we met again.

Two weeks ago, we had a one day course with two senior planners here at Publicis. The course was "Strategies to ignite conversations." This helped to de-mystify what strategy is, and how we can use it to get people talking about the brands that we work for. It was a great course, and it’s nice to learn from experts in the field.

We have also had training from the wonderful Tish on presentation skills, and how to persuade people. Add to this a good dose of powerpoint and excel, ASA training and Clearcast training, and we really have no excuse for not being ready for our first placement in Jan!

Facial Freedom..

Ian and I have been free from our facial chastity belts for just over 2 weeks now, and I have got to say...I feel like a new man!

That's right, Ian and I both successfully completed MOvember along with a few other brave Publicis employees. Throughout the month we collectively managed to raise over £800 for prostate cancer charities as well as alienating ourselves from the entire female race!

The month culminated with the momentous MOvember Gala Party at the Room in Waterloo. I have never been to such a ludicrous event. Every man was with mo, even the bouncers were. The finalists included such great efforts as Zoltan from the film Big complete with box and magic ball and a large man with a leather choker, pierced nipples and ass-less chaps not to mention his thick and lustrous handlebar moustache.

Our CEO, Neil Simpson, presented all participants with in-house awards for their dedication to the cause. Ian picked up the much coveted 'Magnum PI' accolade, whilst I collected the 'Long term potential' award. Simply meaning that I am most likely to be able to sport a really big bushy number in a few years as year on year growth projections look good! We both were secretly pleased to avoid the village people award.

Official photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/movemberphoto/sets/72157609016503902/show/

Photos of Ian and I to follow.

Money makes the world go round..

This week, we have been in finance. Despite the dread that has been creeping up on us from the first time we saw it on our schedule, the bark is worse than the bite. We all got into this industry to avoid finance (or I'd be working in a bank earning mega bucks, pining for a christmas bonus). My parents met at Uni both doing Maths and both got firsts. I can barely add up. Not sure how that can work, but I didn't learn genetics either.

Despite being mathematically challenged, the finances fortunately are not too complicated. However, now I appreciate how the whole system works and how important doing finances correctly are.

After all, we aren't in this to devise brilliant strategy or produce exciting creative, these are just means to an end. We are in this to make money and to sustain and grow the business. It's not finance, its funance!

A 60s night out

At our x-mas party on Thursday we had high expectations to live up to: Apparently the grads traditionally wear the most outrageous outfits, get drunk fastest and dance most expressively. With all modesty I think we succeeded in bringing this tradition to 2008. Judge for yourself:

Mister Twister and Presley Walsh


Finally: an excuse to touch Ian - everywhere























Paddy's alter ego seems to be rather successful with the ladies



Shagadelic baby - I finally got to meet the man of my dreams



I better keep an eye on my Austin with this woman around



Vanessa and Felicity - ready for action

Agency Quiz

Last Thursday was the Publicis Annual 2008 Quiz hosted by the UBS team. Believe it or not, the Grads Team "Sod it, when do we put our keys in the bowl" won after a gruelling 10 round contest. Youth and beauty won over experience as two years of grads (plus Camilla and Sam) defeated the Management Team by 3 points.
Here is our victory shot (minus Chris who was just off slipping some cash to the judges).

My favourite answer of the night....."What did bookies have 1000 - 1 on the Budget containing this year?" Answer from Ian: "Money for eyebrow dyeing?!"......Correct answer.

We are having our first days at Publicis Dialog which so far have been extremely informative. The guys here are responsible for targeted one-to-one communications, certainly a good field to be in nowadays as it's very measurable and can be extremely effective. In the last few hours we have met the CEO of Dialog who has given us some good insight of what this discipline can achieve and how it works. Then we have had a look through the current creative work, e.g. mailings that have gone out recently, and got briefed on the HP, COI-(Central Office of Information, Zurich and Renault-business.

What's more, the preparations for our agency-quiznight are running high - as I myself have never participated in this very British tradition I am now going to bed with an encyclopaedia of ancient Germanic history every night to be able to cover this apparently highly demanded topic on Thursday. Exciting!

So far our stint at Publicis Dialog is going very well and I’m looking forward to join the Zurich-team tomorrow (the best team in the agency, they say). In any case, here is a sample of their art that I quite like:

Curtains close on IPA 1.

Well, last night was the culmination of our efforts at IPA 1 in the form of eleven 5-minute presentations. It's a great course and we met about 80 other new grads from different advertising, digital and media agencies, really good for networking and given the incestuous nature of our industry, we could well end up working with some of them in the next few years.

Davina and Paddy both put on good presentations and Jenny was a star in her group's video. Regrettably, the klaxon had sounded before I got the chance to reveal Group G's mind-blowing conclusions to the rest of the IPA.

However, for the benefit of our blog, I'll sum it up in one sentence from my mate George Washington Carver.



'When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.'

Variety is the spice of life

The last few days have seen me doing a variety of different projects and tasks. Last week myself, Davina, Ian and Jenny spent the afternoon at a premiership football ground taking part in a shoot for a new on-line advert. Davina found her calling in life pretending to be a WAG whilst Ian and I were perfectly cast as football crazed fans over celebrating a goal. Rumour has it that some of us may have made the cut for panel advertising on the underground so keep an eye out, but I doubt Ian and I will be selected as we are both modelling dirty moustaches for MOvember at the moment! Would you want that as the face of your brand?!

The next day Ian and I were at a less glamorous location shooting another ad. This time we were on a council estate in North London but due to top level secrecy I am unable to divulge exactly what we were doing there.

Then today my past experience of working in the lingerie industry in New York last year has been put to good effect. I have been working on a research project into the UK lingerie market and some of the brands within this field, which has allowed me to sit at my desk surfing lingerie websites and looking at women in underwear without fear of my superiors or IT department getting very suspicious?

What other job could offer me such a variety of work day in day out? I love this job!

A WAG night out

On Thursday Davina finally got her long-desired breakthrough as a TV-personality: all four of us were invited to attend an LG photoshoot at Fulham stadium where we cheerfully posed as "crowd" in different scenarios of varied difficulty. Then Davina caught the eye of the director and *bling bling* was chosen to pose as WAG - only inches away from the camera! I myself seem to have been much less spectacular as he kept calling me Jane and told me to move closer to George (this was only possible by moving behind him). Well, I guess not everyone has the qualities to be a WAG. Boohoo. I compensated by stuffing myself with as many sandwiches as I could possibly take without ruining my shape - important to watch your figure as a professional model or so I've heard.
The results of our hard hard labour will be coming up on this blog as soon as we can get our fame-hungry little hands on them. So long!

Creative week one ends

Well it has been one week since we took up the reins as creatives- and I am sure of one thing- it's not as easy as it looks!

It has been interesting to see the process from a creative point of view- and it has given us a greater appreciation of what they do. As well as playing pool and fussball, they come up with some inspired stuff.

Turns out Paddy and Ian actually came up with an identical campaign to the best idea from the real, full-time creatives' work! So pretty damn good...they might be heading to cannes after all.

I however, am defintiely going back to account management!

Good Morning Mister President...

On Wednesday morning, most of us woke up with a feeling of trepidation. A new president was upon us. (Apart from Paddy and I who stayed up late until it was beyond reasonable doubt).

The picture above was all over the metro and was released around Manhattan the eve of the US presidential election. The posters immediately became collecters items. This, to me, is what advertising should be all about. To release messages so powerful that people want them for themselves. Can we do this?

YES WE CAN!

Match Point Davinator

Davinator and Paddy the Rock Walsh sizing each other up

Before the big match...

Even more fun with Jenny and Davina

Davina turns me into a sun worshipper with some vicious brown powder she found at the bottom of her gym-bag. Tried to scrub it off but can't! Any advice???

Work in progress

This is our tried and tested creative working process leading to optimal results: Davina practices the presentation and I read a magazine.

The box of truth (Well, for Ian anyway)

The Boys are going to Cannes!

This week we start our 2 week stint in the creative department, and myself and Ian plan to be the best grad creative team in history, make the next 'Gorilla' or 'Cake' advert and be flown off to Cannes next year to have accolades heap upon us...well that's the plan!

Davina and Jenny have taken up camp in the office next door, however due to unknown IT problems Jenny has to sit outside the office in the hallway to access the internet! She looks like the naughty kid at school who has been sent out of class!

Ian and I this morning have been contemplating the dilemma which will soon be upon us. Who to vote for as BBC Sports Personality 2008. Obvious front runners were Chris Hoy and Rebecca Adlington, but now you have to throw Lewis Hamilton into the mix and Andy Murray. If Joe Calzaghe beats Jones Jr on Saturday he has to have an outside shout as well.

Team GB has got team of the year wrapped up, and I am pretty sure the young personality award will go to Tom Daley or Laura Robson. But all eyes will be on the main prize in the coming weeks and keep checking back as I update you with the latest betting odds!

Tha 'lection is a'loomin'...

It's coming and fast. I for one am excited and I for two am worried. The Brady effect and closet racism mean the lead Obama has is not so solid. I consulted my good friends at the bookies to see what they make of it. For a 'just in case' punt, back McCain at Betfair at 39-5. Obama is sailing clear at 1/16 (ish). They think they know. I'm not so sure. We should never underestimate the stupidity of the greater population. I think this simpsons sketch is scarily accurate..

Remember, remember the start of Movember!

Sadly the drive to encourage people to sign up for Movember at work seems to have fallen on deaf ears. So I have decided to change tactics and use traditional video advertising to drum up support. Watch and enjoy.

Davina Hall's Graduation Ceremony.

Recently Davina has brought up, (on more than one occasion) the sadness she has gone through and continues to go through for missing her graduation ceremony because of the ADcademy. Most universities ceremonies fall outside of the dates but Davina was unlucky. Plus, she got a job so it was all worth it.

Anyway, in response to her plight, I have used some of my expert (that's what the critics say, I prefer 'inspired') creative skills to give Davina what we all know she wants - a photo of her in her graduation gown. Without further ado...



Oh My God! Is that an angel..?

A note I recently received regarding Sam

Actual work!

As well as using this blog to embarass Paddy for being small... we also do some real work around here...so here's a flavour of some of the things we've been up to this week....

I have been to a research group for a biscuit brand, to see what consumers think of 3 possible routes for ads. It was in the evening, but we travelled in style and had some tasty pizza when we were there so it was a pleasant evening. The groups all differed in their opinions, but one potential route seems to be edging ahead and so it will be interesting to see how that progresses into production.

Another task I have had this week is to go out and about around Baker Street to do some market research. Its is always a challenge approaching randoms, but gettign an idea of what people on the street think of an ad is always helpful for the development of the campaign so it happens quite a lot.

On Thurs we had our weekly IPA1 training. Ian is notoriously bad at directions/map reading- last week it took us 45mins to walk there- surprisingly this week it only took 10 to get there! Every week we have speakers from the industry- which is very interesting. We have dinner and drinks with grads from lots of other agencies and in a few weeks we have to present in groups about how we will seek to challenge convention in our advertising careers. As usual, Jenny got stuck into the free wine early doors, so it was a good night!

Today we went for a tasty dim sum lunch with the UBS team. One team takes us for a nice free lunch every week so we get to meet lots of the people who work here.

For our last hour of the day Ian and I are brainstorming how the Army can improve their graduate recruitment. So- a pretty good week all in all!

Life in the shadows...

Patrick's last entry may have intrigued some of our regular readers to wonder where I actually am and what it is that could keep me away from one of those fabulous free lunches we grads enjoy so much here at Publicis (btw: Is this what they call surreptitious advertising?).

The truth: I am shadowing an account manager at the P&G hub. This involves spying on conference calls with people called Francois and Francesco vividly discussing the color and shape of an unnamend object within a Toothbrush-ad (sorry can't be more precise, secrecy goes along with an insider position like mine).

Other than that I've attempted (and utterly failed) to be useful by sorting out Russian visas for what seems like half the agency because the girl who usually does this is on holiday. I busied myself with this for many hours till I found out that we actually have a travel agency that does this for us. Well, good practice in case I ever feel like a spontaneous trip to Russia.

To cheer me up I manage to grab a bite at the UBS-hub, where Cheese and Wine is served to celebrate (what exactly? I can't remember! Maybe the day of the week?)

Anyways, after these largely successful few hours it's off to the streets to flash people with a print ad that we are developing - to learn whether the target group finds it more comprehensible than reprehensible (Surely they will ?!).

So this is the end of a fun-filled day and hopefully the beginning of an even more fun-filled weekend (wait, is this possible? Reality-check!!!)

The Credit what..?

Right. It's rant time.

Credit crunch, Credit crunch, Credit crunch, Credit crunch, Credit crunch, Credit crunch, Credit crunch! I don't think I'm alone in being sick of the term.

Everyday, in every article, something or someone has been affected by the effin' credit crunch. I write from a position of safety though - as I don't own anything of value (except for my wildly expensive Oyster card) and don't have any savings, then the worst thing that would happen if the banks collapsed would that my debt would vanish. I'm almost willing it to happen. High inflation would lead to hyperinflation and then popular uprising and looting so eventually everything would be free and I can upgrade from Sainsbury's basics tuna flakes to wild Scottish salmon caught individually by Burly Scotsmen and hand smoked over oak chips. Of course, there would be a little bit of anarchy and a smattering of crime and this style of shopping isn't beneficial for my nectar point balance.

Obviously, it is a rubbish time for a lot of people and will be for a while but let's think about the positives to come from it. We'll revert to the good old days when people made food out of ingredients, not out of packets. When people spent time interacting together not as mindless audiences to the TV/microwave/other squares, when men were chivalrous people, go outside to green spaces and become healthy. I know, they were mad back then.

Recession always leads to big changes to save everyone so in the words of our good mate Che, Viva la Revolucion! I for one, cannot wait. For starters, maybe a new term to replace credit crunch. Maybe.....The Money Smash

Great vids

I have been doing more laughing than working this morning, helped along by these two beauties.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DmtmmFEVo


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7685540.stm

The Umbilical Cord is stretched but not broken!

This week all the grads have been pimped out to different accounts around the agency to shadow account managers and get our hands dirty, so it looks like the Fantastic Four will have to cope on their own this week.

Ian is currently with the Pernod Ricard team. How apt that he has found himself placed on that account. I say this because Ian's weekend revolved around watching every single European Rugby match on television, eating copious amounts of baked goods and drinking plenty of alcohol. He has told me the latter part of his weekend was some hands on competitive research!

Davina is with the United Biscuit team. Her desk is littered with empty chocolate wrappers and biscuit boxes, but Davina assures me that all the eating is just research! As you can see a common trend of using 'research' as an excuse is emerging.

Jenny is working on the P&G Oral Healthcare account; we are not entirely sure what she is up to at the moment. But, she does feel the need to keep texting us saying "I can't make lunch I am stuck in work". This may not sound too strange but we are in the room next-door to her!

This week I am with the Renault team. I have been suggesting that a track day testing all the Renault cars would really help me to understand as much as possible about the brand! Sadly this seems to have fallen on deaf ears (I have no idea why) so I am willing to compromise and am now pushing for a scaletrix track around the office instead!

Pointless Information of the day - according to Ian, Sainsbury Mince Beef Pasties are better then the Tesco equivalent.

For those of us that suffer from 'ginger tache syndrome'

Red by Kristi Berg

I once knew a man with a mustache of red
'Twas a sharp contrast to the blond hair on his head
But bold it was - all ablaze like fire
It filled my heart with a burning desire

Everyone noticed when he walked in the room
Such a brilliant mustache, like a red rose in bloom
But I was the one who truly saw what it was
To me that growth was much more than fuzz

This mustache, I tell you, was elegant yet hip
When this dear man laughed, it danced on his lip
He must've been an angel or some magical creature
To have been blessed with this wonderful feature

I fell hopelessly in love with this radiant guy
"Your mustache is divine!" I exclaimed with a sigh
A religious experience, was this affair
O that magnificent red facial hair

'Twas a sad day when his travels took him south
I've never, since then, kissed such a sweet mouth
I won't for a moment forget his mustache of red
and how it didn't match the hair on his head

The Mo Must Go On!

Calling all hursuit individuals...

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is coming.

So, only two weeks to mo.

Fig. 1 Shows a few of the styles adopted during Movember.

Fig. 2 shows Paddy's effort last year. I would categorise him somewhere between pornstar (he wishes) and undercover brother (he wishes). So you see the opportunity Movemember brings for you to break the mould and be a new man for a month.

Aside from being Zorro (Paddy wishes) for a month, it is to raise as much money and
awareness about male health issues as possible.

So visit http://uk.movember.com and sign up.

As also seen from fig.2, his moustache brings all
the girls to the yard and damn right, its better
than yours.

Remember, 'A man without a moustache is like a cup of tea without sugar' - Old English Proverb.

England vs. Kazakhstan at Wembley

The joys of being a Publicis-grad:
being able to boo and cheer at the England players within actual hearing distance. Awesome. They must have heard us.

5:1 !

Unfortunately only the best grads got to go (sorry Davs and Ian)

Oh and actually you do look quite tall here, Pat! Probably standing on Paul's feet...

The Taller You Are The More Successful You Are??

This was a wild accusation thrown out by Ian this week after, as a group, we were referred to as "The Tall Grads" by a few people in the office. This caused endless amusement for Davina, Jenny and Ian who mock me for being 5"10.

To be honest, I was probably dwarfed in the shadow of the others when our group was observed, however, "Two Giant Grads, One Who Always Wears Heels and Some Short Bloke" not only sounds like a Richard Curtis Film but isn't half as catchy.

So I feel I must stand up (every pun intended) against Ian's wild accusation, for those of us who don't have to duck when they enter a room!

Kurt Cobain, one of the revolutionary musicians of our time - 5"7

Tom Cruise & Al Pacino, undoubtedly two of the most influential men in Hollywood - 5"7

Napoleon, (Waterloo and Trafalgar aside) a very successful military leader

But, ultimately, the funniest people in the world are short. Simply view the motley crew below:

Muscle woman Sam

Our favourite intern/grad-in-waiting Sam let us in on a little secret today- her muscular figure is not down to lean meats and hours down the gym alone... she has a little help from the weightlifters friend Creatine. This is her after a long session down t'gym.

At least these birds finally have safety from 'wandering hands' Walsh.

Nice little ad from Publicis Seattle. I can imagine Paddy frittering away his winnings on this sort of thing.

If God made jobs...

Senior management arrive at our desk - several people are needed urgently to go to the lobby and drink beers. We decide, because of our devotion to the agency that we should go and help out straight away.

What became of the likely grads? What became of the dreams they had?

Last years Grads - Rachel, Chris, Joe and Sophie have bequeathed their blog to us newbies. They are all happily on their placements and as far as we know, their dreams are still very much intact.

But with a new year comes new grads with new dreams and aspirations. We are the new Publicis Grads: Patrick, Davina, Jenny and Ian.

This is our blog and this is where we will be keeping everyone up to date with all the mad crazy fun we are having.