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.