The Good, the Grad and the Ugly

ADcademy website goes live!

2010-01-06T11:44:00.001Z

All singing, all dancing, brand spanking new ADcademy website has gone live this morning - head over to www.publicis.co.uk/adcademy to check it out!

2009-12-23T16:41:00.002Z

Hi folks,
Our shiny new website has encountered some techinal difficulties and will be up properly in early january.
However, the new application has been uplaoded and is ready to be downloaded.
Visit http://www.publicis.co.uk/adcademy/ to get started, The deadline is the 1st February 6pm.

Good luck and happy christmas.

G

Do they know its Christmas?

2009-12-18T17:25:00.001Z

Here at Publicis they certainly do! The festive season kicked off with a bang last Wednesday at our staff Christmas party. It was an epic night filled with cocktails, canapés and frolicking around on a vodka luge. It took a good day or so for the dust to settle and the hangover wounds to be licked clean. But I think I can speak on behalf of all the grads when I say that no seriously career damaging moves were made.

But the festivities did not stop there; we have been busy collecting and wrapping presents to give to the Depaul trust, a charity that helps young people who are homeless, vulnerable and disadvantaged. We have been running around the office ‘Festive Fleecing’ our colleagues for donations. These have ranged from people bringing in old clothes and food stuffs to giving money. We have been taking the money to Primark and bought tons of woolly jumpers and snug jackets which we have wrapped up and put under the tree. It has been amazing to see everyone get behind this great cause and the amount of stuff we have collected will really make a difference.

Its beginning to look a lot like christmas....

2009-12-09T14:39:00.002Z

As new grads we take a lead role in running "Publicious" which is basically the social society for the Agency. Our usual role is to organise events and sporting encounters btu we have taken a charitable approach to our Christmas celebrations.

We work for the Depaul Trust, a charity for homeless 18-24 year olds which also runs a couple of hostels. The idea is to gather as many presents under the tree in reception via donations from the agency. This however has left us with a lot of wrapping, which you can see Giles and Sarah getting involved in (at this point I would like to point I gave up wrapping as my standards were deemed not up to being placed under the agency christmas tree)

It is nice to do something that is such for such a good cause, however we do have some fun planned as well. The agency can expect a visit form our old friend St. Nick soon...

No Cigar

2009-12-04T14:46:00.002Z

We were given the chance to show our creative credentials for a fortnight up on the fourth floor. Split into two groups, and donning our wacky shirts and hats, we moved into our own offices complete with Macs and a ton of crayola.

We were given actual creative briefs on various projects such as Ballantines, Renault and Buxton. Working to tight deadlines, with distractions such as the pool table and playstation 3, we realised that there s more to being a creative than meets the eye. After lots of brainstorming and creative bashing, we managed to piece some ideas together in the form of Direct Mail, TV and Press.The placement was a great insight into how the idea of a campaign comes to life. Alas after presenting the work, there was an affirmed ‘ valiant effort no cigar’from the creative chiefton.

McCautious dons a creative hat

What we do in post production, echoes in eternity....

2009-12-04T13:51:00.003Z

Last week saw the completion of our T.V production training and a school trip style excertion to The Mill, a post production house where they add all the final bits and pieces and crazy CGI to videos. The Mill may perhaps be the zenith of cool, in the reception sat an Oscar for their work on Gladiator (hence the shameful play on a famous quote in my title) and around the office there was work going on ranging from Music Videos to Ads. What you gain from visiting these kinds of places is the level of detail and skill that goes into creating the work that you eventually see on the television. That is the great thing about working in an agency, you never leave the process at any point you are there from inception to delivery.

Smell my chees you mother

2009-11-19T16:57:00.001Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NUoiW-0wBc

During my three week placement on the fast track hub I got asked to go to a photo shoot for some press ads that were being done for Saint agur delice. A soft blue cheese.

It was amazing to see the precision that the photos for these ads require. There was about 7 people there in all each with their own roles. There was a senior photographer, a junior photographer, a creative, an art director, a production manger, me and a food technician who was basically a make up artist for the cheese. She spent the day, moving the little areas of blue cheese around, and smoothing its surface, creating the perfect texture.

I spent the morning there, and had a great time; I even got a cheesy lunch.

Out with the Old in with the …who

2009-11-19T16:24:00.001Z

So as the leaves begin to fall, winter sets in, and the time has come for the grads to pass on the torch. Davina, Jenny, Paddy and Ian have grown to wise old account men. Now, busy in their placements they have handed the blog over to the new kids on Baker Street:

We are
Charlotte ‘Cautious’ McConnell
Giles ‘Sickboy’ Stevens
Christopher ‘Boyband’ Boyton
Katie ‘Planny’ Craig
Sarah ‘Cookiemonster’ Carolin

This is our blog, recording the exciting and challenging year ahead of us at Publicis

No end of play for Ian…

2009-03-02T09:47:00.005Z

When others go to sleep, Ian starts his second job. A syndicate consisting of him, Sam - who you may have sporadically encountered on this blog (a.k.a. Sam "The Guns" Brown) - and Phil - our intern on Procter&Gamble - has started something that can only be described as a genius invention: a society for even more fun and social bonding at work, PUBLICIOUS. This society will bring us many good things, for example fortnightly caption competitions with great prizes, "Thirsty Thursdays" hosted by different hubs every month, and sports teams that are being trained up for the Olympics in 2012. In short: while the climate is getting grimmer all around us, Publicious will add a little spark to our every day and hopefully ignite some heated conversations.

Entertainment: Wouldn't you leave it in these

capable (if slightly freaky) hands?

Nobody stays alone at Publicis on Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T10:10:00.003Z

At least not if you are working at Publicis Dialog! Why, you ask, is One-to-One Marketing not a lonesome art, full of distorted egos, rivalry and has every man fighting for himself? Not with us. Our agency encourages bonding, and the thought that anyone could remain lonely on Valentine's day sent shivers of pity down the spines of our Senior Management. Their sympathetic nature led them to initiate a "Blind Date" night on Thursday and and saw them flying in the mother of all matchmakers, Cilla (picture altered for privacy reasons), to bring our few willing and countless unwilling singles together. Like the stern but gracious fairy she is she pursued her given task relentlessly and in complete disregard of obstacles like marital status, height or age differences, forever staying true to her principle "Only love counts" and it is found in the most unexpected places.

Unfortunately (or some may say: thank God), the whole spectacle ended before me and Ian could win a romantic date at Blandford's Greasy Spoon - although Ian did have all his answers prepared. I guess we will have to wait for the next year to start our little romance. Until then: let's concentrate on THE WORK my little cupids!

Pictures courtesy of the Daily Mail online and tiscali

Nobody thought it was ever going to happen...

2009-02-13T09:53:00.006Z

but I finally did it. I graduated (proof attached). This entailed a whole weekend of mayhem in the small university town of Poitiers where I so effectively pursued my Master's. It was amazing! So please, dear students, follow my example and finish up your course so that you can take up a job that is even more fun than uni: advertising. Hopefully with us of course.

All the best

Jenny MSc. Barthe

I love single-use ads.

2009-01-21T09:45:00.002Z

A lovely one-off ad released yesterday by DDB:

Obama-rama.

2009-01-20T17:11:00.004Z

Today, the US will have a new President, its 44th President and its first African-American President.

The former Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, once said: "You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose". Today, this line is repeated in reference to the impending presidency.

So how will the inauguration of President Obama affect the world of advertising? Not an easy question to ponder. Perhaps a lease of new life for positive, genuine adverts? Even enough to inspire us cynical Britons? Perhaps, in the protection of the ‘little fish’ in the US, they will produce a greater diversity of advertising?

Perhaps Cuomo’s quote will become true for the advertising world as well. That anyone who isn’t market leader will produce brilliant creativity that will be like marketing poetry; that those who lead their markets will write the rules. Let’s hope not.

No matter the perceived strength of a brand, even as the best in any sector, it still has to strive to maintain that position. The world now is too complex, too dismissive and too ruthless. A slip-up from Obama and the critics will swarm and the satirists will mock. Brands are given the same treatment.

Then again, maybe nothing will change. Inspirational as he is, he is thousands of miles away…in the land of dreams.....(cynical British, can’t be inspired by genuine optimism, don’t know what you’re talking about…)

Miss Eager Beaver at work

2009-01-19T14:38:00.004Z

My first success: We produced a so-called "Guard book" for SaBRE, in which all the campaigns we have ever made for this brand are collected - very useful especially for new people who want to get an overview of what the brand is all about. Making a Guard book first sounded pretty straight-forward to me, but there is actually quite a lot of work required: The account team compiles a list of all work created, gets all the digital files together and provides these to the Campaign Director. The Campaign Director has to book time in the studio so that they can create layouts of all the mailing packs. They will also ensure these have the correct resolution and will then produce print outs.

The challenge in this I found is to coordinate peoples' schedules, as people are in and out of meetings and creatives are often out on shoots. Anyways, thanks to the great team I was working with we got it all done in a few days and the final Guardbook was given to the client.

After successfull completion of this mission I am now off to my next project: the monthly competitor analysis for Zurich insurance. I will keep you in the loop about anything remarkable or unexpected I encounter on my journey. So long, dear readers, take care!

What Ian, Davina and Paddy don't want you to know...

2009-01-19T14:26:00.018Z

These three sneaky grads have tried to keep the most exciting Publicis-event of our winter completely hushed up! I am appalled. Luckily for you I have managed to snatch some photos from Davina's camera and will report here about our little Business-trip to Paris - in all juicy detail.

Here you are treated to a rare picture of Ian in real life, not the tea-making sunnyboy you may know him as from the agency: as soon as Paddy falls asleep on the Eurostar, Ian grabs all his food and does not stop munching till Paris Montparnasse (which is even more meaningful since the train stopped en route for 2 hours). And they say I am the food-junkie!

On our first night we found this lovely (ok, the boys called it "airy-fairy") little bookshop/bar which we spent a fair amount of our hard-earned Euros in.

The next day it was all about sightseeing (or shall I call it "posing"?). Please note Ian's broken arm which to Paddy seemed a fair punishment for the stolen food. Paddy later admitted he may have gone slightly overboard with his reaction.

This is Davina doing a first (of many) shoot for her audacious proposal to Garnier the next day - the woman seriously suggested to the French Garnier-team that Davina McCall be replaced with Davina Hall, can you believe this?

Please note the professional photographer next to me who is braving the Champs Elysee traffic in order to get a piece of these yummy models and their perfectly natural pose!

Ian and Davs were not the only ones that got on well: Paddy and my sister soon discovered they had a shared passion for beer (and French men, but I won't get Paddy to admit this - yet).

While most of us had to stick to beer the whole night because Paris was intent on ripping us of our last cents, some of us stuck to cocktails the whole night - resulting in some shaky midnight-midstreet posing like the above!

Finally, the real reason we came to France! Oh no, wrong photo!

Yes, this is the right one! The real reason we went to Paris was to visit our Publicis France Headquarters in order to do a case study on Garnier - and to have a look at the amazing agency building situated directly on the Champs Elysee - about Ian's arm's-length from the Arc de Triomphe!

Thanks to the great team at Publicis France we had a very enjoyable and instructive workshop and an excellent lunch at the exquisite Publicis restaurant. My special thanks go to my sister Frieda who let us stay at her fantastic apartment and to Sira who gave me some life-saving instructions to the airport. (This did not stop my plane from being 5 hours late, but left me with the great feeling that this time at least my delay was utterly not my fault).

The end of the beginning, not the other way round.

2009-01-06T12:23:00.003Z

So, our three months of whirlwind tours, handshakes and important introductions has come to an end. Now we have been split up and sent to different parts of the building to fend for ourselves.

Jenny is doing her Dialog placement for SaBRE. Davina (Hall as well as McCall) is working on the above-the-line Garnier account. Patrick is doing his first placement with the Army team making TV, radio and posters and I am working for Dialog on the Renault team.

Responsibility now rests on our heads alone and we can't just blame everything on Jenny anymore but on the flip-side, it gives us all the chance to show why we are employed here and I for one am relishing the challenge.

As well as our new accounts, we are also getting involved in new business, contributing to this super-fantastic blog and helping with all the graduate applications. If you haven't already applied, the dealine is February 1st so get thinking and good luck!

New year, new (immense) responsibilities...

2009-01-06T10:09:00.008Z

While other people slowly recover from their NYE-excesses, work has already caught up on me with full power - much to the enjoyment of the industrious soul buried deep within me.

For the first four months of 2009 I am working in Publicis Dialog on the SaBRE account, an MOD campaign to support Britain's Reservists and Employers. We create communications that help increase employers' goodwill towards Reservists. This task is particularly sensitive at the moment, as the general public are not wholly supportive of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan but also because businesses have to survive in the current economic downturn without their Reservist employee. Within this climate its vitally important to remind employers of the contribution of their Reservists and their own business to the positive actions of the armed forces around the world.

Please find below a piece of communication that I think illustrates this very well - you may have already been impressed by the similar newspaper-ads we ran in September 2008.

The final countdown

2008-12-19T11:10:00.001Z

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

2008-12-18T16:32:00.002Z

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!

2008-12-18T15:31:00.001Z

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..

2008-12-18T11:15:00.003Z

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..

2008-12-10T09:48:00.002Z

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

2008-12-08T10:18:00.010Z

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

2008-12-04T16:51:00.001Z

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.

2008-11-25T18:02:00.003Z

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.

2008-11-21T16:11:00.001Z

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

2008-11-21T11:07:00.001Z

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

2008-11-14T10:44:00.007Z

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

2008-11-07T16:49:00.003Z

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...

2008-11-07T16:41:00.003Z

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

2008-11-07T16:17:00.001Z

Davinator and Paddy the Rock Walsh sizing each other up

2008-11-07T13:27:00.003Z

Before the big match...

Even more fun with Jenny and Davina

2008-11-07T13:05:00.004Z

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

2008-11-07T12:59:00.002Z

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)

2008-11-04T11:14:00.002Z

The Boys are going to Cannes!

2008-11-03T12:23:00.002Z

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'...

2008-10-30T13:10:00.003Z

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!

2008-10-28T10:20:00.004Z

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.

2008-10-27T14:40:00.006Z

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

2008-10-27T13:21:00.002Z

Actual work!

2008-10-24T15:45:00.006+01:00

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...

2008-10-24T12:44:00.008+01:00

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..?

2008-10-24T10:00:00.003+01:00

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

2008-10-23T10:59:00.000+01:00

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!

2008-10-21T17:53:00.000+01:00

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'

2008-10-16T15:47:00.000+01:00

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!

2008-10-16T13:30:00.000+01:00

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

2008-10-14T17:00:00.000+01:00

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??

2008-10-14T16:40:00.000+01:00

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

2008-10-14T16:00:00.000+01:00

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.

2008-10-14T15:55:00.001+01:00

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

If God made jobs...

2008-10-14T14:46:00.001+01:00

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?

2008-10-14T14:23:00.000+01:00

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.