The Last Two and a Half Weeks

Now that I have some time on my hands, I’d better jot this down.

Met up with a creative director earlier this week and showed him my book. He told me beforehand that he wasn’t hiring which was disappointing but at least it eased the pressure a lot. So anyway, he liked 2 of the 3 campaigns I had. (Yes. I know that’s a miserable number of campaigns to have in a portfolio but I’m lazy. So there.)

The Carlsberg and Mortein campaigns survived rather well. He thought they made sense and delivered the message clearly. Encouraging. Not so encouraging though were the reviews of the Asia Life (a single long copy ad) and the Huggies campaign.

For the Asia Life ad, he felt that the headline and visual didn’t grab him as they should do especially in a long copy ad. The copy itself was fluid but that was beside the point because I hadn’t even captured the audience’s attention. And so I have dumped that ad.

The Huggies ads are cute. That’s what he said. But that’s all they are. Cute. The lines are cute, the visuals are cute if slightly unusual but there’s no bigger idea. I guess they’d work for a real client but not for a book. Sheesh. Should’ve known better. So those will probably be relegated to some scrap ideas book.

Overall, he said that considering I’m 8 months into copywriting, I’m probably good enough for that agency. I didn’t know whether to feel encouraged or doubly peeved. Either way, it was a good meeting. He was surprisingly willing to share and advise and I found myself talking to him very comfortably. At the end, he told me that should they start hiring, he’d make sure to call me back again. Phew. So at least I have a chance. Thank goodness.

Among other things, including a change to new frames and a subsequent change back to the old ones (the new ones were digging into the bridge of my nose), today is Suyi’s last day at work! That lucky girl. I just hope it’s not one of those out of the frying pan and into the fire moves. I seriously doubt so though. Doesn’t get much worse than this place. At least I hope it doesn’t. So good luck and I’ll see you soon.

Remember those days in school when your teacher would call you to her table and demand that you read your own handwriting and you’d read it all without a hitch and leave her hyperventilating? I liked those days.

But anyway, I was repeatedly told to do two things when writing:

1. Write legibly
2. Double-check

And for good reason too.

Writing legibly can, on occasion, be very important. This is especially true when it comes to the letter “b”. Notice the vertical line and how it’s flushed with the base of the curve? There’s a reason for that – it distinguishes the letter “b” from the letter “p”. And why is this important?

So that a phrase like “expanding business opportunities” doesn’t become “expanding pusiness opportunities”.

A few millimeters separate a perfectly decent money-making project from pimping.

But that’s just one example. I can’t remember anymore now.

Then there’s double-checking.

After all, you don’t wanna proclaim that your client provides solutions that will “asses your needs”.

Nor (and this is something I found in a Coke brief) do you want to tell your poor innocent creatives that you want a campaign that will convey that “there’s nothing more refreshing than an ice-cold glass of Come”.

This blog isn’t dead, nor is this blogger

I’ve just been so frickin’ busy that even taking deep breaths has become a luxury as compared to constant hyperventilation.

Madness! Madness!! Madness!!!

Ah well. Back to work. Some damn manual just demands to be written along with a bloody advertorial. Crap.