deviant monkey

What the frig?!

2009-08-10T21:01:00.001+01:00

It's not so much the advert that disturbs me, just the man's eyes. They just scream "Give us your gold or I'll creep into your bedroom tonight and kill you!"

Freaky!

Jobbage update

2009-07-19T13:42:00.002+01:00

Slightly delayed post here, just a quick entry regarding my attempts at landing a job in advertising. Somewhat out of the blue a fortnight ago, I received an email asking if I was still looking for a junior copywriter role. "Hell yes, I am!" I said (possibly not in quite those words). As a result, Monday morning saw me heading to meet with the account head of a modest little agency in central Manchester. Unfortunately the CD wasn't around at the time, but Jeanette took onboard everything in my book and seemed to make all the right noises about it. I tried to put together my most varied bunch of copy to show what I could do, as well as a couple of other snippets to try and swing it in my favour! At the moment I'm just waiting on feedback from them once the other candidates have been interviewed, and hoping I did enough for them to consider me for the job, as it would be a fantastic opportunity to finally get my career started.

Will keep you all updated as soon as I know more!

I think too much

2009-07-19T13:38:00.003+01:00

Pardon my politically incorrect post, but am I the only one who sees that this is not the best choice of web address?

Perhaps it's just me, but I read that as "Beth Ditto ate vans" - might explain a few things then!

Giraffa Cakes

2009-07-05T16:17:00.003+01:00

The product of an unusual conversation with my parentals a while ago.

(Forgive my shonky Photoshop skills!)

New Blood 2009

2009-07-04T21:22:00.006+01:00

Forgive me for the belated posting, I only returned from London late on Wednesday night. As for why it's taken me until Saturday night to write this, never you mind!

Any excuse to have a day off from the dreaded 9 to 5 rat race that is my life at present, I popped on down to the Big City to check out this year's offerings (or more to the point, to keep my beady eyes on the competition). And I must say, there was the same abundance of talent as is always expected at any D&AD event, noted by what seemed to be a plentitude of Best In Show markers around the event, one of which making it to Claire Gilchrist's work for the National Portrait Gallery from UCLan's Advertising Class of 2009 - big up the Preston massive!

UCLan at New Blood

A little sad to be a mere spectator this year, but was great to head back to it and get lost (literally) amongst the rows of amazing work. Just a couple of examples of what I thought to be the best ads on show - so simple they may have been done before, but still great to see imagery so uncomplicated that you understand it in an instant.

Taste of London

Heinz Hot Ketchup

Until my moment of advertising superstardom descends upon me, I shall continue to work my arse off and hopefully be D&AD worthy some day!

Old skool

2009-06-16T19:14:00.005+01:00

Not really one for the sun (being a milk bottle and all), I spent a sizeable chunk of Saturday indoors, going back to my UCLan roots to check out this year's degree show. Brought back quite some memories - some good, some bad, but none that left me having cold sweats thankfully. As surreal as it was to head back there, it left me feeling further inspired to keep at it and helped me to remember why I love the industry so much.

Needless to say, there were a solid few bright sparks amongst the work, of which a couple of my favourites I've included here.

Some of the Advertising Class of 2009

A moving piece for Fathers4Justice

And a humorous POS for Berghaus Opti-Stud

The rest of the show wasn't without promise, with some great work coming from graphic design, animation and textiles in particular. Overall, the whole thing just left me feeling inspired and strangely at home, as well as adding a little extra fuel to the fire of burning advertising desire within me! If you have chance to go along before the show finishes this Saturday, it's well worth a look. As for me, I'm off to write some more of my book. Toodlepip!

Creative projects

2009-06-09T19:12:00.007+01:00

As ever, the "I will blog more" resolution has been waning, so I think it's time to pep up this tired ol' thing with some different stuff. Still working the temp scene (though hoping to become permanent if my ever so suave interview skills serve me well next week), so still trying to keep my fingers in the pies that interest me in any spare time I can grab and practically suffocate into submission ("You will be mine, oh precious 5 minute CSI ad break. I will doodle something right n... [the bright lights of the TV set become too distracting] Oooh, purdy adverts!")

For starters, I'll introduce you to Haylee. This is yours truly in mog form. I'm not sure what a mog is, but it's a character I made up whilst I was at college many moons ago, and I still seem to draw them to this day. So here she is - do be nice and say hello to her, she's quite shy.

My mogs will be making more of an appearance shortly, just as soon as I have time to upload some more of them when I'm not working on the book. The book being an actual book, not the portfolio. I've finally started the painstaking process of forming the plot for the lovely little piece of fiction I'm hoping to write. I won't say too much at this point except that the heroine will be (very loosely) based on me, and will no doubt arrive at a happy ending much sooner than myself!

Anyway, that's me for now, so do tune into the show again, whenever it next decides to air! My old partner in crime, a certain Ms Sparkinson, has recently set up her own blog to showcase her creative talents, of which they are vast and varied. So if you're around her neck of the woods, do be sure to pop in for a look-see at: http://sparkidoodle.blogspot.com/.
You can also find the link in my sidebar - be there or be square!

Sarah in all her mog-shaped glory

Move over, George!

2009-05-16T23:09:00.003+01:00

Flo Rida CD single: £1.99
Reeboks with the stripes: £39.99
Simon Cowell's face: Priceless!

The end of a mini-era

2009-05-11T22:42:00.005+01:00

A slightly sombre Monday evening as me and Sarah have decided to part ways. Various reasons leading to it, but mainly just in light of our current personal situations and the different directions we're being taken in right now. Sarah's currently trying to get work as an artworker whilst I'm on the 9-5 scene until finances allow otherwise. I don't think either of us would say it's a definite permanent move, but it's what's best for us both at this stage.

Has been a great 9 months and such a learning curve for us both, experiencing our first placements together and having our first ads produced, something I don't think we imagined would be possible just from our short time at the agencies we've resided at. Glad to have shared the experience with Sarah, and we'll no doubt continue to wreak havoc on the streets of Manchester!

Long live Team Sparkley!

In the spirit of forgiveness

2009-05-11T20:51:00.005+01:00

Marks and Spencer have also been making up for their boo-boos (or boob-boobs) this past week after the negative press surrounding their "bigger prices for bigger bosoms" bra scandal. I've never been a fan of M&S as such, and the more expensive DD-cup and upwards bras did not impact on me in the slightest (as much as I wish they did), but I think there's something endearing about a brand that can hold their hands up to their mistakes. Fair enough, they needed to before even more people fled to Asda or Primark for cheap underwear, but to admit that they "boobed" (yes yes, puns are bad but this one is acceptable) and offer a new price AND discounts for a fortnight could well result in the biggest turnaround achieved in such a short space of time.

Unfortunately for them, their wily advertising charms will not have me crossing their threshhold. Power to the Primarni!

Learning lessons the hard way

2009-05-01T20:46:00.010+01:00

This week brought about our first proper ads which was very good. Unfortunately, my week is ending on a bit of a low.

A year ago I was a student struggling towards the finish line of the degree under quite a lot of pressure and stress. Around this time I found myself on Facebook rather a lot (nothing new there!) and happened to post a couple of derogatory comments about a brand on a group that I joined, purely to let off some steam. Fast forward to today, and those actions have come back to bite me in the ass. The agency dealing with the brand's advertising has suddenly found this group and my comments, and politely informed me that I can rule out any chance of placement or long-term employment with them for the forseeable future as a result of this.

Let this be a word of warning to any current or ex-student who has ever thought that any negative comments they've made online would never be discovered, be it on Facebook or any other public forum - even blogs. During any placements I have had, I've always remained professional and abided by the terms of contract as well as asking permission before blogging about any aspect of work to avoid repercussions such as this. I understand and respect that the agency in question are simply protecting themselves and their client in such precarious times, but I am disappointed that something I wrote on one day a year ago as a disgruntled student under no contractual obligations, has now backfired so spectacularly.

If you're a member of any anti-brand/product groups, remove any comments and your membership now! I had removed my membership from the group some time ago, thinking the comments would disappear too - unfortunately not! As a mark of respect towards the brand and agency, I have now removed these. In future, unless you choose to be part of a pro-brand/product group, I'd advise anyone interested in this industry to learn from my naive example and stay away from these groups entirely.

As with everything I publish on this blog, this is just another stumbling block on the path to advertising superstardom, but the one I've learned the most from so far. I only wonder where it all ends - what of my criticism of the new Orange Wednesdays ad below? Does that assure me no chance of ever working for Fallon because I think their ad could've been better? If that's the case, then I think all of us bloggers are screwed! In an industry that tries to alter public opinion of brands and products, I find it a tad saddening that the creatives producing the work may only speak positively of brands and products, regardless of whether they are linked to them or not. But I guess you take the rough with the smooth and hope to hell you don't make the same mistake again!

Thus endeth the lesson!

What was that offer again?

2009-05-01T20:25:00.002+01:00

The new Orange Wednesdays ads have come under some less than friendly fire since their first airing, the main criticisms being that they're just not as funny as the old ones, and that using the "I am who I am" line to send themselves up makes it less amusing still. Personally I don't have any problem with them, they're likeable enough, though it would be nice to see send ups of other well-known characters soon.

There is one flaw with the latest ad though - the flying monkey. Hell, nobody likes them, but that's not the point I'm making. Orange Wednesdays is a 2-for-1 offer. Witch + Vicki + monkey = 3. Is it just me, or did they need to give the flying monkey a flying monkey companion in order for the ad to sell what's it's meant to be selling?

WOOT!!

2009-04-29T19:36:00.005+01:00

The time has come where we can finally reveal our ads for Warrington Borough Transport! Just to refresh while it's been so long, these were formed from a concept me and Sarah had during our time at AND Partners last October which the client gladly accepted. Still only small fry compared to your drumming gorillas and the like, but other than a leaflet we did for VivaLaDiva at Pravda, these are our first proper advertising babies seeing the cold, harsh light of day.

Our original scamps

The finished articles

4-page leaflet using artwork from our ad

The leaflet is something Lee and Sam formed after we left placement, but it uses the image from our ad so I'm shamelessly plugging it on here! For the moment our ads are appearing on WBT buses in the region to promote the U19 Savercard (which was originally U18, it's not a typo on our scamps!), but there's talk of them being rolled out into adshels and bus backs at some point. Whatever happens we're just happy to have work out there being seen, and the canny thought that the teens seeing it will never once think "I wonder who came up with these ads?" is actually kind of cool. Sure, someday we want to do something as big as Gorilla or Balls (possibly a gorilla's balls, you never know!), but for now it's a good feeling that Joe Public are seeing our work.

Though we sadly didn't get to see the project through from start to finish, we're glad we got to head to the shoot for it in February, and we've been enlightened as to just how long even the simplest of ideas can take to come to fruition (6 months!). Cue Oscars-style speech! Thanks to the AND Crew for giving us the opportunity to have our work produced, to Lee for letting us mock him as always at the shoot, and to Ste for keeping us in the loop about everything that was going on. Cheers guys!

Easter update

2009-04-10T21:46:00.002+01:00

Just a quickie! Unfortunately me and Sarah received an unfavourable response from Finch yesterday - turns out they opted to go for a more experienced team which is understandable based on their standing at the moment. A tad disappointed, but knockbacks are always to be expected, more so now than ever. And at the end of the day it's another contact we've gained, plus Kerry said she'd put us in touch with some of their contacts closer to home in Manchester, so there's always that silver lining somewhere.

Right back to the chocolate eating. Not as a form of consolation, just because I love scoffing!

Long time, no type!

2009-04-02T20:39:00.010+01:00

Seems like the resolution to update the blog more has fallen by the wayside a little! Been pretty busy over the last month with normal work stuff (i.e. the 9-5 job) so little to report from Team Sparkley. However, today we did have a jaunt over to Liverpool to an agency called Finch for an interview (yes, an actual interview, not just a random book crit!)

Unfortunately the CD was busy, but we got to see the lovely account director, Kerry Dennison. Admittedly it was pretty much like all the book crits we've had, but with a little more emphasis on what experience we've had since uni and also a lot more background and current info on Finch itself. Kerry liked much of our book and seemed to like us, and it turned out we were the last candidates for their job opening to be interviewed, so we should be hearing something from them sometime in the next week or so.

Still a lot of ups and downs for Team Sparkley at the moment as we've both been looking for any work we can get our hands on, whether it be together or separately. Desperate times call for desperate measures, as they say! Sarah had an interview for an artworker job yesterday, and for the time being I'm staying on at my temp job to keep the cash coming in and considering writing a book to pass my free time more creatively and hone my copywriting skills as much as possible. Whatever happens, we're just looking for any way to help us onwards and upwards, regardless of when that elusive "big break" finally happens.

On a lighter note away from all the doom, gloom and economic depression, we had a rather nice wander down to the Albert Docks, stopping in at the Tate along the way - hooray for a bit of culture (there's little of it in Wigan and Stockport, you see). True to our roots, our favourite part was the souvenir shop - me with my gigantic pencils, and Sarah with her pornographic art books. Very classy.

Hopefully we'll be hearing some good news soon, be it as a result of today or our many other endeavours/fingers in pieholes. The snippet of information we learned today that we never knew before is that Liverpool has an underground service. And it smells better than London's.

For the One I Love

2009-03-02T20:39:00.001Z

Here's a little shout out to my lovely work wife, Sarah. For all the times you say "Nom nom nom!" to me, this is for you!

Stupid Sheilas

2009-02-24T22:08:00.009Z

What the hell? I read possibly the stupidest article in the paper this morning. Word has it that having attempted to sign up for Swiftcover insurance, musicians are being told they're ineligible for it due to Iggy Pop being their frontman. WHA?!?! How on earth does being a musician make you a liability to an insurance firm?

Also revealed was that Esure (you know the ones - "Calm down dear, I'm just punching Michael Winner in the face!") does not insure film directors, and Sheilas' Wheels refuse to insure people who drive pink cadillacs.

Australian? Own a garishly pink dress? You're out!

Whatever next? MoreThan not covering anyone who owns a dog named Lucky (yes yes, old ads I know, but it appears insurers are crazy!), Norwich Union/Aviva not insuring anyone who has ever changed their name?

Perhaps I'm well behind the times and this has been going on with all manner of products and services for years, but I just don't understand why the ASA have allowed these instances to occur, discrimination being the buzzword these days.

On a brief note whilst I continue to fathom this out, me and Sarah received the first visuals of our ads for Warrington Borough Transport today and they're looking pretty good! No matter how big or small this achievement seems to anyone else, we can't wait to see our first printed ads out there and be able to say "We made that!"

Feel free to make sick noises!

Ze book

2009-02-22T16:46:00.002Z

A new link has been added to the sidebar now, which is an online showcase of mine & Sarah's book. Feel free to take a look and leave comments or contact us via email (also in the sidebar).

Ta!

Back to the day job

2009-02-20T22:49:00.006Z

That's your lot folks, our fortnight at TBWA is up! Never the best feeling leaving placements behind, but having been given a chance to prove ourselves at the church, we're more certain than ever that we want to work there. Two weeks ago it was just an idealistic view that it'd be pretty freakin' cool to be part of such a team, but having seen it from the inside, it's become a goal for us.

We had a great end to our stint there with some more good feedback from Paul, and he sent us on our way with another brief for us to tackle and some certificates of our time there which was pretty funny. I personally have had the best time there, and feel like I'm learning more and more as I go along my little copywriting journey, particularly with Paul's encouragement with has helped my confidence no end. Needless to say, that man is set for a whole load of pestering from us in the months to come, and we hope to be taken back into the church some time in the near future.

My record of achievement!

For the time being it's back to the grind for me come Monday when I'll be returning to my "day job", though only for a few more weeks before heading to the life of limbo once more! We're just going to take things as they come, keep working on the book and pushing to get it out there, and we shall see what the next few months bring for us. We've left a little mark or two behind at TBWA, so we'll see whether they're discovered (though Fergus did catch us in our suspicious act - d'oh!). Thanks for having us, and hopefully we'll see you soon for more Cheese Pub action!

Our Bex flying the UCLan flag for us at TBWA!

I'm a PC

2009-02-20T11:15:00.004Z

Sarah showed me this little Mac piss-take yesterday which I nearly peed myself over (true story). As a blatant Mac-basher, I loved it!

"I'll buy almost anything if it's shiny and made by Apple" - genius!

Trott on

2009-02-18T14:44:00.004Z

No word of a lie, I saw Dave Trott this morning! Striding purposefully towards me, I was in no doubt that it was the silver-haired Trotter.

Except I'm not quite sure why he was getting off a Magic Bus in East Didsbury. Sarah thinks I'm crazy. Or that it could possibly have been Dave's long-lost twin, Fox.

Discuss.

KISS

2009-02-17T16:38:00.003Z

So, Sarah has now returned to the land of the living (well, the land of advertising anyway) - turns out it was the dreaded Norovirus that struck her down last week, the dodgy pizza was purely coincidental! We've been cracking on with GHD again and have just seen Paul for his input on our ideas. Some more good feedback from him, with a solid route for us to progress with until he sees us again on Friday.

I also took the opportunity to show him the copy I was working on for Nissan last Friday to see if it was as crap as I thought! Turns out it wasn't, but he gave me some useful writer-to-writer tips that have been duly noted and will be implemented the next time pen meets paper! Basically, I have to KISS more - Keep It Simple, Stupid! Another of those great little gems to take with you and pass around to others, just like our ex-tutor's epic advice to JFDI - Just F**cking Do It! Maybe there's a gap in the market to write a book of advertising abbreviations. I'll let you know if I decide to write it.

Right, back to the pad now, people!

A week of firsts

2009-02-13T11:19:00.002Z

This week has seen us experiencing quite a few things for the first time - working in a church (never thought I'd say that!), attending our first photoshoot, and yesterday we were invited up into the Ark to sit in on an all-agency meeting. Of course we're not at liberty to divulge anything that went on in there (ruddy privacy agreements spoiling everyone's fun!), but it was lovely to see all of the creative teams in one room, a tight squeeze though it was! Even for those coming over from Parklands, there's clearly a good unity between everyone despite working from different locations, and it just served to strengthen our opinion that TBWA is a great big happy family to work for.

Today is another first for me as I'm working alone because Sarah ate some dodgy pizza last night (hope you get well soon dude!), so I'm working on some copy for our Nissan concepts from earlier in the week (and clearly having a bit of a mental break from it!) Better crack on I guess, but I'm sure there'll be more updates to come next week.

*Buries head in thesaurus*

Busy day!

2009-02-11T23:02:00.005Z

A little bit of agency two-timing went on today, but in the nice, dirty, smutty "I like it!" kind of way.

Around early December we'd caught up with Stephen at AND Partners who was handling their account with Warrington Borough Transport, as we'd been told before we left our placement there in October that the client was putting through some of the work we'd done, so we checked in to see how it was going. We were assured it was all still going ahead and that more would be happening come the New Year. So, like the persistent rottweilers we are, we continued to pester Ste every so often to see where it was all up to, and were very happy when last month he suggested we join them for the shoot once it'd been arranged. As you can imagine, the weather somewhat hampered the plans for a good few weeks, but around lunchtime yesterday, Ste emailed us to ask if we'd be free at very short notice to join them on the shoot today. Cue excitement! We checked with Paul at TBWA first, and gave Ste our big "Yay!" verdict.

So this morning we headed to Warrington to meet with Ste and Lee from AND Partners, as well as the photographer and his assistant, and set out in our very own bus (designated driver and all!)

The bus in question

We won't say too much right now, as the shots are currently with the photographer for retouching before AND Partners can set about their ad-producing magic, but we were really pleased to find that in the 4 months since we last set eyes on our concepts, not one thing had been altered. Of course we won't be at AND Partners to oversee the final stage, but it's been great to go on our first shoot and to see how the photographer had to set about interpretating and accomodating the idea as much as possible into the images he took, not to mention finding the perfect setting for the shots in the first place! Admittedly it's not as flashy and showbiz as you imagine it to be before you ever go on a shoot, but we certainly had a laugh and just plain enjoyed being able to see another stage of the whole process. No doubt the ads will be appearing on here just as soon as is possible!

Lee taking in the view

A change of location

Sarah getting her hands dirty

After randomly ending up as models for some additional shots being taken (yes, me and Sarah may even be FEATURING in an ad too, albeit rather out of focus!), we went to feed ourselves up at Pizza Hut, after which me and Sarah hopped in the car and headed back to TBWA as we were due to see Paul with some of our ideas for Nissan at 4pm. With an hour or so to spare, we went back over everything we rushed out yesterday (as we had to get our ads drawn up pronto once the photoshoot was arranged) and added a few more scamps to the mix before heading over to Parklands to see the man himself. We'd been a little worried that we were perhaps sacrificing vital time on the brief in favour of the photoshoot, but as I'm sure anyone could understand, we didn't want to pass up the opportunity to go along this morning. As it turned out, our worrying had been in vain as a nice amount of our work was well received. Having had something of a love/hate relationship with headlines ever since I decided to embark on the life of an aspiring copywriter, it was really good to hear that I'd done something right this time around as Paul really liked some of the lines. We came away with ideas to work on as well as a new fictional GHD brief which me and Sarah can't wait to get stuck into.

So overall it was a busy day for us, and a great one at that. Really enjoying the experience at TBWA so far, and dreading next Friday coming around too quickly (or at all!) but we're just going to get our heads down and bash out some stonking work and make the best impression we can whilst we're there!

Audio abuse

2009-02-09T21:26:00.002Z

Why? Why would you subject anybody to this, lovely Kelloggs people? Why did you think that Snap's "I've Got The Power" and the Coco Pops jingle went together? And who on earth cast that dude for the voiceover? WHY?

...blast off?

2009-02-09T20:36:00.003Z

Well the start to today didn't quite go as planned, with me slip sliding away this morning on the ice, which was presumably the reason behind my tres early start being thwarted when I reached Piccadilly. Plenty of time, I thought, to leisurely catch a train to East Didsbury. And so it seemed when I got to Piccadilly, with the departure boards all flashing brightly and gloriously at me that the trains were running on time. So I headed to my platform and settled down to finish reading my Metro. I finished my Metro. And my train was already 5 minutes late. Battling back "the fear" (something I experience a lot whilst waiting for trains, particularly when they fail to arrive on time), I headed back to the boards, only to discover that the two imminent trains to East Didsbury had disappeared. Cue panic. Eventually discovered that the next one would be arriving at 8:58 (bearing in mind I'd already been waiting half an hour), and hurried along to greet it with open arms, only to find it was delayed. Cue uber panic. Finally it arrived at 9:07, at which I hastily boarded and drummed my fingers in an irritated fashion until it began to move, my sigh of relief as it departed at 9:09 quickly turning to a gasp of horror as it stopped again just 500 yards out of the station at 9:10. After an agonising 2 minute wait (yes, agonising indeed) it continued on with its journey, stopping only once more on the way, but not stopping quite long enough for me to express my rage in a physical manner. At 9:25 it pulled into the station, and I hurtled off it straight to Sarah's car, at which point we sped like bats out of hell round the corner to TBWA, even making aggravated hand gestures and cursing old women crossing in our path, such was our urgency to be on time. Gathering our composure, our road rage abated, in we walked through the sturdy oak door of the church...

And here our TBWA story starts! We were instantly given the grand tour by Paul Burns before settling down to be briefed. We then headed off to our home for the next two weeks, a neat little cubby hole within the church walls, and set ourselves down to get cracking. We've just been given a simple Nissan brief to begin with, but we're looking forward to the other briefs we'll be thrown during our two weeks there, and hopefully working on some GHD just like the good old uni days. Today we were more getting our bearings than anything, as being at TBWA is a whole different ball game to our previous placements, particularly in terms of the size of the workforce. Unfortunately we haven't had much chance to get acquainted with everybody yet (and I'm sure we still won't have by the time we leave!), but luckily there was already a familiar face there - our Bex from UCLan. It's been really nice catching up with her and getting to see some of what her and her partner Adam have been working on since they settled there last July, their most recent success having been to grace the pages of Campaign with their new Tiger Balm idents just this week, so a big congratulations to them for that!

Our cubby hole

Hard at work of course

Can't wait to head in tomorrow (regardless of any train trouble!) and I'm sure there'll be more blogging to come over the next fortnight, so stay tuned folks!

T minus 1 day and...

2009-02-08T15:40:00.010Z

This last week has gone oddly fast in the run-up to TBWA - no sooner had I thought "Ooh, only one week to go!" than it was Saturday and I was heading to Manchester for a pre-placement teamtalk with Sarah. Admittedly I was a little worried we'd have lost something of our sparkle since our stint at AND Partners was such a long time ago, but we set down to think on some new ways to make ourselves memorable and to get our branding out there, and I think it's safe to say that Team Sparkley is back with a vengeance!

Be afraid, be very afraid!

As it's a new year, we have a whole new gameplan, with plans to give the book an overhaul (our work is sacred no longer!) and to set up a site to showcase our work, as well as getting our name out to all and sundry in an attempt to kick the recession's ass!

Whilst discussing our plans for global advertising domination, we headed to our favourite place in Manchester - the Urbis. Lucky for us, the D&AD Annuals showcase was on, with every annual on display from 45 years ago when it all began. Was great to see how it had all progressed from 1963 to present day, managing to maintain the same degree of effortless savvy and coolness each and every year. Yes, we are advertising geeks and we love it!

1986 - Year of the Sarah

1987 - Year of the Hayley

Heggers, we love you!

As the earlier noted candyfloss suggests, we were rather excited yesterday! Bring on the advertising!

T minus 1 week and counting...

2009-02-02T21:35:00.004Z

In a week's time me and Sarah will already have completed our first day of placement at TBWA and have only 9 more to go *sob* but the excitement starts now! Our friends Carly and Niomi from good ol' UCLan are currently there on placement and loving every minute of it, and we can't wait to get stuck in there come next Monday, having been waiting for an opportunity like this since we first set foot in the church last year at uni. This week I'm just an office girl, but next week I shall magically transform into an advertising extravaganza (hopefully)! And then back to office girl for me. It's like being Clark Kent by day and Superman... well, whenever anyone's in trouble really! Hopefully someday soon me and Sarah will be well and truly unleashed from the oppression of the advertising closet once and for all, to wreak creative chaos on all MWAHAHAHA!! *cough*

In other news - freak snowstorms hit us today, leaving much of London's public transport services crippled. As a commuter, one often questions the existence of God, particularly when forced to ride in the filth of others, or surrounded only by gibbering businessmen and chavs galore, or when your train home is cancelled 2 minutes before it's due into the station. Thousands of commuters forced to walk to work upon discovering that all bus services had been suspended in central London were no doubt cursing "the man upstairs" this morning. Which makes me think that after all the furore surrounding the athiest bus ads, they couldn't possibly have picked a better medium! Genius!

Teeny weeny update

2009-01-27T20:34:00.003Z

So me and Sarah went to see Simon at Pravda this afternoon to show him our book. Busy as ever, we didn't spend all that much time there, and though all's much quieter on the Western front for many agencies at the moment, he did say we'd be more than welcome to return for another couple of weeks placement if we so wished. But we figure there's not a whole lot of expendable cash hanging around at the moment to bring in any new blood permanently.

For now we'll be honouring our placement arrangement with TBWA, but more than likely heading back to the world of paid (but not quite so interesting) work after that, and attempting to crack this crazy biz when we're a little more settled financially. Though if the right offer came up, you never know how that might change!

Musing aside, we discovered today that our good friends Neale & Parisa are no longer at Pravda, but will also be treading the church grounds at TBWA come April. We think a long overdue catch-up with them is well in order... : )

A Glass and a Half Full of...

2009-01-26T21:29:00.005Z

...I'm not quite sure yet. Admittedly I've yet to see Cadbury's latest installment on TV and have unashamedly ripped it from everyone else who currently features it on their blog, but having watched it many times in reasonably quick succession, I still don't know what I make of it. Besides wanting to keep watching it for a reason which I can't fathom at this precise moment in time.

It kinda gives me the same feeling that too much Cadbury chocolate does - you know that "Oh my tummy feels pretty freakin' weird, maybe I shouldn't have eaten the other half of that 500g bar". The feeling that kind of rises up from your gut like you're gonna vom a bit. Except that when I open my mouth, I find that I'm laughing out loud instead. There's something about this ad that will no doubt grow on me the more I see it (probably after the 20-something times I'll more than likely view it in the next hour or so), but there's definitely something "gorilla" about it. Let's face it, Trucks was pretty shite in comparison, but this feels like it's heading back to Gorilla territory in that it makes you feel good for reasons that you can't quite explain.

The funky 80's tune. These freakish kids' freaky eyebrows (particularly how freaky the little girl's solo is!) The strain in the girl's face as she tries to eyebrow dance and balloon squeak at the same time. And that the boy looks like he's sucking a lemon as she does this. I'm not saying it's perfect in the slightest, but it sure as hell is funny! As the kids these days would say: LOL!

PS- Does anyone else think the tune sounds like the Beverley Hills Cop theme tune (the one that Crazy Frog killed)? A little reminder for you all (and because I just love this tune!) Turn the sound down on the ad and set this to play just before the boy presses the button on his watch. Some remixes will be hitting YouTube very soon I bet...

Flashback

2009-01-26T21:07:00.002Z

Onto more serious matters now!

Today me and Sarah finally sent out notification of our new joint email account (see sidebar) to our contacts in Adland. At the moment we're not really sure what this year holds in store for us after our time at TBWA in February, but we'll hopefully still be getting our ugly mugs out there and meeting some new people as well as catching up with some of our old favourites, of which we will be doing tomorrow when we return to Pravda for the first time since September to see Simon Sinclair again.

At the moment we're just heading in to show our book once more and to see what's been happening with Pravda since we were there, but we'll have to wait and see what our other meetings over the coming weeks and months may become. And having been quite some time since we last saw each other, me and Sarah have some catching up to do too before we set about a whole new batch of work. New year, new book!

Nasal abuse

2009-01-26T20:57:00.003Z

Why do people fart on crowded commuter trains? Never do you smell a whiff of trump during off-peak journeys (unless you're sat near kids, and I suppose they can't help it). But OH they all come crawling out the woodwork when you're on the train to or from work, no doubt scrunched into a tiny ball against the wall or with your face in someone else's armpit, feeling utterly fed-up as it is. So why must these flatulent people choose to travel on these trains every single day? And try to squirm away or wrap your face firmly in your scarf, and they look at you as though you're the dirty heathen! Well pardon me for not wanting to ingest your faeces molecules! Have a good dump before you set off for work, or better still, bloody well drive instead of subjecting us all to the inescapable pong!

...Phew, that's today's rant over [exhales].

A new kind of ready meal

2009-01-25T15:31:00.001Z

Eat in-store today!

Design Faux Pas #2

2009-01-14T19:42:00.003Z

"Hmm, this braille feels a bit wet.... URGHHHHHHHH!!"

Sanitary bin + braille = wrongness!

Design Faux Pas #1

2009-01-12T20:09:00.005Z

The answer to the crippling pain of RSI in your hands and wrists - cause it in your feet instead! D'oh!

Smile, it might never happen!

2009-01-08T21:18:00.003Z

People say this to me. A lot. I sometimes wonder if I should be concerned that said people tend to be ageing males, usually spouting this nonsense at me when I'm walking in the pitch black to or from my house. Perhaps it's a come-on (though none have been holding bags of sweets), or perhaps I'm just a grumpy looking cow when I'm haring down the street. Whatever the answer to any of these questions, I've decided that this phrase should be my mantra from now on.

My hair looks shit. The train's been cancelled. Everything's so expensive I may need to sell my liver on the black market. Does it really bloody matter? Hell, I'm the biggest whinging woman you'll probably ever meet. I love a good venting session, generally scheduled for once every, oooh, 10 minutes? But besides making me feel less like exploding, it just makes me feel blah about everything I see, do, feel, etc.

Today for example, I received an email from another placement possibility me & Sarah had lined up for the new year. Unfortunately I discovered that having been hit by the recession, we will not just be walking into that agency and merrily going about our creative work, but will have to wait until there's money available for us to be brought in. This could have made me very sad, but the point is that we're still wanted at the agency when the future is a little bit brighter, so what's not to be happy about?

So it may be a tad late, but my New Year's resolution is to think positive. Namby-pamby, wishy-washy, whatever you want to call it - it might not save the world but it might help me & Sarah to be in the right place at the right time for something to happen. And it might stop strange men from talking to me in the street.

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-05T22:03:00.005Z

A tad belated though it may be! Sorry to have been away for so long - me and Sarah spent the run up to Christmas working our little temp asses off to have enough money to drink ourselves silly on the 31st, which I know I most certainly achieved!

(I blame the skates, not the alcohol. No siree!)

Just a little visual delight to warm up there! Anywho, as I say, me and Sarah have been busy in our "day jobs", of which I'm currently still in mine and haven't had much time on my hands to blog inbetween the commuting and festive jovialities. But fear not, for we have returned! Today we received word from Paul Burns at TBWA\Manchester regarding the placement he offered us way back in October, and we now have a start date for the 9th of February - tres excited!

More than anything we're looking forward to getting back into agency life and being hands-on again, especially heading to a much larger agency like TBWA after our first two placements - will be great to see how they operate and how much different (or possibly not) it is to life at the smaller agencies. All-in-all we just can't wait to get back on it and see what else we learn along the way and what odd characters we're sure to meet (besides Bex, who we already know!)

So tomorrow it's time to sort out when I'll be finishing my temp job, and whether there's time to possibly fit a little something else in before TBWA... but we'll keep quiet on that one for now : ) And hopefully I'll now be finding some time to update the blog more often. In fact, I make it my New Year's Resolution to do so!

Amazing!

2008-11-09T20:23:00.003Z

So most people have probably seen this, but it was only brought to mine and Sarah's attention by the lovely Lee at AND Partners. Baffles me every time I watch it (OK, so it's only done with a sequence of coloured lights, but it's still great!)

Another possibly more impressive Tetris version here.

PS- Knightrider rocks! Anyone who says it doesn't is just stupid!

...and the plain bad/ugly/downright irritating

2008-11-09T20:10:00.002Z

Why oh why must the biggest brands in the country resort to this pathetic propaganda? In light of the Christmas season approaching and the current TV ad that's running, I'm sure Boots could have found a little more goodwill in their hearts than to slag off the opposition.

Considering that Boots actually isn't cheaper on a lot of its stock in comparison to Superdrug makes this ad all the more insulting. Seriously, who writes these briefs? If the proposition was: "Rip the shit out of the opposition until they cry" then they're well on their way.

With such strong backgrounds and hoards of customers, isn't it time that the likes of Boots and Asda kicked this negative "advertising" into touch, and actually used the brand to sell rather than playing tit-for-tat with their competitors?

The good...

2008-11-09T20:05:00.002Z

Boots have done it again with another great TV spot for Christmas. Admittedly it lacks some of the excitement that last year's "Here come the girls" ad had, but still another great execution of how women get the job done in the search for the perfect gift.

Watch and learn, guys!

New month, new job

2008-11-02T14:21:00.006Z

The situation of Team Sparkley has changed considerably since the last post. Although Andrew was happy to keep us for one more week at AND Partners, it wasn't really feasible to keep us any longer than that at the moment as they're set to be pretty busy in the run-up to Christmas with TV shoots and the like, so he felt it'd be unfair to keep us over the holiday period when he couldn't devote much time to us. However, we have been told that we'd be welcomed back in the new year if we wished to return, so we're really happy at the moment with the avenues we have open to us come January.

Unfortunately, after some discussion between me and Sarah, we were forced to turn down Andrew's offer of a fifth week at AND Partners in order to pursue some temp work, particularly as I've already been offered something to start tomorrow! Neither of us wants to stop the placement run now that we've been on it since August, as we've been having a great time getting to grips with everything and learning more and more by the day - working on our partnership together, forming new ways to work, and seeing from the inside just how the industry works. But we know we need to take the time out to get some funds together for the next stint in January, for which we already can't wait! Plus it'll be lovely not having to scrounge around until Christmas!

So, sadly, Friday was our last day at AND Partners after our four weeks there. We hope to hear in the next couple of weeks whether some of our work is accepted by the clients we worked on there, and we'll be taking some time to work on the portfolio again whilst it's been a month since its last revamp. But for now, it's time for some drinks to wind down, merry in the thought of things to come : )

Eye of the Tiger (GRRRR!!)

2008-10-28T22:19:00.009Z

Pardon the post title, it's just a musical way of describing how me and Sarah feel today. Or in simple terms - frickin' awesome!

We're currently in the fourth and not-so-final week of our placement at AND Partners, and have had the good news that they'd like to keep us around a little longer. This makes us happy : ) Been working on some great briefs, with some fantastic people, and have thoroughly enjoyed the time we've spent there so far. Particularly as most of it has involved squishy couches.

Sarah in squishy advertising action

That said, we've still been keeping our fingers in some other advertising pies, as now more than ever we understand that no job is safe! So late this afternoon saw us heading for a third meeting with Paul Burns at TBWA having worked some more on his advice from last time. As ever, he was supportive and constructive and just a general pleasure to speak to. And as mentioned the last time we visited him, there had been talk of a possible placement opportunity somewhere in the near future, today being the day in which it came to light! In order to save our souls in the hectic run-up to Christmas, we've been offered an initial 2 week placement to begin in January. Chuffed! : )

Since having visited the church while we were still just lowly students, both me and Sarah were a tad fixated on working for TBWA some day, and whether it only be for a fortnight or for longer, we're so happy for the opportunity to be involved with them, and the experience to come from it.

Our excitement evident through facial expression

Our excitement expressed through the medium of chocolate treats

But for now January is a long way off, so we'll be happily carrying on at AND Partners and working on our book, and will just have to wait and see where the winter takes us!

Kentucky Fried Chicken and a... Pasta Hut?

2008-10-06T23:25:00.008+01:00

Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for healthier options, but to totally re-brand the company is taking it a step too far. As you'd expect, Pizza Hut made its name with pizzas, and no amount of re-branding will change that perception. But in changing all of their outlets (albeit only for a trial period), is there not a greater risk of putting their customers off instead?

Supposedly pasta dishes are to become the predominant choice, with pizza taking a backseat. This feels as wrong as when MacDonalds introduced salads to their menus, but at least they didn't overhaul the brand to achieve it. Maybe I think too much with my advertising head, but surely a clever little campaign to promote a shift in the range of meals being made available would have been better, not to mention a hell of a lot cheaper!

Having said all that, I'll no doubt be heading in there some time soon to check it out. Never been one to let a bit of branding get in the way of my love for food! But until then, I'll be looking out for my nearest Kentucky Grilled Chicken or Salad King.

Placement weight (part deux!)

2008-10-06T22:13:00.007+01:00

Quite possibly the oddest first day of placement ever! As instructed, me and Sarah arrived at AND Partners at 9:45am (after a slight rush with us both having train trouble - grrr!) and were introduced to the AND team. While we waited for Andy to come in, a nice design fellow called Sam sat and chatted to us, and besides discovering that he too had been to UCLan, we also found out that he'd jacked it in for his first job at Iris in London, when it was still just a fledgling agency - tres impressive!

Not long after, Andy came in and sat us in the boardroom for our first briefing on one of their biggest clients (again, not sure what I can say, so I'll keep schtum for now). We went over some of the work that was recently pitched to them to get a feel for what they were looking for, and then we were asked if we knew where the business in question was. Though we didn't know, we were soon sent on our way to find it, petty cash in hand to sample what the client had to offer. So off we went on our merry way - out of the office by 11am, and not to return!

Lunchtime arrived and we found ourselves in Ashton-Under-Lyne feeling rather peckish. And as our aim was to tuck into some grub, we thought it rude not to do so immediately. Still of student mentality, an expenses-paid lunch went down very well!

After considerably feeding ourselves, we took to the notepads for an ideas session, and chatted to a few of the staff too (as they knew why we were there). The whole time we were there we saw cameramen and some kind of entourage wandering around, along with a whole load of birthday balloons adorning the bar we were in. A little more prying and we discovered that it was all in aid of none other than Ricky Hatton! Not before long, we spotted him out in the foyer surrounded by various crews for interviews. Though we didn't get the chance to actually meet him, we later spied a large silver platter doing the rounds of the bar. Salivating as always at the prospect of more food, the tray soon made its way to us, only for us to find it covered with the remainder of Ricky's birthday cake! So chow down we did, and yummy it was!

And if anybody asks of our claim to fame? We shall simply say: "We ate Ricky Hatton's cake". And all shall bow before us!

Numero dos!

2008-10-03T13:48:00.003+01:00

After a slight dilemma this morning regarding whether me and Sarah would opt for a month long placement offered to us by AND Partners, or a two week placement at The Raft, we finally decided to go with the former. So a weekend of freedom before we start on Monday!

As I said in the previous post, we've both been so pleased with the response we've been getting so far, and we can't wait to get back into agency life and learn even more to take with us and improve us as a team along the way.

Be sure to expect some more random photographic delights come Monday!

In search of the advertising dream

2008-10-02T23:15:00.006+01:00

And so it continues! After a good start on our northern advertising trek last week, we set about giving our portfolios the mash-up treatment - 4 dollops of Hayley doo-doo, with 4 splodges of Sarah sparkle and we finally had a joint book of stupendous advertising to present for our crits this week. I'm sure many would scream in terror at some of the things in there, but for now it's serving us well until we have more time together and develop as a team to produce new campaigns. Our line-up at present is:

*Play-Doh
*Organ Donations
*Best Beginnings (breastfeeding)
*Slavery
*GHD limited edition black and white straighteners
*Andrex Moist
*Talk (Department for Transport)
*Royal Opera House

Yes, there are indeedy two charity-type campaigns in there. And only 3 products. Of course we'll constantly be improving our book as time goes on, and any advice or feedback is always appreciated, so feel free to set your disgust loose on us! : )

Anyway, back to this week! Not quite as many miles traversed in search of the dream, nor as many crits to attend, but we've been left feeling even more excited than last week!

Our week only began on Tuesday this time, with a visit to Phil Howells at The Raft in Wilmslow. Phil was one of the original partners at Pravda when it was just a wee bairn, but last winter he headed to The Raft in an attempt to create a thriving creative department there over the coming years. Pardon my common northernism, but he was a top bloke! As we've found with all of our crits, you have to be a sociable lot to do what we do - true to form, Phil continued that fuzzy advertising feeling that we love so much. A fair chunk of praise with some good advice thrown is more than we expected, and we were really happy to find that he was interested in us as the bright young things that we are, and the prospect of a junior team adding a little something more to the mix at The Raft. We left with the possibility of a placement, and kept our fingers crossed as we headed over the road to Driven (the agency founded by the likes of Graham Drury and Chris Lear) to see whether anybody was free to see us. Unfortunately they'd just been whisked off to a meeting, but we left our book there for them to peruse at leisure.

We do "Grrr" a lot (not sure why!)

Another break in the week on Wednesday saw us having our first proper chance to work on the brief which Paul Burns gave us last week, for which we hurried out our scamp ideas in the car this morning before seeing him again (and yes, we did tell him this!) So 11am today saw us back in good old East Didsbury. Cheery as ever, Paul led us back to the "soft corner" (squidgy couches - we like!) and had a gander at the progress we'd made. To our slight surprise, he really liked a few of our concepts and gave us some guidance on where to take the ideas from here. Again, placement was discussed, and we were over the moon when Paul said he'd like to bring us in some time. Though, as with many agencies at the moment, the present climate is seriously hampering any permanent job prospects. We'll be heading back to see Paul very soon having worked on his advice, and we may well be heading in for a while in November once there's room for us. Watch this space!

Then this afternoon we headed over to Deansgate to visit Stewart Dally, the head of design at BJL. Another great feedback session, laidback as ever and a good laugh (with our smut, it's always sure to be a winner!) and some more great guidance on where to take some of the campaigns in our book, though overall he said it was a very good book with lots of great concepts in there. Again, no room for us at the inn, but he was very keen to speak to Billy Mawhinney about us (unfortunately he was on a shoot today) in order to get us back in to see him and see if he agreed that we were placement-worthy. So we're very excited to be heading back to BJL soon too!

As the week stands, we're currently discussing the best time to begin placement at AND Partners, so it's unlikely to be Monday now. But Phil Howells got back to us today to let us know that he's just waiting for the go ahead from the MD to maybe get us in as soon as Monday - our empty gap may well have been filled, we shall wait and see! And we're just waiting on word from Driven about our book and whether they'd like us to go in to see them in person some time. So it's still all stations go, go, go here!

Hmmpf! Darn this pesky recession making things difficult for agencies and graduates alike! It is a little worrying to think that it could mean a seemingly endless array of placements over the coming months, possibly even years. But it just stokes us up to work even harder, hopefully giving even the most strained of agencies a reason to keep us on permanently in time. For now we're happy to be getting the response we have been, and looking forward to continuing that by whatever means possible.

There may well be more times of economic depression ahead. But this has been a good fortnight for us. And we're going to keep fighting for it until we get it. GRRRRR!!

Here, there and everywhere

2008-09-27T13:51:00.007+01:00

That's where me and Sarah have been this week (OK, so still only in the north, but us lasses don't get out much!)

So the search for our next placement started on Monday after having had a week of rest after finishing at Pravda. The week started with a trip to see Paul Burns (senior copywriter) at TBWA\Manchester. As me and Sarah only started working together just before Pravda, we took along our separate portfolios and a file of our work from Pravda, hoping for a little advice on how best we might put it all together. Brilliantly timed, we'd received a PDF of a leaflet for VivaLaDiva which had been accepted just before we left Pravda, so that was bunged in last minute too. Ended up just being our work from placement that Paul took a look at, and I think we were more than a little surprised at how well received it was! Obviously he gave a few pointers on how to better certain aspects of what we'd done at Pravda, but for now he said he didn't need to see our portfolios as he could see from our placement pieces how well we work together, and he complimented us on our confidence and banter (usually in the form of girly rambling!). So we were set a current live brief for Nissan and will be heading back to see him again next week.

Tuesday was a slightly busier day, with an early morning road trip to Brahm in Leeds, where we saw Paul Nichols (creative director). For those who aren't familar with them (as we weren't to start with) they do some of the regional work for brands such as Kelloggs and Warburtons. Again, another good book crit with most of our work well received, and a good idea of where to take it from here and mould it into one portfolio. Although Brahm don't ever take on junior teams, he was more than happy to have us come in for placement and to have us work alongside the seniors. Unfortunately we had to decline the offer, as the commute was over 2 hours each way for us, and no expenses paid. But as always, any contact is a good one to have!

Loving the visitors' passes we had to wear - VIP!

Then the afternoon saw us heading back to Manchester to Andrew Alty (creative director) at AND Partners. Similarly to Pravda, AND Partners is another up-and-coming agency who already have a rather impressive track record for winning pitches and awards, with some of their clients including CAT and Vimto. Hoping to build on their modest 14 staff in the next couple of years, we hoped we could possibly bring something to the table that would interest them. We spent a good hour-and-a-half with Andy, again giving us some really vauable advice on how best to construct our joint book, as well as which Pravda scamps he thought were worth showing to others. Left with a much better idea of where we were headed (quite literally - it's in the middle of nowhere!) and set off home for a day off.

Thursday saw our last crit of the week at Corporate Culture in Liverpool with Peter Henshaw (creative director) and Alan Mockler (head of copy). Dabbling more in design and creativity, they've done a lot of work for the NHS and Recycle Now (you know the ones - the cartoon-style ads where things are made of cans and the like). Had a really nice vibe about the place, and was great to finally be shown the work that they do, and not just showing our own. They seemed to really like us, but it was clear from the start that it would be another that'd be too difficult for us without having cars to reach it. So left there feeling a bit bummed out (pardon the expression) as we'd really have loved an opportunity to work there.

But not to fear, as Andrew Alty at AND Partners got in touch to say how keen he was to get us in for placement as soon as possible, so at the moment we've provisionally accepted his offer to start on the 6th October! But over the next week we have a few more book crits to go to, as well as heading back to TBWA to see Paul again. So we'll just have to see what happens!

Full-flavour behaviour

2008-09-14T14:38:00.002+01:00

A bit of a blast from the not so distant past here. Not quite sure why, but me and Sarah were discussing this old spot for Nescafe the other day. Probably because of the funky afro and all. Good times, good times!

Pastures new

2008-09-12T21:28:00.004+01:00

A bit of a mixed bag today, though overall feeling pretty happy with our present situation.

Well we finally had some decent time to chat with Simon over the last 2 days about our work and prospects, etc. Whilst he said he'd been impressed with how well we'd been working and very pleased at the pieces of ours which have been accepted by clients, the downside was that we discovered the placement role is just that - unfortunately there was to be no chance of something more permanent as all slots are filled in that capacity. And though we were told we'd be more than welcome to stay for one more week, the vote was unanimous that after having just polished up some final ideas for a client, it was time to cut loose now and end on a high note.

The 5 weeks we've spent at Pravda have done us wonders though! It's mainly been great to get that first experience of agency life, rather than hearing it second hand from people who are already out there doing it. To make it all the more pleasurable, we've had such a laugh doing it - a great bunch of jokers there who we were sad to leave behind (though we'll more than likely be back before they know it!), as well as the much needed breaks playing table football and ping pong! And who knows, we may well be back to work there again someday, but for now it's time to move on.

And move on we shall! We've had some exciting developments today, so we're off to another Manchester agency next week for a book crit, as well as awaiting a date to go to another in Leeds as well. Basically throwing ourselves at any contacts we have now in search of any help and advice, and hopefully our next placement.

Watch this space!

Long time no speak

2008-09-08T21:57:00.003+01:00

Not been particularly forthcoming with the placement info - busy, busy and all that!

Again me and Sarah have returned for another week, this one being the beginning of our fifth at Pravda. Things are still going well and having some really good responses to the work we've done on two briefs in particular. Fingers crossed for some more production-related good news, but we'll see.

Still pretty much in the dark as to what'll become of us - both Simon and Jim were off last Friday and today - hence why we were back in at 9am this morning as there'd been no one there to tell us not to : ) Hopefully we'll get chance soon to have a proper talk with one or both of them and work out where our fate lies - something more permanent at Pravda, or back to the dole queue?

Keep you posted once we have some answers!

One small step for man...

2008-09-02T20:31:00.004+01:00

...One giant leap for junior creatives!

Last week the creative department had the mammoth task of creating ads for one of Pravda's clients to encompass a whole range of their products. This resulted in hundreds of ads being put forward by all, with many rejected (of course!)

Upon Simon's return from the client pitch on Friday, one of mine and Sarah's largely whittled down batch made it's way back to us for amendments. And today we were told that it had been approved by the client and will be going into production very soon! Whoopage!

OK, so it's not earth shifting stuff. But after 3 weeks at Pravda, we're having something made, and this is one of many "firsts" to come for us. Hopefully those firsts will turn into the norm for us once we build our experience, but for now we're just happy to have achieved this one.

The long and short of it

2008-08-29T22:36:00.005+01:00

Possibly one of the most hectically short weeks Pravda has ever seen, with 3 major briefs finally near completion/signed off on. Needless to say, Simon didn't get to spend much time with me & Sarah what with everything going on, so we live to fight another week!

Unfortunately, Simon's off on his jollies now, so again we won't be seeing him. Looks set to be a much quieter week, so hopefully we can get stuck into all of the briefs on offer and give Simon even more of a reason to keep us for a fifth week!

Time to cross all appendages!

Busy, busy, busy!

2008-08-25T18:36:00.003+01:00

Bit of a hectic weekend, so this is just a quick update to say that me and Sarah will indeedy be gracing the halls of Pravda tomorrow. Simon is keeping us on for another week as he's been out of the office a lot over the last fortnight and so hasn't had much time to spend with us and see how we're getting on. Hopefully will have more of an idea about where we stand by Friday! : S

BRING ON THE TRUMPETS!!

2008-08-21T22:33:00.004+01:00

Finally! After observing an alarming rate of "Bring on the trumpets!" status changes on Facebook, I now know what the hell everyone's going on about. And ashamedly it was my own mother who told me! This placement malarkey is preventing me from viewing any form of televisual antics, be they terrestrial, digital, new ads - even my beloved Hollyoaks!

A big "hip, hip, hooray!" for YouTube, in all its video wonderment. These ads from The Natural Confectionery Company are great! Sweets. Camera. Someone to hold the camera. Someone to shout "Bring on the trumpets!". Simple, effective, quirky, and they tickled my funny place (though that isn't hard to be honest).

Enjoy!

(For extra oodles of fun, play all the clips at the same time - all you'll make out is the bear in the first ad saying "BRING ON THE TRUMPETS!")

One week down...

2008-08-16T22:48:00.004+01:00

...hopefully more than one to go!

Yesterday was already the halfway point of our placement at Pravda, and so far we've loved it! Everyone's made us feel welcome from the start, and it's almost like joining a family (I know that sounds utterly cheesy, but it's true).

Unfortunately one of the "family" left yesterday - lovely Paul from Accounts. He's going on to the bright lights in the hope of becoming an actor! So someone may have to take up his mantle of a daily chippy lunch (me and Sarah are doing it on Monday, but doing it every day is hardly gonna work wonders on the waistline!)

So as a farewell to Paul, here he is taking one for the team.
(Yes, it is tequila. And without the salt and lime.)

In other news, Wigan got it's very own mention in Campaign this week - turns out that McCann Erickson is set to form a social marketing campaign for the local area regarding issues such as obesity, cancer, and smoking and alcohol. Will be interesting to see what they come up with - can't say much for the cancer part, but we certainly have our fair share of pie-eating, chain smoking alcoholics round here! Cheers, Wigan!

Our first non-uni deadline!

2008-08-12T21:55:00.003+01:00

OK, so maybe we're a little sad, but after 3 years of "There'll be a crit on the new brief this time next week", it was surprisingly refreshing to have a deadline sprung on us today.

Still working on the live brief we were given yesterday, we tidied up some ideas and thought up some more before having a moment with Simon to go over our initial thoughts and check that we were headed down the right track/weren't completely out of our depth! A positive reaction for the two main thoughts we'd been working on, and we merrily toddled out of the office and sat down to tweak and think up some more. Around 1pm we're told that scamp layouts are needed by 4pm, if that's OK? PANIC STATIONS TO THE READY!! Except there was no panic, and it was pretty damn cool. We just went back through our ideas, decided which held the most promise, and I set about writing brief copy for them and making mock-up mailpacks (to work out the technicalities of some of them), whilst Sarah set about drawing them up. And by 4pm, we were done and dusted. Nothing like a bit of teamwork, eh?

Unfortunately I was on one of my many jaunts to the loo when Simon came to get them from us, but I returned to find that he liked 3 of our 4 executions and had taken them along to consult with Tim Trapp (Accounts). So all-in-all a really productive day for us, and left feeling like we'd made our first real step in the world of advertising.

Geeks! : )

Placement weight

2008-08-11T23:23:00.002+01:00

That's right - Unemployment Weight's trusty sidekick!

So today the day of commencement... commenced! Me and Sarah started our first placement at Pravda and set straight to work on the DM brief we were given (won't say much about it as not sure if I can or not). But had a really productive day I think - sure beat trying to think sat in Lloyd's Bar or Piccadilly Station! Has been a very long day, that being the only downside to it really. Me, living in stoopid Wigan, had to get up at 6:30am to make it to Pravda for 9am (only to be rammed into the train like a herd of sheep - put more carriages on the bloody train lol!), and we stayed til 6:30pm - hardcore! Well, not really, as I think we were only the second pair to leave. Seems like everyone pretty much stays quite late every day, and it's a bit rude to go "La-di-da, we're just a placement team so we'll bugger off at 5pm!". Not that I mind staying later, it's just a bitch trying to get back to Wigan, so only had my tea of solitary beans on toast (with Branston sauce - yum!) at 9pm. Feeling a little bit guilty for blogging instead of researching for tomorrow, but I am literally about to go to bed and get some decent kip for another long day tomorrow.

Hopefully me and Sarah will have another idea-fest tomorrow and can come up with something new and fresh to show Simon and Jim (the CDs) - seems from what we've heard from our friend Neale (who is literally sat right by us - just like old uni times!) that we're on the right wavelength with some of our initial thoughts, both on the DM we're working on now, and the campaign that preceded it. Was really good to see the finished articles that the agency had decided on, and that we'd a had a lot of similar thoughts over the last couple of weeks working on that brief before getting this placement. But as every good creative knows, you need to be able to do something different to stand out from the crowd and get those teeny-tiny toes in the door. Fingers crossed we can pull it off, and celebrate with ice cream!

I mention ice cream because we had some today. Just because : ) But the long days at agencies spell trouble for the old waistline again - just when we thought we'd be shifting that unemployment weight, it's been replaced by the dreaded placement weight!

Dilemma

2008-08-08T14:33:00.003+01:00

Life's a bitch sometimes, ain't it? In this mad world of advertising, nothing's ever certain. But as tough as it is, I kind of buzz off that - the drama, the tears (usually from me lol), the "Eureka!" moments - it's all worthwhile in the end. Or at least I bloody well hope so! : )

What exactly am I rambling on about? Well, I finally got word from Frank the agency (where I went for the interview a few weeks back) telling me that I'd made the final shortlist of 3 possible candidates and if I'd go back in on Thursday next week. When I'm at Pravda : S Cue me panicking about what to do!

Resulted in a hour of me weighing up my options and all the pros and cons involved. At the end of the day, it was never going to affect the Pravda placement - full steam ahead to that, I say! But it came down to not having a clue what'll happen after the placement. Fingers crossed me and Sarah will remain a fixture there for awhile if they like us and our work enough. But nothing's certain, and in the meantime I'm the skintest person in Skintsville.

So what's it to be - love or money? Heart or head? The answer should be easy, but I don't think it ever is for anyone. Frank need an Account Exec who can forge long-term relationships with their clients and be in it for the long-haul. And as much as I'd love the chance to embrace my scarily oraganised and bossy side, I can't guarantee them that. As sad as I am to decline it, I just have to be happy that I made an impression on them, and maybe they'll be interested in this crazy cookie further down the line.

In the end my heart won - being bossy may be what I do best, but it isn't what I love (...well, sometimes!) Being creative is one of the biggest challenges I ever put upon myself - academia was my thing at high school and I sometimes struggled to get my head around art or graphics projects, but I've never been one to take the easy route - where's the fun in that? Placements may not pay well, but why go into a job just for the money if it won't make you (or your employer) happy?

Whatever happens, if I follow my dream then I can never be disappointed, right?

Unemployment weight

2008-08-07T10:00:00.005+01:00

That's what Sarah calls these needless extra pounds we've both put on in the last couple of months. But fingers crossed it should soon start to be shed as of Monday - because we have our first placement!

Completely unexpected turn of events yesterday - had an ominous text from our friend Neale who works at Pravda first thing in the morning, saying we would be contacted at some point during the day. Instant "whoop whoop" alarm bells going off and everything. Trust me to have chosen yesterday to spend watching The Dark Knight (which ROCKS by the way!) and Mamma Mia! (which doesn't rock quite so much). Spent a nervous 4 hours waiting for a call and to duck out of the cinema, but only had updates from Sarah and what the secretaries were telling her whenever she rang.

Finally the long buzzing of joy in my pocket happened at the end of Mamma Mia! (my phone on vibrate, you dirty minded buggers!), but being hemmed in by loads of old people, I couldn't get out to answer it. Luckily Sarah was getting the call at the same time, and text me to let me know the joyous news! Still a little unsure of where it all came from out of the blue - it's 2 weeks since I visited Pravda, and over a month since Sarah did. Whether they heard that we'd since teamed up and decided to call us in, who knows? All I know is that we're very excited to have been given an opportunity so soon : )

It starts as a 2 week placement, but hopefully it can be much longer once they're bowled over by the extent of our hard work and awesomeness : ) Here's me and Sarah having some awesome moments:

After the good news was confirmed, I got back to Neale to let him know (in a rather excited manner). His words to us? "Are you prepared for all the hard work?" And the answer?

Hell yes, we are! But the question is: are Pravda ready for us? : )

Mediawank

2008-08-03T18:42:00.002+01:00

You can't help but love these!

Well it's only polite to...

2008-08-03T18:15:00.007+01:00

Me and my trusty new partner, Sarah, got together for our first brainstorming (sorry, "thought showering" - wouldn't like to upset all the PC people out there!) session, so I thought it time to introduce you all to our world.

The location: Lloyd's Bar, Manchester.
The time: 11:30am - 4:00pm (oh yes, we are hardcore party advertisers).
And the "we've made some good progress" treats: a big fat plate of fish & chips for us both! : )

Good times!

Luckily both me and Sarah are in similar situations right now - skint and in need of a creative kick up the arse! I can't yet say anything for our partnership solving our money problems, but the creative cogs are moving once again after hibernating for a couple of months. Another plus is that me and Sarah are.. well, we're me and Sarah! Anyone who knows us knows we're absolute idiots (in the good way, of course) and she may possibly be even more dirty minded than me - winner!

Here's Sarah in action:

And one of the many constructive products of our few hours together:

Take from these images what you will : )

All in an hour's work

2008-07-25T17:52:00.002+01:00

One phonecall and three emails later, I have arranged another meeting with Simon at Pravda, blagged two briefs off him, and enlisted my good friend Sarah to be my partner in kicking some advertising ass!

Time to get out there and get those jobs before anyone else does!

Pravda

2008-07-24T21:07:00.007+01:00

Yesterday saw me heading off to the bright shiny lights *cough* of Manchester again, this time to visit Simon Sinclair at Pravda. Having walked past the building 3 times, I eventually worked out which one number 35 was (damn all the other buildings having no numbers!) and merrily lugged my trusty portfolio up 3 flights of stairs. Only to find that Simon had been called to an important meeting, and that Jim (the other CD) was also unavailable. So waiting for someone to tend to me, I spotted my friend Neale sat in his little booth (he's been working there since February), and duly wandered over for a chat - as you do.

Not long after I was seen by Cat, who so far has spoken the most sense regarding my portfolio - hurray! Here's what she had to say:

*Thin it down for starters! Currently carrying too much around for each brief - as long as 3 main press/poster executions are in there for each brief and maybe a couple of extended pieces, then it's much easier to go through. I'd had a suspicion there was far too much in it (based on me struggling to hump it here, there, and everywhere with me!), but as yet no one had mentioned that - don't fix what ain't broken, and all that!

*Start with my second strongest work, and end with the strongest. Been told many times to start and end well, but have yet to work out what that means for the ordering of my work, based on the varied responses I've had.

*Overall she seem pretty pleased with the work gone into it and that I didn't just stick to one or two types of media, and told me that I shouldn't have any trouble becoming a copywriter with the range of different copy in there and the quality of the writing. This made me very happy : D

*Generally speaking, I just need to sift out the shit in order to raise the overall standard of my portfolio, as the tag-along pieces have been sucking the life out of the good work in there for quite some time (and by god, am I going to enjoy ripping some of them to shreds!)

*Best briefs seemed to be: Slavery, Best Beginnings and Play-Doh (again, much to my joy, being my baby and all!), with a few good strong ideas in my work for Talk and Smart Car.

*GHD and Pacamac were doing little for her, which I'd be inclined to agree with. And there was something about Milk that just wasn't clicking with her - like I'd tried to go a little too far to be different, though she liked my thinking in using unconventional benefits.

All together, a really good feedback session with a lot of advice to be working on : ) Think it may be time to kill Pacamac once and for all - hated that brief as of around May 19th (yes, I do remember the date, and yes, I am a freak), and only Alan Young really seemed to buzz off it, suggesting it was good enough to come first in the portfolio. With all due respect - no way, Jose! For now I'll hang on to Milk, as both Cat and Alan Young both didn't seem to connect with it, but a lot of people loved it. One more "Nah, sorry, I just don't get it" and it will definitely be time to consider dropping it completely.

Fingers crossed I'll be seeing Simon very soon - sent him an email earlier to request his time again and he seemed more than happy to oblige, so a call to Pravda to arrange another meeting will be happening tomorrow. Watch this space!

Baby steps

2008-07-22T14:56:00.005+01:00

As of last Friday, I am officially a fully fledged advertising baby! Obviously Friday was graduation, and the final door closed on all things uni. Of course, with it being held in Preston at the Guild Hall, everyone got soaked in the crap weather. Plus those capes are stupid and fall off small people's shoulders (i.e. my shoulders) - you think they'd make teeny-tiny versions for the midgets! And then I got cracked on the head with a mortarboard as they all came crashing down. But other than that, it was a really good day! : )

Now I just need to bag myself a job! Heading to an agency in Manchester tomorrow, so fingers crossed it goes well!

frank

2008-07-15T21:58:00.006+01:00

No, not my ex-tutor Frank! Today I had an interview at frank the agency in Wilmslow. On a bit of a whim, I'd applied for the role of Trainee Account Executive a few weeks ago having found it on one of my many trails through the job sites recently. I'd had an email to say that they'd received my application and would be in touch shortly. Much to my surprise, I received another email last week (while I was on holiday - typical!) asking me to go in for an interview. I know, shocking stuff!

So today was the day. My first interview since... *thinking back to my "youth" now* ...well, since my uni interview in 2005! Not one for nerves (I do have the gift of the gab after all), I merrily trotted along to the train station and made my way there. Never having been to Wilmslow before (and being blonde), I got a little lost. Then once I found my way again, I walked straight past Camelia House where frank resides! Though I blame my Google map for that. Luckily I was half an hour early anyway, so I had a little while to acquaint myself with their many awards certificates on the wall as I comfied myself on the couch with the latest Campaign. This was my attempt to look professional, whilst my tiny little legs dangled just off the edge of my seat - not quite the look I was going for, but one cannot help one's midget features!

Then a little before time, I was beckoned into the boardroom, where Mike Smirthwaite and Carl Edwards sat. (Here they are):

Thankfully it was all very laidback - they were both such nice chaps, and the whole thing went surprisingly better than I'd ever thought it would! Even the tough questions like: "Would you say that advertising has a positive impact on our society and the economy?" I managed to answer without sounding like a complete div (or at least I hope so), and I'd like to think that they thought I had something about me and could possibly be good for the job. After finding out a little more about it, I realised what a big deal it would be to bag a job like that, and everything involved in it. Whoever lands the job will have to gen up on their London Eye account with the help of the current Account Director, in order to have any clue what's going on when heading down to London to consult with the client. It also means having the guts to handle the client's needs and write briefs for the creative team in line with these needs so that they can produce the work required. And then having the balls to say to them "No, no, no! That isn't right for the client, I can't go to them with that!" and have them bin it. To then pitch the final work to the client and hope you needn't suffer their wrath this time around! All in all, a very important job indeed. Admittedly, the prospect of it scared me a little, and it isn't the hands-on creative approach I'd love to go into advertising with. But it could be such an amazing opportunity if I were short-listed for the job and was offered it. Hmmmm. *Ponders a little*

At the moment I have a couple of weeks to be thinking about it, as some of their candidates are on holiday, so I have a chance to be weighing up my options should they come back to me with a positive answer. In the meantime, I do have a trip to another agency planned for next week to get some more professional feedback on my book. And as Mike and Carl said to me after seeing my book (I took it along just for the chance for more views on it, though it wasn't necessary for the interview), they asked why on earth I'd applied for the position when I have the capabilities of an advertising creative. I guess my answer would have to be - I just want to get into advertising! I don't see the harm in trying every route that interests me. Some people have tried to deter me from the life of an advertising "suit", but it is something that appeals to my anally retentive organised bossy side, so I'm willing to persue it until I'm proved that it isn't the route for me.

Anyway, enough of my rambling about what may or may not be! At the moment I'm feeling pretty good about the state of my life (though if you'd asked me 24 hours ago, I would've said the complete opposite!) It can be very discouraging having no money and no partner with whom to make the process of entering the crazy world of advertising a little easier. But I've realised that even if I can't afford to take on any placements at the moment, it's really important that I get my lazy ass out there and start making some contacts now and getting some feedback.

So, yeah! ...I'm gonna go and do that... right now... before I change my mind... : )

Licky licky?

2008-07-04T19:56:00.004+01:00

Still no sign of the latest controversial ad making a reappearance on our screens. But when I saw that the Starburst Choozers ad was back on TV for summer, it did make me wonder why it has yet to be pulled from prime-time viewing. Don't get me wrong, I find it appalling that supposedly "modern day" parents have such negative views on what is merely a little lighthearted entertainment from Heinz. But surely a policeman licking a bloke's face is more homosexual than a quick peck on the lips between a gay couple?

See what you think (and watch the policeman's expression - naughty naughty!)

Exceedingly Crap Advertising

2008-07-03T20:28:00.003+01:00

Why? Why do this? Why kill Mr. Kipling's much loved strapline? And in such a monstrous way?

OK, so it's not the end of the world, but this ad just smacks of 2006 to me - the jittery "happy happy!" joviality of it is very wartime England, and has been done to death (pardon the pun). Which I'm fine with. When it makes for good advertising that is.

Death by tray it shall be!

2008-07-03T13:04:00.004+01:00

Here are a couple of Lego re-enactments of Eddie Izzard's stand up. Star Wars canteen is my personal favourite, though I hadn't realised that there was someone out there who's put together these hilarious little scenes for so many of his sketches! Yet more comedy that has me struggling to keep my pants dry! (No, I do not have bladder problems, thank you very much!)

More, more, more!

2008-07-02T23:28:00.007+01:00

I tell you what, you guys certainly get your money's worth out of me! Purely because I know how much you all love my blog, I've set up a new section for photography which you can find in the sidebar to the right (or you can see it at http://deviant-monkey-pics.blogspot.com/)

So go ahead, be amazed by my talent! : P

To breastfeed or not to breastfeed, that is the question

2008-06-29T00:21:00.003+01:00

Hahaha thought I'd check out some ads for things that I was recently advertising at uni, and came across this disgusting but hilarious viral for Marmite.

Enjoy! Or maybe not!

The barefaced cheek of it

2008-06-28T18:41:00.004+01:00

*Sigh* As expected, this putting of one's foot on the proverbial ladder to an amazing career is going slowly. Unfortunately standing on a roof and shouting "I have a 2:1 in Advertising!" won't get agencies flocking for my services (though I haven't actually tried it...) I've even resorted to dole dossing in a bid to get some money coming in (a little unnerving walking into the job centre in Wigan and instantly getting the impression the chav posse are going to kick your head in!)

But hey, it's just for a little while (dear lord, I hope so!) and I have applied for a few junior copywriter positions in the meantime. And when boredom strikes, perhaps I'll send some more cheeky little emails to the recruitment people at McCann Erickson! You don't get if you don't ask, after all! : )

So yeah, just to let you guys know what I'm up to at the moment besides working on the old folio - reworking some of the old stuff after having seen Alan Young at New Blood, and will see where it goes. Going to keep a look out for other brands to be having a crack at in the meantime though - feeling like I need something totally new and exciting (or even mind-numbingly boring) to stoke my creative engines.

Until my day of creative reckoning dawns, look out for more unemployed ramblings here! : )

"We've got the odd loan here, the odd credit card there..."

2008-06-27T23:01:00.003+01:00

No doubt this has appeared on tons of blogs since I first saw it last year, but trailing YouTube for something to make me laugh, I couldn't help but wet myself at this little lot for the third time in a row.

I didn't really wet myself though. Honest.

Two trains, 4 Tubes, and a book crit later...

2008-06-26T21:56:00.016+01:00

Yesterday finally saw me heading off to the Big Smoke (London) for New Blood. Unfortunately I couldn't be there for the full 4 days of events and talks, but managed to get down just for the day for my book crit. A little bit daunting heading down there on my bill from Wigan, but surprisingly one of the best things I've ever done.

A great venue having it at Brompton Halls at Earls Court (though may I say - thank God for maps!), and after finally figuring out where I even was in the room, I made my way to the University of Central Lancashire stand... to find it deserted. Starting to feel a little panicky by this point and not having a clue where to go, I got a classmate to come and find me there and lead me like the stray sheep I was, only to find everyone in the crit area. Said my "how do's" and headed over to register (again, not having a clue where to go lol!)

And so the moment of commencement.. commenced! A little before noon I was escorted (or should I say, my name shouted out and a finger pointing me in the right direction) to Alan Young from St. Luke's. Luckily the nerves settled pretty much as soon as I sat down - great bloke, full of enthusiasm and great ideas to prod me in the right direction. Was pretty surprised to not be told "Shit. Shit. That's shit too. Utter bollocks." - not that I thought my work was crap, I just thought London would be ruthless! Thankfully he had a lot of really positive things to say about each of my campaigns, and even the work which wasn't taken quite so well always had a positive new idea to come out of it. My portfolio was more or less untouched from the deadline at uni, and the general gist was:

*Slavery - well put together, well written copy, and thumbs up for using my own photography in most executions, but it lacked a core thought for each piece to hang off.

*Talk - wasn't keen on the more graphical executions as they were doing little to actually persuade people to talk, but liked the notion of targetting people wherever their eyes wander on public transport to avoid talking to strangers, and also the thought of a Talk Zone.

*Best Beginnings - very little said to be honest, no huge reaction or negatives begot from this, though he liked the sweet imagery of my "Belong" execution in particular.

*Pacamac - the dark horse that it is! This campaign I was ready to banish from my portfolio, never to be seen again. But he saw it in a new light and loved the simple strategic thinking of "Be prepared" and using non-weather related water incidents as ammunition to sell the product, and challenged me to make an event out of the product - to get the consumer actively involved in the brand through the use of flashmobbing and the like (which obviously is the best form of advertising there is).

*Smart Car - liked my size-based executions and felt that to crack this campaign I needed to focus on just one aspect of the car, so possibly looking into how the Smart Car can get you places that other cars can't. Again making physical events out of the idea and having the cars placed where people would be shocked and amused to see them.

*Milk - a reaction I wasn't quite prepared for! Being one of my better achievements at uni, I felt that this campaign said a lot about me (which he guessed at the end when he asked which campaign I thought was most akin to my personality). Don't get me wrong, he liked how I'd chosen an unconventional route to show how milk benefits our everyday lives, but he said it had some way to go in his eyes. Where exactly, I'm not sure just yet!

There you have it, the (very) edited account of my book crit. I'm definitely seeing other routes into my work now that I feel were previously blocked to me - when you've worked day and night (literally) to meet a deadline, you kind of lose sight of what it is that gives your work that extra kick up the arse that it needs. Yesterday was the time to take my babies into the light of day and see whether I was going to have to kill them or not! And I'd just like to say a big thank you to Alan for his time and helping me to think more outside the box than I have done for awhile! Looking forward to implementing his advice and seeing where it takes me now!

Crit Central (clearly after it had finished)

So for the rest of the afternoon I meandered the maze of stalls (certain I'll have missed some!) having a good old nosey at the competition as well as soaking up the atmosphere of being in a place with more like-minded people than I've probably ever met in my life before! The buzz was just great, and got chatting to a couple of people on other stalls about their work and where they hoped the future was taking them - a breath of fresh air compared with being in Wigan, I tell you!

Here's some of my lot from uni in our stall

My chosen work in our booth

Once my classmates left I was all on my tod again (everybody say "awww!") so had another mooch around to find more stalls yet undiscovered (seriously, hallelujah for the map!) and then had a wander over to the Pecha Kucha event that was happening - and wished I'd been there for all of it! Highlight of the few that I saw had to be Jaki Jo - a spunky (and I'm sure she'd appreciate the term!) Australian whose slideshow consisted of illustrations of herself to represent her different feelings in life (such as her penis envy, which she was very forward about in the image depicting her with a penis at a urinal!) - just laugh out loud good fun all the way through, not to mention the fact that she was still in her cap and gown after graduating in the morning! Definitely a place for her in stand-up comedy if design ever deserts her!

Jaki Jo in action

And her penis envy piece!

After Pecha Kucha finished, Hayley sadly left the building lol. Had an amazing day there, and left with a lot more in my head than when I entered, which is always a rewarding feeling. But the event was finishing, and CyberCandy in Covent Garden was calling out to me for my unusual sweet fixation (chocolate cigarettes still exist - and I'm 6 years old again, woohoo!) Then with heavy bag of goodies, and heavier still portfolio, I had a trundle round to the market area, only to find the most brilliant street performer I've ever seen (again, coming from Wigan, that isn't really saying much!). Tossing diablos and juggling with 5 balls are all entertaining things. But to get on a 12 foot unicycle and juggle two machetes and an apple, and then proceed to EAT the apple... well... I'm not sure there's a word for how good (or how freaking crazy) that is!

Crazy man!

So, an eventful day to say the least! Another sweaty Tube ride back up to King's Cross and a "fuck this!" moment when I saw how full the Tube to Euston was, I opted to lug my portfolio and goodies along the street (not entirely certain that I was walking in the right direction, this being only my second visit to London and all), and met with a few odd looks from a Chinese couple who seemed a little concerned at the state of my breathing by this point. Exhausted but content, I tucked into my tea on the train and thought:
"It's a tough gig, but I can do this advertising lark."

And then I made my brother carry my portfolio home for me : )

A lifetime of education awaits!

2008-06-07T23:22:00.012+01:00

So, the opening of our degree show took place last night! It was great to finally see how everything came together for us all and to be able to appreciate all the hard work put in - we might have seen each other working flat out for the last 4 weeks until deadline, but I don't think anyone really took onboard any of the work (it's difficult to when all you're thinking about is where your next Red Bull is coming from!) But it all worked out in the end, and last night was our final celebration of all we've achieved, and hopefully of all the things we can go on to achieve because of it.

Finally managed to sit back and relax (or should I say run around and drink?) and enjoy it. Had a lot of positive response to my work which is always great to hear, and has given me that boost I need to throw myself back into a new portfolio and get back up on that advertising bandwagon of fun right now.

Though my work is featured on my other blog now, I thought I'd share a few of the photos from the show too.

External Project - Slavery, Best Beginnings, Talk

Honours Project (part 1) - Smart Car

Honours Project (part 2) - Milk, Pacamac

And me with my work

Happy though I am with the final result, it was somewhat sad to think that last night was one of the final times we'll all be together, and I woke up this morning feeling different (though that may have been due to the booze!) - 3 years at uni finally coming to a close. No more formal education after this, just the big scary world of education waiting out there : S But as I always say - BRING IT ON! : )

PS - For anybody interesting in coming along to check out his year's advertising talent from good old Prestonia, the show is currently open to the public over the next week, the times being:
Monday 9th - Thursday 12th June, 10am - 7pm
Friday 13th June, 10am - 5pm
Saturday 14th June, 9am - 3pm
Be sure to check out everything going on in Victoria Building (University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE) - amazing shows from Graphic Design, Games Design, Animation, Illustration, Interior Design, Fashion... the list goes on!

Day 2 in the Life of Hayley

2008-05-26T23:02:00.007+01:00

OK, so Day 2 is nearly over. But I am now a fully fledged advertising baby! Uni has officially endeth as of 4pm on Friday - all that's left now is to wait for results day and finally graduate in July (cap and gown joy - woohoo!)

Basically this is just my "HI, I'M BACK!!" post to let you all know that I'm still alive after it all. Currently uploading some of my work from final submission onto a separate blog (http://deviant-monkey-bits.blogspot.com/) which you can find a link to in the sidebar, so check it out and let me know what you think.

So... yeah... I'm not really sure what to say now! Just enjoying catching up on sleep for a couple of days (many more all-nighters to endure in the real world of advertising, I'm sure!), and I'm going to get started on a new portfolio tomorrow to hopefully get me well on my way to some jolly spiffing places!

For now I'll say goodnight, but you'll be hearing from me again VERY SOON : )

The world is caving in!

2008-05-06T22:07:00.006+01:00

OK, so it isn't really, it just feels that way at the moment. Only 2 and-a-half weeks to go now, and the pressure is really on. But hey, you know what? I'm sick of doing the whole "boo-hoo, I'm never gonna get this finished", because that attitude is getting me nowhere. Instead, I'm going to crank the music up loud and just enjoy the work - when all's said and done, this degree isn't the end of the world, but it means a hell of a lot to me, so all I can do is try my damned hardest for the result I want. And if I don't get it? Tough titties, cos I sure ain't doing another 3 years at uni! : )

So this is me signing out for the next 17 days, and hopefully the next time you hear from me, your eyes will be feasting on many a visual delight (and if not, then I'm shutting this blog down and going to silently sob into a bar of chocolate lol!)

For anyone who is interested or may be able to offer some insight into the briefs, these are the campaign thoughts I'm working on:

* "Where will your next conversation take you?"
- MPA ROSES Talk
* "Use your assets" - D&AD Breastfeeding
* "Our trust is in you" - SAATCHI & SAATCHI Slavery

* "Always prepared" - Pacamac
* "Smart thinking" - Smart Car
* "A world without milk is a mad world" - Milk

Over and out!

The end of an era

2008-04-24T21:17:00.005+01:00

*Sob sob* Today was our final crit ever whilst in the care of the lovely Frank & Lin, but at least it was a good one! Feel like I had a breakthrough with my work for the Milk brief, and REALLY starting to get my brain ticking over all my work from this year - which lucky few will make it to the final portfolio and degree show, and which are going to die a horrible and untimely death?

As for the amazing Milk brief in question, my campaign is based around a world with no milk, and the consequences this would have. So now it's time to EXTEND, EXTEND, EXTEND and bash out some stonkingly ace work for it! Here are just a couple of my initial rough ideas for the campaign:

Really looking forward to knuckling down and getting it done now. It's amazing what a bit of good feedback or even just a fab brief can do for your confidence and morale. Right now I'm just thinking BRING IT ON!! There's no way this last hurdle is going to defeat me, and I'll work my ass off so much, it'll be physically sore by the end of it lol!

So hey, while you're waiting for my next "Genius Update", take a look at this ace milk ad I found on trusty YouTube. Obviously a rip-off/pastiche, but oh so funny at the same time - love it!

Breath-taking

2008-04-19T18:58:00.005+01:00

Here's Sony's latest advertising delight for us, promoting their cameras & camcorders. Had been seeing sneaky-peek footage of this foam malarkey for ages, but wasn't really sure how it was going to end. Again with a great musical score to back it up, it may not be half as impressive to watch as the Bravia "balls" ad (in my opinion, it'll be a struggle for them to ever out-do that), but I love this nonetheless. I think it's just something about capturing the images that are important to you, be it as a professional or just someone with a love of the strange, that makes this ad so great. I know that if a mass of foam suddenly descended upon me, I'd grab for my camera first and foremost (well, maybe after screaming a little and thinking I was going to die lol!)

Another amazing ad that I stumbled upon a week or so ago and has fast become the leading topic amongst my peers, is the new Schweppes "burst" ad. Maybe, just maybe, this could be the ad to rival the greatness of Sony Bravia "balls"? Coldplay track just finishes this ad perfectly to create an event so beautiful it might just be perfection itself.

Holy frickin' hell!

2008-04-16T22:57:00.003+01:00

So, yesterday started with a sickly feeling and a butterfly-full stomach in anticipation (or sheer dread) of the GHD presentation at TBWA. The option to stay in bed and catch up on my sleep was looking rather appealing, but not one for regrets, I forced myself out of bed and into uni.

Where of course there was a slight feel of "panic stations!" as most were still putting the finished touches to their work. Luckily a bunch of the girls went en masse to the agency, so the nervous feeling subsided and I just decided the best plan was to take whatever was going to happen as constructively as possible, and just be thankful for the experience.

However, by the time we'd finally got there (3 trains and 1 bus later), the nerves had reared their ugly head again! Luckily Mick and Rich (the creative directors we were pitching to) were two of the nicest guys we could've hoped for, and the presentation went really well (aside from me turning into a life-sized beetroot the moment I stood up to speak!) Really constructive criticism from both of them, and had my suspicions confirmed about what was lacking from my campaign and how to remedy it. But all-in-all they seemed to like it (no "hallelujah!" moment, but still seemed positive) and thought the thinking behind "Never be in two minds again" was perfect for how I'd executed it so far, so I was glad I wouldn't have to go home and bludgeon myself to death in a state of despair lol!

Feeling much more at ease now about when I'm finally taking my book on the rounds after graduating now I have more of an idea of what to expect. Though somehow I doubt I'll ever find another whose boardroom is at the top of a converted church building!

And so, the end is near!

2008-04-13T17:26:00.010+01:00

First week back at uni has been eventful to say the least! Thrown into 2 crits first thing in the week, with the third intended for Thursday being called off. And why was that, you ask? Well let's just say that the spirit of the English Seaside brief we should've been presenting got the better of us, and we wound up at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Aside from the walk from car to theme park, the seaside was never actually seen! But hey, majority vote rules, and we wanted to act like big kids for the day instead - hell, even our tutor got caught up in the immense experience that is In Fusion lol!

This is possibly the closest we'll ever come to a full class photo, but hey!

This upcoming week is gonna be stress-fuelled to start with I'd imagine, as the time has finally come for our visit to TBWA in Manchester to pitch our GHD ideas to the creative director. Needless to say, some are less than keen at the prospect of getting full-on slated by an actual dude in the business, but I'm just looking forward to seeing my first agency and hopefully setting my mind at ease that they're not some big old dungeon-type places where you're whipped and beaten until you come up with work that isn't such a bag of crap.

GHD was hardly my favourite brief to begin with (and all through the middle, and right near the end too), but luckily it all came together for the final class crit we had in February. Now it's just a matter of getting it looking like the dog's danglers (not literally) and hopefully making a good impression.

So here it is - just about done all I can do with them and my Photoshop skill (or possibly lack thereof lol!):

The basic idea was to promote GHD's new gloss black and gloss white straighteners (which stupidly, we don't even know what they look like because they're not available to buy yet), the main onus being on the choices open to women when opting for one or the other. Though the imagery in my press ads is evocative and somewhat "black" in nature, the whole purpose is to put across a feeling of confidence to women, and the notion that whichever colour they should choose, this is a confidence that they'll carry with them always and will affect the way in which they make future decisions. I tried to encapsulate this in the line "Never be in two minds again", making women feel that with the confidence in their new looks, they can be the all powerful women they've always wanted to be, with no more worry or fretting over pleasing anybody but themselves.

Whether the layouts are OK is a whole other thing (as obviously to attempt an actual shoot for these would be difficult, with not many long-maned goddess-types out there), but as far as the idea and executions go, I'm feeling reasonably confident about pitching them on Tuesday. And hey, if they don't like it then that's only their opinion! That's right people, I'm trying on a little optimism for size to see if it suits me.

Well I'm sure I'll be on here again by the end of the week in order to let you all know how it went (and whether my optimism is still intact, or has ended up in the same place as my work lol!)

46 days to go!

2008-04-07T00:05:00.001+01:00

So, in about 7 hours time I'll be dragging myself from my pit for the first day back in class after Easter. Not much looking forward to the early mornings and nearly falling asleep on the train every morning, but hey, it's only 46 days til final deadline!

This is something my classmates are well aware of, as each day I've been updating my Facebook status just to keep them up-to-date with just how many days are actually left. Needless to say, they don't like this system!

So as a little homage to the final stretch of the ol' degree, here is Europe with The Final Countdown for you! (Funnily enough, this song was playing in the ambulance when my mum was being taken to hospital in labour with me - hmm, coincedence?)

Narf!

2008-04-06T22:22:00.008+01:00

My earlier post resulted in "They're dinky, the Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, BRAIN" resounding in my head all afternoon, so I just had to get my Pinky and the Brain fix and figured I'd share it with you all.

And here's the Animaniacs (where Pinky and the Brain found their fame). Seriously, anyone born post-2000 just hasn't lived! These are the cartoons that made me into the wholesome and well-rounded young woman that I am today (no comments please!) Good times, good times!

Just one more video from Tiny Toons. Sad to say that having discovered these on YouTube, I've been bopping around in my seat and even managing to sing along to parts (yes, the men in white coats were unsuccessful in their attempts to track me down).

So for anyone else who remembers these cartoons (and if you don't, then WHY NOT?!), this post is basically me publicly reminiscing my lost youth and giving you a little insight as to why I turned into such an unusual adult.

Enjoy!

And tonight Pinky, we're going to take over the world!

2008-04-06T16:29:00.003+01:00

They're bloody everywhere! Yes, as an advertising creative I've had to learn to "love" those pesky Macs, but do they really need to have a finger in every pie? I just had to laugh out loud when I saw this today as I was playing Animal Crossing on my Nintendo DS (yes, NINETENDO, not APPLE!)

The world has officially gone Apple crazy!

More chocolate-covered goodness!

2008-03-29T21:33:00.001Z

The new ad from the "Glass and a Half Full" production team of Cadbury's lacks a gorilla, but certainly makes up for it with a sweet (pardon the pun!) convoy of airport vehicles taking to the runway to race it out after hours. A little too much build up and not enough funny moments within the "race" itself, but still made me chuckle. The highlight is most definitely the slow-motion truck launching itself over the discarded luggage - classic!

Maybe the gorilla was driving one of the trucks, hmm?

Chocolate-covered holiday goodness

2008-03-18T23:42:00.029Z

Easter hols are finally here so figured now was the best time to get my arse in gear and sort out some lovely work to entertain you all with. As promised, my entry for the MPA Roses competition is here now. The brief in question was titled "Talk", the purpose being to encourage people to talk more on public transport. Not being a stranger and all that jazz.

So here it is! *Drumroll please, maestro!*

Also, this time last week an event was held at The Cube in Manchester to showcase the winners of the MPA awards along with some of the runners-up. Unfortunately my work didn't make it to the winners' wall, but did make it to the runners-up. Needless to say, I was rather chuffed!

Last week also saw our class being thrown into a familiar mess of foamboard and bubble wrap for those of us entering D&AD. By Thursday the work was done, though some of it last minute (it just wouldn't be D&AD without a little stress added to the mix!) At the end of the day I entered the Best Beginnings breastfeeding brief, along with the What Else Do You Do? brief at the eleventh hour.

Best Beginnings breastfeeding entry (postcards):

What Else Do You Do? entry (own photography):

As before with MPA, all that's left is to wait and see what happens, though judging only takes place in late April. Pleased with my entries nevertheless, so now it's time to crack on with everything else! It's 9 weeks this Friday until our final deadline for all of our uni work to be done and dusted. Needless to say, I'm starting to get a little worried! We also have a trip to TBWA in Manchester coming up on 15th April for the GHD brief, so best get my skates on sharpish! It's all work, work, work in this gig! : )

The Good, the Bad, and the Just Plain Gruesome

2008-03-12T23:24:00.008Z

The worst cancer awareness campaign in the history of anything. EVER. I mean come on - who the hell wrote this brief? We've heard of fussy clients who dumb down potentially amazing work, but for one to give something like this the go-ahead? Well, let's just say that particular someone is probably going to be out of a job soon!

The icing on this disgusting cake has got to be the little graphic man - like we want to be shown a bleeding arsehole, even if it is only a cartoon!

If I ever find somebody who believes this to be a good way of communicating with an easily scared audience, then I will place that person upon a pedestal. And throw large rocks at them.

Monkey boy!

2008-03-02T22:51:00.004Z

Choo-choo! Next stop, Comedy Central! You may have noticed a slight comedic theme going on here, but hey that's me - love a good chuckle I do : ) The god of comedy himself this time - oh how I love this man! Probably the funniest of his jokes and you'll never look at horses in the same way again! If there was ever a good excuse to piss your pants, this is it right here!

Snot bubbles

2008-02-27T20:33:00.005Z

More 90's televisual delight for you here with The Gogs. Another of my childhood favourites - wish they still showed these at Christmas, though I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be allowed to air anymore without some serious editing of violence and winkies!

If only they still made them like this!

2008-02-26T19:21:00.003Z

Classic clip from Dinosaurs here. Absolutely loved this program as a kid (does still loving it mean I'm just a big kid?) If you never watched it then where the hell where you during the 90's?!

Some firm but gentle prodding (just how I like it!)

2008-02-26T18:48:00.002Z

Slightly late post, but hey, you'll just have to get used to that with me! Yesterday we were lucky enough to have 2 ex-students come in to chat to us about their lives in the industry so far and giving us some sound advice on what to do to ram down the door at JWT/Saatchi & Saatchi/BBH/TBWA/McCann Erickson (delete as applicable) and get ourselves some stonkingly fab jobs. Obviously nobody could ever be as awe-inspiring as the god of BBH (loving the Hegarty!) but these lads had their heads screwed on right and were great to talk to.

I managed to get in to see Paul with my portfolio (a tad extensive as it was, oops!) and was glad of the time he could give me to go over my work and give me some pointers (and cruel dismissals that were entirely needed!) Came away from it feeling more positive than I have done in weeks what with the pressure that's been building in class due to the crap briefs we've had recently. Sure you need to be able to advertise everything, but throw us a few ruddy product campaigns every once in a while please! But yeah, I took onboard a lot of what Paul said - of course I wasn't gonna agree with everything he said (because that just wouldn't be me!) but mainly he confirmed a few things that I'd already suspected which really helped me, and he seemed keen that I add some of my 2nd year work to my book, especially my Play-Doh (a-woo-hoo!!) He suggested I see Harinder with it too, but unfortunately the queue was rather long at 4pm. But I'm hoping to email them both very soon and maybe I'll get a chance to see them with my book again some day at Love Creative or JWT (preferably both!) : )

Looking forward to getting stuck into some new briefs, particularly going to crack on over Easter and have a bash at writing some of my own, as well as re-visiting some previous work and giving it a damn good tarting up. Can't wait to extend my Play-Doh campaign and see what else I can come up with. Watch this space guys - Coming Soon to a Blog Near You!

Bear with me on this one!

2008-02-23T23:45:00.000Z

So, the first post. I suppose we'd better start with introductions then. Well as you can see, I'm Hayley (I may even let you call me "H" if you're nice to me). A small town girl (well, a Wiganer anyway!) with a big ambition to break into the advertising biz, hopefully some day heading up some of the country's, if not the world's, biggest accounts and making a name for myself as a ruthless bitch who gets the job done whilst still being impossibly cute and having everyone bow at my feet (OK, maybe not that last bit). Right now, there's a long way to go, but such a short way until I finish my Advertising degree at the University of Central Lancashire (sounds posh, but it's only in Preston) - 23rd May, here I come! That's when the hard work really starts.

Hopefully once I figure out this blogging malarkey I'll be able to post some of my work (only the good stuff, of course!) and maybe a little of my photography as that's my other passion in life (besides food, which unfortunately there isn't a degree in the "Art of Eating"). I'll be attempting (with some difficulty, I'm sure!) to post my recent submission for the MPA Roses competition which ended yesterday having been sent off on Wednesday afternoon amidst much rushing around and lack of printer ink at the all-important "last moment" (which wasn't the last moment at all seeing as the courier only showed up 4 hours later lol!) All that remains is to wait and see who wins (meeeeee, please!).

The evil box of work in question.