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Updates: January
13
December
1
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Category 86. Ever on the hunt for fresh work, I exchanged a few routine but cordial emails with a promising new contact last year. I had managed to unearth her name and e-address at one of those acclaimed SF mega-ad agencies which shall remain nameless for the purposes of this story.
"Well," she wrote back, "we'd really like to land Netflix. I think it's coming up for review. And Clif Bar in Berkeley." She went on to list another 4 or 5 highly desirable clients, including "any kind of pickle company." When the weekend arrived, I immediately went to work and cooked up about 20 dazzling *what if?* ads (thanks Getty). As in *what if?* I was the creative director on this account, and had a few hours to do it. Quite pleased with myself, I posted my best shots on getdave.net, then sent a quick note back to my contact at (oops, better not say.) She forwarded my link on to the Big Guy in Charge, the CCO, which stands for chief creative officer. You know, like Martha Stewart is these days. The
next day, the bomb arrived. She used the C word, death to discerning
designers like me."He's impressed. Your effort is appreciated," she
replied, "but too cluttered. Not our style, I'm afraid." Hmmm. Sometimes
one line of copy is considered clutter by these agency types. Was I
surprised? Yes. No. Hey, I thought I had it going on, but life is like
that way more often than you ever think it should be. Didn't J. K. Rowling
get turned down by about 100 publishers before Scholastic said yes?
It turned out to be a good exercise. In their own way, my *what if?* ads have done their bit in paving the way for some new freelance gigs. My bills are getting paid now. [But don't get me wrong; I can clear the decks immediately for your next project, no prob!] In February, I volunteered to help with the processing and sorting of ADDY entries for this year's Admark competition -- a great way to shamelessly network with peers. Even though I have never entered any of my stuff in this type of industry competition, firmly believing that the best award creative work can ever receive is a happy and increasingly profitable client. But
then I discovered ADDY Category 86, a.k.a. I couldn't help myself. I entered my Netflix and Clif Bar ads. Then I got really carried away. I entered my own getdave.net self-promo collateral campaign starring me and my hound dog in Category 59. Stranger things have happened. As it turned out, my "impressive, but-not-their-style" campaigns for Netflix and Clif Bar have just won the Silver and Bronze Addy awards in good old Category 86.
But it didn't end there. My dog Cosmo and I won the coveted GOLD Addy for our self-promo collaboration. Woof! Thank you, thank you to all who voted for us. If you've received either of our award-winning getdave postcards in the past, you might want to dig them up right now from whatever pile they're in and display them in a more prominent spot in your office, maybe even give me a call and get dave. There's never been a better time. The March 4th awards ceremony at SF's Grand Hyatt concluded with the announcement of the "agency of the year" - the one selected to design the 2005 Admark Addy Awards campaign and materials. I'm sure you know where this is going. No surprises there, it was "getdave.net" - in other words, me. An agency of one. When it rains, it pours. btw: if you know who's working on Netflix or Clif Bars next ad campaign, LET ME KNOW. -db |
Along
the way, I got The Big Idea. The kind that arrives fully baked. I asked
her for a few of the names that topped their "most wanted accounts"
list. 
<sigh>
So that was that. But then it wasn't. 
As
far as I know, that SF mega-agency hasn't landed either account yet.
Life is good.