What Is Funny?

I’ve gotten a lot of questions from loyal readers about life at an ad agency.  Over the course of my spectacular advertising career, I got the chance to either work at, or meet people who worked at, most of the major ad agencies, and while they all have some things in common (high hepatitis infection rates), each one has its unique personality.

Here then is part 1 in a 43 part series, SOME AD AGENCIES OF WHICH I KNOW:

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TBWA/CHIAT DAY

In short: Formed by the merger a worldwide agency (TBWA) and a Los Angeles creative powerhouse (Chiat-Day), TBWA/Chiat-Day is one of the leading creative shops, responsible for many of your favorite ads.  They’ve brought you all those great Apple ads you love so much (and yet, you still have a PC, don’t you?).  A frequent agency of the year award recipient, their offices are super cool, with crazy architecture and indoor basketball courts and the like.  They even serve three meals a day at the agency, which is good because you will never, ever be able to leave.

Are the people who work their crazy: Yes, very.

Policy on drinking beer in the office: Mandatory.

Agency nickname: Chiat Night & Day (as in, you will be at work during these two periods).

If you want a job there: In your interview, mention you hate being outside and weekends.

Fun fact: Their mascot is a pirate, who they captured on a Somali pirate ship and forced to work in their mail room.  They are that hardcore.

Absolutely True Story: One of my first agency jobs was at a building near Chiat Day’s. I had a friend who had just started there and we’d always plan to have lunch, but each time she’d have to cancel because she was too busy at work. One day, we decided to just eat lunch there at the restaurant housed inside the agency.  After going through the incredibly, high security screens needed to get into the agency, we met and went to the Chiat Day cafe.  We got our meal (I think it was microwavable burrito day), and went to this part of the agency known as Central Park, which is designed to look like you’re outside, with fake trees and a pebble/gravel surface.  After a few minutes, one of her coworkers came up to her.

“Where the hell have you been? We’ve been looking all over for you!” he said.

She explained that she’d been right here, where he was now talking to her, eating lunch.

“You know,” he chastised, “If you have to eat lunch, you could at least do it at your desk.”

So she went back to her desk to work and eat, while I ate alone in this strange outdoor cafe. People walking by gave me so many dirty looks that after a few minutes I packed up my food, drove back to my own agency and ate at my desk.

But aren’t those hilarious Mac ads worth it?

Tags: TBWA Chiat Day

This entry was posted on Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 9:26 am and is filed under Madvertising. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.