Creative Skirts

"Should I go to portfolio school?"

I've been getting this question a lot lately from students up at my alma mater. Since there are likely a lot more stressed-out kids out there, I'm gonna spread the message Web-wide.

So you wanna know if you should go to portfolio school. You've just worked your tail off to put your book together, and you're thinking after all these classes and group projects and whatnot, it must be good. You can't see why you'd have to go to another school...can't you just start working already?

Not necessarily. Here it is: there is a distinct possibility you're not ready for an agency yet. It's not because you're not talented or because you didn't work hard enough--it's because portfolio schools exist, and there are a ton of other kids coming out of them with more polished books than yours.

You see, ad school is a whole other animal. Students there aren't balancing portfolio classes with Buddhism 101 and nightly keg parties (although there are some of those). They're working on their books 24/7, and then some. Ad schools throw you into advertising, hardcore. The Brandcenter in particular steeps you in strategy, teamwork, creativity, branding and churning out campaigns like mad. Their expectations are high and competition is higher, putting you and your work on a whole other level. A level that will make you look back at your undergrad book and laugh.

Don't get me wrong. There are some great undergrad programs out there that are competing with the ad schools. There are also students out there who get a job with their undergrad book. Just take my advice and keep your options open. Shop your book around to agencies and see what kind of response it gets. I sacrificed my final spring break to do that, and that's when I was hit with the cold hard truth that I had a lot more work to do to be competitive. And so I went to the VCU Brandcenter, and the whole story has a very happy ending.

Let me know if you find yours, too.

Take the P*nty Challenge

Hey ladies, check it--it's a campaign built entirely around your least favorite word.

Kotex wants you to "Take the 7-day Panty Challenge." The scary part is that I can't tell if they're asking us to wear the same pair 7 days in a row or not.

Don't take the panty personality quiz...it's depressing.

via BrandFreak.

Another great tag line, lost

Today, I mourn the loss of another great tag line replaced by some generic words no one will remember.

The trashed tag is Quaker Oats and Goodby's "Go humans go." I loved it because it was a CPG client being different and having a point of view. It wasn't your typical sign-off in the category. And it gave the ancient Quaker Man a little cool factor, if you ask me.

 

image credit: http://marvelmoore.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/quaker.jpg

Look at him. He knows something you don't know.

Now, picture that same billboard with the new tag line, "Love life." I just don't get the same fuzzy feeling from the Quaker Man anymore. I don't need him to tell me to love life; I've got Oprah and self-help books and my mom to do that, not to mention 84,000 other brands shouting positivity at me right now. How is that line ownable?

I always wonder why clients do these random things that they do. We'll never know the whole story. But it does bring up a bigger question--can tag lines survive for more than a few months anymore? Or do clients know something I don't know?

One lady CD, tellin' it like it is

I recently discovered @sheconomy and have enjoyed her tweets. They led me to her blog, where I found this promo piece for her agency and a rather blunt dig on men who market to women. Her take? Plain and simple, there aren't enough women in charge of the creative.

I'm not sure if it's a universal truth. Surely, there must be some male CDs out there doing great campaigns for women. Right?

Cash4Gold...for the newly single woman

I can't imagine this business will last, but it's an interesting concept.

OutOfYourLife.com buys back the jewelry you're left with after a break-up.

They're running ads like crazy (do a lot of people break up around Valentine's Day?), featuring talking dogs. Talk about a lost opportunity to do some awesome stuff. The human insights they could have pulled about break-ups could lead to all kinds of interesting, emotional places that women could rally behind. Instead, they went the canine route. Arf.

 

More on Why Women Don't Rise to the Top

The age-old debate continues.

There's a lively conversation going on over at Harvard Business Review at the moment. They've begun a survey to answer these questions: "Why do good intentions on both sides not lead to a representative number of women in the workforce beyond middle management? Why — in a corporate "war for talent" among a dwindling working-age population — do the gender numbers fail to add up?"

I took the survey. I'm not sure they're going to find anything all that fascinating, but it did get me thinking about how my company approaches gender equality. I suppose there are still some companies out there that haven't addressed the issue, so that could be interesting. Maybe this will turn into a wake-up call for the slackers out there.

Lady Headphones

Have you been lamenting that your headphones don't match your outfit?

I doubt it, but someone went ahead and solved that problem for you, just in case.

Vestalife has come out with a variety of lady-geared headphones with sleek and colorful designs. Some even have fabric you can swap out to match what you're wearing.

Designed by a team four ladies: an accountant, a microbiologist, an artist and a snowboarder. Gotta love what can happen when a bunch of random people get together to create.

Check out the other designs here.

via @lesback.

Agency Embraces Reverse Sexism, and You Can Too

'Tis the season for ridiculous agency holiday efforts, hooray. Colle + McVoy asked its male employees to take off their shirts for charity, and "surprisingly, they agreed."

You have 8 days left to order your copy of the "Agency Ham" calendar, and get your revenge on any chauvinistic coworker that has ever called you "babe."

Enjoy the meat.

Via AgencySpy.

Droga5: Shiny Suds

I love this spot's play on decades' worth of hokey cleaner commercials.
Now, if we could just get the sequel with a naked dude.

Skirts on the spot: Art director Amanda Clelland and producer Cheri Anderson.

A man's life after a layoff

A revealing essay by Erik Proulx, laid-off creative director turned filmmaker.

He talks about how is wife quit working to raise the family... and now that he is out of the workforce as well, it's taking a major toll at home. He's spending his new free time making a documentary... but can the creative fulfillment you find in something like that make up for the bread you're not winning for your family?

When Your Employer Hands You Lemons

Pepsi: "Amp Up Before You Score" App

Need to know where to find and how to score with an ice-cream tub carrying 'rebound girl'? WORRY NOT! Pepsi's got you covered! 

This iPhone app will provide you with everything you need! Here's the tutorial:

"Know your girls"

One of my favorite lines as of late.

Produced by art director Katherine Kuni and copywriter Kate Lummus of Publicis Modem NY.

"You Are Your Own Glass Ceiling"

There's a great Newsweek article up right now about the psychological glass ceiling we women tend to put ourselves under. Technically, the glass ceiling should be long gone, but many of us let it hang.

It's worth the read just to remind yourself to stop apologizing before you state your opinion and stop turning your statements into questions...you know, in case you *sometimes* do that.

You Are Your Own Glass Ceiling

 
Anna Wintour

When Infomercials Go Viral

Seriously, seeing another infomercial at the top of the viral charts was making me wonder if all this concepting is for the birds.

But then I watched the spot, and in spite of all its "dynamic inertia," remembered why it is we do what we do.

Watch for yourself. It totally sets the bar.

SXSW '10: A panel for skirts

Allyson Kapin, founder of Women Who Tech, has proposed a panel for next year's SXSW Interactive that has Neil French potential. "Bumpin' Up: Has the Glass Ceiling Ever Smacked You in the Butt?" will touch on such topics as:

• What tools and strategies should women be use to promote themselves and brand themselves as experts in their field? 

• Chicks & Porn: Which one do tech conferences really need and why?

• How do you decide how far you want to go in your career? Is up, up the ladder, the right path for every woman?

• How do you address situations when your boss or client takes your male tech colleagues opinions more seriously than your opinions?

The panel will feature "some of the most influential women in tech and social media."

Sounds like a keeper. I imagine a panel like this would be a first at this conference. With more women joining the digital workforce, it's a conversation worth having.

Want to see it at SXSW? Vote at the SXSW Panel Picker.

Lady Gaga's A Rockstar.

In this interview with a Norwegian journalist, Lady Gaga defines what it is to be a rockstar.

Mow the Lawn

This spot isn't new, but the song sure is funny.

Executive Creative Director: Sarah Barclay
Creative Director: Lisa Topol
Art Director: Megan Penmann
Copywriter: Margie Chidley
Senior Agency Producer: Kirsten Larson

Client: Schick
Agency: JWT, New York

Site: mowthelawn.co.uk

A Web site to make your day

Turn on your speakers and go to: http://orbasquara.com/

So delightful in its functionality, writing and art direction. I just love.

Life ends at 35

The Hollywood Reporter hosted a roundtable of over-35 superstars to talk ageism in Hollywood, after the co-creator of Hung publicly said, “It is incredibly difficult to find beautiful, talented, funny women over 35.”
Makes me glad I'm not an actress... I'd only have a few good years left.

Check it out over at Stiletto Revolt.

Go Girl "Female Urination Device"

Am I out of the loop on this? Probably. Although if this is really catching on, I'm shocked.

What is also shocking is the Web site and extensive social media behind this product. Way to not be ashamed, Go Girl!

Really, you have to see this.

http://www.go-girl.com/