A collection of insights and inspiration from the 2019 University of Oregon Advertising New York Creative Week trip

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I grew up in a family where art was treated as one of the things that makes life worth living. My parents were not artists and would not count themselves as “creative” in the traditional sense. Yet, art was a cornerstone of my education. Paul and...

I grew up in a family where art was treated as one of the things that makes life worth living. My parents were not artists and would not count themselves as “creative” in the traditional sense. Yet, art was a cornerstone of my education. Paul and Nancy understood the theoretical, but it was my Godmother, Auntie Maricel, who taught me about the creation. Color, design, emotion, and media were all discussed in her garage/studio when I was little. Even though I picked the strategist path, I understand art direction because of her.

Tonight, to procrastinate packing, I called Maricel to see if she was home. She told me to come over immediately. When I pulled up, what do I see but my most magnificent Godmother painting Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” on her Volkswagen Bus.

She sat on the ground and I promptly joined. We chatted about the upcoming weeks. She asked my opinion on what she should add to the car next. We talked color pairings, recent poetry finds, and the things I’m most looking forward to seeing on the trip. As the sun disappeared into dusk, Maricel continued to confidently paint. I asked if she needed a light to continue. Auntie laughed, “Where’s the fun in being able to see exactly what you’re doing? That’s half the joy of making.”

You may be wondering: what does this have to do with New York? Well, kind blog post reader, if anything it was a good reminder that the act of making can be simple and invigorating and messy. On a greater (semi-pretentious) moment of metaphor, it’s a note that some of the most important things we’ll bring with us on this trip are not tangible. We’ve packed our bags and created massive itineraries, but nothing has made us so ready to take on the city as talks at night about art and life.

Emma Pindell, 5.4.2017.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Moved_My_Cheese%3F

Read this a little while ago and thought I’d share it. It’s an interesting story about embracing the fear you may have about new experiences and choosing to accept change- you'llbe better for you.

This trip is a warm up for next summer, and that’s a little intimidating for me. It’s especially difficult because I’ll be moving away from my brothers. They’re entering high school next fall. Wow…. and I always planned on helping them transition. It’s a tough transition for everyone I think, and for them it could be especially difficult.

They too are entering a new circumstance. I’m sure they’re fearful. But this story, as simple as it might be, came at the right time.

It gives me a bit more hope that the next chapter will be okay - for them and for me.
It will if we both embrace the change, and go with the wind.

“KEEP MOVING THE CHEESE”

Hope you enjoy the little wiki summary.

-Benson wink

Million Dollar Idea… Literally

What would you do if you were given one million dollars to spend in four days? Would you pay off student loans? Buy a house? Take a vacation? Be the responsible adult and invest it in a 401K to enjoy a lavish life later?
That was the question my team and I had to answer five weeks ago when given a creative brief from Kevin Tuerff in New York City.
To the average American, one million dollars seems like a lot of money to spend. When you’re in advertising, one million dollars can seem pretty small for a national campaign when you’re accustomed to working with major brands like Nike or McDonald’s. 
Thankfully, I am not used to “Super Sized” budgets. 
I’m a girl from middle-class Bend, Oregon. Among the many talents I have inherited from my beautiful mother, I am most thankful to have gained her thriftiness—especially over these last four weeks. 
Within 48 hours of receiving the brief, I knew that our campaign had to rely heavily on good strategy and less on flashy technology. 
This prompt was exposing my raw skills as a strategist. Whether or not we got to pitch to Kevin Tuerff in New York relied on my ability to find the human truth that brought the pieces of this prompt together, and find the means to make it happen.
Small budgets aren’t intimidating. They’re just little men in green suits challenging you to be more creative with your thinking. 
Four weeks of researching, eight hours of number-crunching, and one day of creating later, I am proud to say that our team not only developed a pitch that excited our professors, we were over $25,000 under budget—that’s including an insurance amount within the budget to cover any unexpected costs. 
We get to pitch to Kevin Tuerff in New York City and I couldn’t be more excited.
I have never been more energized about an idea in my (albeit, short) career. And to top it all off, I owe most of it to being raised by a strong, frugal woman. 
Thanks, Mom. 


-Emily Garcia, Strategist
5.4.2017

Don’t have a plan.

Today, a woman struck up a conversation with me on the plane. At first I was a little bitter, as I just wanted to be left alone to sleep. As our conversation progressed, she shared with me all the adventures she had been on throughout her life. One thing she said in particular really stuck with me. 

“Go travel, and don’t have a plan. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself.”

If you know me, you know I’m a planner. So here’s to NYC, with no plans or expectations. I am ready to absorb all the information I can in just one week. 

-Emily Sarale 

Big Apple Bonds

Diving into this environment primes your mind and person for change and cracks open new opportunities. Take them. 

Specifically, take chances with the people within this UO Ad family that you’ve never interacted with. Last year, this meant Macaihah and I trying to find our way to Droga, ending up 2.5 miles away with 13 minutes to make the visit, cramming into a cab and sprinting in the door just before the golden doors clamped shut. No better way to bond than to feel Tom’s “you almost fucked up big time” stare burning shame into the back of your necks.

Sometimes it’s a journey somewhere off the beaten path with people you’re only just beginning to know. Ambling through Central Park with Benson Wink and Steph Hastings on the way to Sylvia’s southern food in Harlem, I could never have told you in the moment that these would be the budding moments of two friendships I know will last my lifetime.

Whether by chicken n’ waffles or mutual creative inspiration, this trip will forge bonds more meaningful than One Show awards or job offers. Do your best to seek and sustain them.

- Cameron Kokes

A Trip to the Concrete Apple

The last time I went to New York was for my school’s 8th grade spring break trip. That was ten years ago. As we all know, a lot changes in a decade. For instance, I’m more mature now. Before, my friends and I would make verbal note of each “adult shop” we spotted. Now, I’ll just make mental notes.

Short of visiting Ellis Island and the Ground Zero Memorial, I don’t remember much of my time off the bus. The entire trip was one big blur of being shuttled from site to site and being treated like, well, a 13 year old. Not exactly the ideal experience for a visit to one of the world’s greatest cities.

This trip, though, this is something special. 108 motivated, creative students experiencing a city, an industry, and hundreds of different cultures will not be easily forgotten.

P.S. If you bring a selfie stick, I’ll break it.

New York or the American Dream

Translation of the French Post

New York  In Africa, more precisely in my small homeland Côte d'Ivoire, New York is the best city not only to visit but also the best city to realize the famous american dream. Why I have no precise ideas but it is just this reputation that this city has in Ivory Coast. At home, New York is the French version of Paris, this is due to New York just as Paris is the fashion capital of the United States. Also because the rhythm of Parisian life is almost the same as that of New York. For example, New York never sleeps and Paris is the city of lights. The rhythm of life as well as the cost of living go very fast and are very exorbitant without adding the fact that the locals are known not to be the most welcoming. But good I would give good miles and a disadvantage about New York but this state will always carry his crazy charm that attract not that the Americans an international population to leave everything to be able also one day realize this famous American dream.

Ahoua Touré

New York où le rêve Americain….

New York

En Afrique, plus precisement dans mon petit chaleureux pays la Côte  D’Ivoire, New York c’est la meilleure ville non pas seleument pour y visiter mais aussi la meilleure ville pour realiser le fameux rêve americain. Pourquoi j’en ai aucune idée preciceuses mais c’est juste cette reputation que cette ville a en Côte D’Ivoire. Chez moi, New York c’est la version française de Paris, celà est du au fait New York tout comme Paris est la capitale de la mode au Etats-Unis. Aussi parceque le rthyme de vie Parisien est à peut-près pareil de celui de New York. Par example, New York ne dort jamais et Paris c’est la ville des lumières. The rthyme de vie ainsi que le coût de vie vont très vite et sont très exorbitants, sans ajoutez le fait que les habitants sont connuent pour ne pas êtres les plus accueillants. Mais bon j’aurais bon donner milles et un inconvéniant à propos de New York mais cet etat garederas toujours son charm fou qui attirent non pas que les Americains une population Internationale à tout laisser pour pouvoir eux aussi un jour réaliser ce fameux rêve Americain.

Ahoua Touré

Citrus City

I don’t know how to juggle.

I’ve attempted juggling limes before, dropping them to the floor with merely two in my hand. Three is hard.

But how about juggling timelines, subway stops, expansive city blocks, firm handshakes, smart questions, correct footwear, muggy conditions, and crisp conversations? That’s way more than three limes, but it seems just a tad more manageable than throwing citrus in the air. It’s a lot to think about, and yet it’s all part of the game. NYC can be overwhelming, but a deep breath of that highly populated air and a shrug of your weighed down shoulders is sometimes just the thing to buy you a moment as you figure out your next steps.

Things move fast, but not as fast as limes fall with gravity.

Allison Graaff 05.03.17

Godspeed.

I am a West Coaster. Born and raised. My speech is slow, my pace is slower, my words form in mumbled patterns—the aftermath of trying to keep up with my brain. I visited New York when I was 14. I remember being taken aback by the clichés; the city lights, the skyscrapers, the people always in a rush to places of which I would never know all still remains stuck to the back of my mind. Now, seven years later, I am going to visit in a very different way. And so it is somewhere between invigorating and terrifying to experience something that is so foreign yet so close in relativity. We will speak the same language in understanding, but will we in mindset? Will my coastal nature be too small for this place? These are all worries that have passed over my mind again and again; I made an agreement with myself to let them go. My purpose: to listen, to observe, to reflect, to notice. The outcome: unknown to me, but I can’t wait to find out. Here we go.


—

Talia Bootz

5.3.2017

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