Kindness
The best quality you can showcase isn’t one that will be featured in a Forbes article anytime soon. It likely won’t be at the top of AdWeek’s list of most important qualities in a candidate. But it really is a quality that can get lost in the hustle and bustle of the world.
Kindness.
In theory, everyone is kind. But we all know what the word theory means. When it comes down to it, it really is critical that we understand what kindness means as well. The advertising industry may be fast-paced and hard to break into, but it is also kind.
The industry is kind if you are kind to begin with. By putting the extra effort in, you can accomplish so much. I can attest to that personally. Even in the craze of Midtown Manhattan, I was able to witness people doing nice things for each other. The world isn’t all that bad if you stop to look around you. Thanks to kindness. There are few things in this world of ours that kindness can’t help.
You can say I’m drinking the Kool-Aid. You can say that nice guys finish last. Everyone has their own beliefs, but I prefer to believe in the power of kindness.
Andrew Greenblatt 5.19.17
Break the Rules
Ben James, Creative Director at JWT fielded a question about what sort of rules an agency has to follow as they go about drafting and executing their lofty and creative ideas. Ben responded frankly:
“Fuck the rules. Break the rules.”
Creatives feed of their inherently rebellious nature, often resenting authority figures that try to place restrictions on everything. A youth in revolt, a counterculture, a revolution; is often sparked by creatives.
I know this contrarian instinct runs through my veins, I’ve been told as much by the people in my life. However, sometimes I break the rules for no reason. Sometimes I find myself breaking the rules, not because I disagree with them, but because I was told that I couldn’t. This behavior will not sustain my career.
My strategy in finding the happy medium between following rules and rejecting authority will be the greatest obstacle on my journey. The line between balance and chaos is one that the industry itself is still battling with. It will be my career goal to rectify this with myself and succeed because of the compromises I make. I will search for all the right reasons to break all the wrong rules.
- James Vos
You Should
As a 3-weeks-away-from-graduating individual, it seems like i’ve been drowning in people telling me what I should do after graduation.
But here’s the secret - you should do whatever you want.
I’ve noticed that we so often listen to the people who tell us what we should do, we forget what we want to do.
Now, there’s absolutely no harm in guidance and advice, but we let’s not get lost in the sea of “you shoulds.” The greatest part of this oh-so-confusing time is the freedom we have to do exactly what we want. For maybe the first time in our lives we have the opportunity to write the next chapter of our books without having to know the story. As scary as it might be to turn the page, what a blessing it is that we even know how to read. We have the skills, the knowledge, and the charisma to scribble or doodle or draw out the next chapter.
So don’t be afraid to put the pen to the paper, even if you don’t know how to start, it’ll come to you, and the best part of it all - all the books will be beautifully different.
-Hannah
Matt Eastwood
Everyone who was lucky enough to be in the same room as Matt Eastwood on Friday morning knows how phenomenal he was. He spoke with such elegance and grace, it was mesmerizing (or maybe it was the Australian accent, idk). He said A LOT of wonderful things, but there was one point in particular that really made me go - yeah! He benevolently said, “Be confident in your worth and aware of your inexperience.” This. This was the perfect was to describe the confusing limbo us recent grads are experiencing. We want to appear as confident-I-can-do-anything job seekers, while in our heads we know, holy-shit-I-don’t-really-know-anything. But what I learned, thanks to Matt, is that there is a balance, and we can figure out how to weigh the scales.
-Hannah
The Archive
It’s no secret that the mortality rate of ideas is sadly high. But, there is hope. A kind alum and now Drogan by the name of Evan Schultz gave some great advice after I asked how he comes up with ideas in a time crunch. He explained that even if an idea that you love doesn’t work for a certain brand, doesn’t mean it can’t be resurrected. He said that he has a whole archive of dead ideas in his brain that he constantly pulls from when he’s stuck. I know it sounds like the simplest strategy, but it’s not. Sometimes when ideas die we feel so discouraged that we just throw them away completely. Evan illuminated the fact that those ideas don’t always have to die, they just have to wait their turn. I liked that. Thanks Evan!!
-Hannah
I did it. I got to see the car I’ve dreamt of seeing many years ago. Most people don’t see this car the way I do. For me it’s not the car and the price that puts me in awe, but the story behind it. It was built by a man who has a true passion for sports cars. The problem was he was just a salesman at a Volkswagen dealership. After awhile he decided to venture on his own and build his very own hyper car. It wasn’t an easy journey, but through all the problems he persevered through and did it. When I look at this I don’t see a machine, but piece of art that just so happens to be an automobile. The amount of passion and hard work it took for Christian Von Koenigsegg to make this is inspirational. It reminds me to chase after my dreams and never give up.
-Andrew Afranji
It’s hard to really explain just how breathtaking this city is. The amount of different cultures and people all located in every part of this city is unbelievable. It reminds us how small we may seem, but how big we can create things by working together. This was taken from Firstborn agencies outside deck. It was great to hear from old alum Joey McRoberts. Joey was a good friend and helped me out a lot in the advertising program when I was first starting.
-Andrew Afranji
JWT
I never really knew just how many incredible advertising agencies there are out there. Upon entering JWT I was blown away by the building. Being from Portland I’m not used to seeing businesses located in such enormous skyscrapers. If there was one thing I took away from this visit, it’s that things out of your control are just going to happen. Brent Choi talked to us about how he was fired 5 times before things began to pick up. It was something that I needed to hear and let me know that no matter what happens, just keep doing. Eventually things just work out.
-Andrew Afranji
Washington park was an experience like none other. As we were walking around I noticed two people with empty chairs in front of them and a son in between them. The sign pretty much said sit in front of us and stare into our eyes. Neither of us will exchange any words, but feel free to let out any emotions you may have. I honestly didn’t understand what that meant, but I knew I had to give it a try. So I sat down and we stared at each other. The first few seconds it didn’t make much sense but as time went by, I started thinking. It honestly got intense for me and after a few minutes I had to get up and collect myself. It was an interesting experience with a result I never expected.
-Andrew Afranji
This trip was the first time I have ever been to this incredible city. I’ll never forget the first time being in Times Square. As I walked along the side, I couldn’t believe how lively the city was in this little stretch. It was fun just walking around and soaking everything in. One of the billboards that I was happy to see was the ACLU with the first amendment written in Arabic. I remember when I first read about the ad and thought how clever it was. To see it projected made me realize just how many people are probably curious about the ad and spent the time to look it up.
- Andrew Afranji