Last July I joined the creative department of JWT New York and it’s been a pretty sweet experience. I really wasn’t sure what to expect at an agency of this size after working at only small shops, but it sure doesn’t feel like a behemoth—the pace is super fast. One of the cool things about working somewhere this large is all the interesting types of people to connect with. There’s even trend-watching specialists here who basically stay on top of everything going on and put out these kinds of reports:
I’ll just keep it brief for now and say it’s going to be an exciting next few months as some fun things I’ve worked on go into the wild, and the company continues to adapt to modern madness.
Imagine that your home town no longer existed. How would you describe it? This true portrait of a lost town does an amazing job evoking the spirit of this place. It’s a journey back through a place you’ll feel like you remember even though you’ve never been.
On the other end of the spectrum, The Curfew takes an ominous look forward to a harsh police state in Britain as you interact with four characters’ storylines.
I couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity–not just because I find the work fascinating, but also because there seems to be an abundance of really amazing people here. It was evident in the interviews, but it’s becoming even more apparent after coming in for a week now. I’ve been wondering what went on behind the scenes after following the place, so this internship will at least be extremely satisfying for my curiosity. If you’re unfamiliar with the work, check out the website and here’s some of my favorite campaigns:
Limitless, a movie based on The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn is coming out soon.
I loved the book and can’t wait to see how the adaptation turns out. I’m debating whether to sell it online because used copies are starting at $65. The plot is centered around Eddie Spinola, who comes across a designer drug that’s “Viagra for the brain”…“It makes your brain function with perfect efficiency, tapping into your most fundamental resources of intelligence and drive.” His life starts movin on up as he discovers the supply is limited and suffers some of its dark effects. I’m already a fan of their advertising approach:
They’ve created a straight-faced commercial and website for the drug that could pass for any pharmaceutical advertising out there except for when they casually list the side effects, which may include “paralysis, psychosis, amnesia, extreme sexual appetite, brain damage, irreversable coma, homicidal blackouts, and sudden death…NZT should be taken once a day, discontinued use will result in death.” The only nod to it being a film is the tiny “This film is not yet rated” print at the bottom of the page.
This creates an eerily tangible effect that’s becoming more popular with transmedia marketing agencies like the great Campfire who created print advertising for synthetic blood in a campaign for HBO’s True Blood.
Their co-founder, Mike Monello (also co-creater of The Blair Witch Project) describes how to make stories more tangible in this talk he gave at Power to the Pixel last year.
First time ever setting foot in New York was on New Year’s Eve so I definitely jumped right into things. I was planning on easing into it a bit except that the snowstorms created a bit of chaos at the airports. It’s my last quarter in school, but first at the DUMBO location and so far I love it.
Looking back on San Francisco, I probably learned more in my 3 months at DOJO than my first year at school–simply because this shit changes so fast and doing it really pounds it into your skull. I am however, really looking forward to these next two and half months in Brooklyn. Some tough icing on the cake. Life is good. Crazy, but good.
Well, it’s been a minute since I arrived in San Francisco for an internship at Dojo. It was really hard to leave Amsterdam, but this made it much easier. It’s a small shop, which means I’ve been getting dirty from day one, trying to pull that weight. The place is definitely growing. I know pretty much every agency has their lofty mottos/mission statements/visions, but these are pretty rad and seem to ring true around here. And yes, Die Antwoord has been playing in these parts lately.
