Growing up in traditional advertising gave me a false sense of what it meant to work. It was too much fun. Sure, there were deadlines to meet and a lot of rejection., internally and by the client. Round one was often dead before you knew it and by the time round three or four was approved, the strongest campaign was often long gone. But with all the criticism and rushing, there was time. Time to think, time to talk, and time to collaborate.
Large agencies looked at "Creatives" as the lovable weirdos who produced the product they needed to deliver to the clients. We were protected. Secretaries proofed and typed the final copy and account people acted as a buffer between creative teams and clients until the campaign was cooked enough to present.
In my experience, advertising was one of the few businesses that welcomed people with undiagnosed ADD, OCD, and a garden variety of neuroses. We were known to have to pace, work in different environments, take a lot of breaks, arrive late, and stay late, while using all of life for inspiration. Sporting events, art exhibits, news, public debate, food, travel, a walk in the woods, underwater exploration, wine tastings, bake-offs and takeoffs. Everything was research. Nothing was irrelevant.
We were a bunch of chameleons, a club of curious misfits, party animals and malcontents of the best kind. The ability to empathize with the target audience or, better still, embody that person or group, was key for creatives.
Once I became an associate creative director the layers of protection thinned and the business side of advertising became more apparent. I had to attend meetings that wasted as much time as they used. Control was the key. With more responsibility came more client contact which meant more massaging and more diplomacy. I had to push junior creatives to go the extra mile and come up with better ideas, on time. Much of the fun was gone. I guess it was called growing up.
But I'll always have fond memories of that first job as a copywriter at one of the Interpublic Agencies in New York . And I'll always be thankful to my immediate boss, the Irish Poet, Peter Murphy, may he rest in peace, and Andy Langer and Marshall Carp, the agency creative directors, who set the tone and taught me well.