Thanks to Rory from The Talent Business for organising this exhibition. All went smoothly, we mounted our poster and some work on our stand, then enjoyed a cold beer to loosen up just before the first visitors arrived. The work of all teams on view was great, a good opportunity to see what we're up against and to meet more people in the same boat. Cheers to everyone who came up to us to say hi, here's a big hello back.
40 comments:
Im so addicted to this blog.
wal, from what I can see the your pics of three pieces of work you had on display, one was that awful abbey campaign and the other that transport thing thats really old. Not being funny but I'd be shocked if thats your best work.
What with the massive paper hat poster and tee's... I just don't get get it at all.
saw your book there guys. really like the nspcc work. thought id seen a lot of your work before though, probably my fault for being a 'creative in london' addict. but thought the book was a good all rounder.
Very well presented, however not sure about the matching t-shirts! you and jai must have kicked yourself when you both turned up in the same outfit!
For some reason i was too nervous to come and talk to you guys, it was almost as if you were someone famous? good thing or bad thing i dont know? this may explain your difficulty in finding a job.
Liked the mention at the back of the book with comments from the blog, although again maybe this time you should have let your work do the talking and not this whole fame through blog aspect.
Suppose it all boils down to that question is this blog hindering your chances of getting a job or making you guys come across as something different to what you actually are?
when people read this blog they judge you on first impressions - this should be when they actually meet you in person or through your book.
well im babbling on - apologies.
your book was cool anyway!
"it was almost as if you were someone famous?"
get a life 9.02!! for gods sake.
and I hope you where being ironic about the matching t-shirt thing, guys that really is a but lame.
Cream is a great chance to meet a lot of big names who have now seen your book, so unless you have had any offers you have effectively written off seeing them again with the same book.
i think its fairly obvious he was being ironic 9:56.
WAL!...please explain the paper hat thing????????????????????????????
www.jaiwal.com
I'm amazed that you still have work from university in your book. Hummer is interesting but an obvious route.
Where are the other bits?
The matching t-shirts is something that you would back at school. Some teams at Bucks did it this year and how stupid they looked.
I think you guys are being a bit harsh here, we're not exactly in the industry of curing cancer. We're trying to get into an industry that is selling stuff most people don't really need. So if the guys want to have a bit of a laugh and wear matching tee's and have some fun branding - why not.
I also think anonymous comments are lame.
One thing... Where do you guys get the money to survive unpaid for 2 years (doing placements) and make T-shirts???
It's gonna be very tough getting a job now considering the current economic climate - in fact, I would say, that perhaps if you haven't got a job in the last year or so then you are gonna find it considerably more difficult.
hey man, where can i get me one of them tee's? they are sooooo cool man. let me know where i can get them man, man you guys are cool, oh man i want one............
@anon 9.54
Tshirts are hardly made of gold you know.
Spot the difference.
Last year:
http://bp1.blogger.com/_4U_7CvArY-4/RvRV9F8vS5I/AAAAAAAAAWY/ZRF4gKt1pOo/s1600-h/cream07-us.jpg
This year:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4U_7CvArY-4/SOEH9nY1mGI/AAAAAAAABAM/BR2GYDPqlLI/s1600-h/IMG_1650.jpg
Are you trying to tell me that in one year you haven't been able to do four more campaigns? Jesus. This is too frustrating now.
we didn't put up that much work on stand this time, and decided for a simple team poster. but we still had tfl and nspcc up as we like them.
why do new campaign when you can make t-shirts and write a blog!!
sorry wal for being a bit mean on your birthday but having the same stuff after a year of taking your book around is not good.
happy birthday Wal.i don't care what anyone else says, i love you!
I reserved judgement until now, but Just had a look at you're portfolio sight and finally witnessed some of your work. I'm sorry to say I'm NOT surprised that you haven't got a job yet; most of it has been done before and the rest just doesn't work (sorry...) and TYPOS (come on guys)! You need to work on your visuals, improve your drawings and beauty shots, I'd personally do a postgrad course because I actually don't think you're anywhere near the standard for industry yet, despite hovering around it for god-knows-how-many years.
afraid I agree with the peeps on here, the book is not as good as I though it would be... in fact it's just an average book that will get you placement but you need to push a lot harder than that to get a job now.
the bottom line is the thinking and strategy is poor, nicely mac'd up visuals will not hide that fact.
that seems to be what is missing, the teams who understand and have great strategies in there book will get placements and have what it takes to crack live briefs... which will get them a job somewhere.
what annoys me is that not all negative feedback is spiteful, coming from fellow placement teams... and you choose not to listen.
I'd say Watford is your best bet too.
wal. i've worked at a few london agencies. i know you off the blog, and have met you a few times too. you seem a genuinely nice guy.
i do however have to agree with some of the comments above.
you need to be turning over more work. much more. there shouldn't be a single campaign in your book from last year unless it is brilliant. ask yourself that question. and dont be precious if it took you long to mac it up.
the fallons and wiedens will not give a shit if everything is scamps. even if they are scamps on scraps of paper. believe me i know.
turning over more work will not only help you build a better folio. it will sharpen your thinking. time on a placement will be better spent.
your ads should be better than what teams currently employed are doing.
i wish you all the best.
and one last piec eof advice would be. only go to see people/teams who you creatively repsect. when they make suggestions you will most likely be... yeah! amazing.
Jai/Wal, ignore all this ludicrous shit about Watford and completely re-doing your book. It's already got you into the best agency in town. I admit not to being the biggest fan of some of your book work, but you'll get a job very soon. You guys have a very valuable and rare quality rarely seen in this industry: you're not a pair of arrogant jumped-up cocks. It's very refreshing in this day and age.
Forgive me if Im wrong, but if your books exactly the same as last year and you weren't working with Jai then.
What have you guys done together?
Being nice does not mean you will get a job, nice won't win you awards and make your ECD give you a pay rise.
I'd simply lower your expectations and get a gob in a digital agency (thats not a diss) or a place like McCanns.
Your book shows you are not cut out for a top agency and after a few years doing the rounds you might have to accept not everyone is equally talented and are punching above your weight.
Sorry lads, no point blowing smoke up yer asses like some idiots do.
Anon 9:14's advice is the best advice I've ever read on this blog (and trust me i read it a lot, you guys are better than corrie and eastenders rolled into one). If i was you two (which I'm not because I have a job) I would print that out and stick it above your bed.
don't take the criticism hard, it's only because everyone's frustrated that you haven't got anywhere yet.
don't wear the t-shirts again.
don't go on another placement without getting a job.
And if your going to at least get a decent ad for your book out of it. If you can spend time in w+k and not come out with something you want to stick in your book then you need to listen to Anon 9:42's advice.
I realize the above was not a diss, but digital work takes a certain type of creative mind. I freely admit that I can't do D&AD winning posters for example, but I can make a website ok. Such is the way we are.
Only try digital if you're willing to forget everything bucks taught you. It's hard but rewarding if you're that way inclined! Not that digital agencies are that hot on new starters it seems at the moment. Not with all the above the teams trying to switch sides before they get credit crunched out the industry (that's not a diss).
Don't kid yourself...digital at it's best is ok, but the majority of it is and always will be banners and pointless pap. So over it...
That sounds like more of a diss than than you claimed :P
Arguing about preferred ad media is like arguing about what kind of music is "the best". I'm a tech geek and like digital stuff, games, interactive media, digital POS, mobile apps, iTouch apps etc. So I don't think I'm kidding myself, it's a lot of fun if you like doing it. You can't judge a genre by it's majority work. Yeah there are a lot of banners, but banners lead to whole website experiences which digital creatives get to make. That's the fun bit.
Anyway I'm done. big love to fully integrated, all media campaigns! 'Til the day that all are one...
How can you write digital stuff is only OK on a blog?!?!?! If there was no digital there would be no blogs. No make sense!
It's all about ideas.
Whether it's on TV or online. There's no different skill set or different way of thinking. The best creatives don't restrict themselves. They just want to come up with great ideas, regardless of the media. Juan Cabral included (Tate modern work - digital).
It's just really frustrating when you get idiot creatives who are so narrow minded, and only want to do TV and posters. Creatives should just want to do ideas. Because that's what counts.
And saying 'digital at ITS best is ok', is just plain naive. Look what's dominated gold pencils the past couple of years at D and ad? Digital.
Oh, and by the way I work above the line.
Wal, Jai... why are you not replying to any comments?
would you sit there in a crit and say nothing... I'd say a lot of the comments are harsh but true.
rest assured we read all of them and discuss the interesting ones just as we appreciate the constructive and critical ones.
Wal, you really do stick your chin out to get punched on here!
Why/how was you allowed to enter Cream with most of the same work from the year before.
It seems you'd rather to t-shirts posters to promote your 'brand' when you said only a while ago it's 'all about the book'.
It took me a while to get a job but it eventually came through slogging on the book, not by touting myself as part of a brand and hoping no one will worry about the book.
dude, get your facts straight before you punch. we had four new campaigns in our book and various 'other stuff' in the portfolio that wasn't there last year. the old stuff was paperchase, tfl, and nspcc, which will change soon as well.
four new campaigns in a year! careful you don't strain yourself mate.
paperchase - not done with Jai!
NSPCC - created with another parter!
TFL - 2 years old!
You need to show how you guys can produce great stuff together, not waste opportunities by showing off old/good work over and over as it's reliable and had positive feedback.
You're good enough to get this job, you just need to do more as a team - i.e. your bank campaign although you seem to have left it as you'd posted on this blog and not taken any advice from here on board.
have to agree with above comments, every campaign in your book should have a great piece of thinking behind it, your logic is just strange in most of your campaigns.
take the hummer one for example, there is no wit of lateral thinking, you just say its a car made by wankers for wankers.
it's a book that will get you placements but judging by your thinking it's obvious you would struggle a bit cracking the real briefs.
I'd really focus on your strategy lads, quickly.
Agreed - great at execution due to your very good mac skills Wal but the strategies aren't up to your visuals and copy could do with some work in general.
I'd spend more time on creating the idea than getting it to look good if I were you.
By a long way, that's not saying your awful, you're hitting top agencies but to land your ideal job I think tackling this key issue will get you in to any of these agencies full time...
stay nice please. or leave.
A senior creative at Saatchi's when I was doing the rounds with my book, pulled my book to bits and after nearly an hour on the ropes I said very lamely
'that Malcolm Duffy liked it' (Thinking back I can't believe I said it, I was young:) but he replied, 'so why didn't he give you a job?' long silence...
Over the next month I completely redone my book after REALLY listening to his advice, I got my first job under Andrew Cracknell at 21 at Bates Dorland.
Some good advice on this thread, my advice really LISTEN, you'll then get your job
Good luck and get scamping :)
doubt Wal will listen as lots of people have tried to tell him the same thing it's just be ignored...
Wal, has the feedback on here been vastly different to the teams you have show your book to?
Post a Comment