NY Day 3

This morning wasn't quite as eventful as the others, but it was still nice since we got to go in another part of the town for sight seeing. Since there was a last minute confirmation from one of our potential locations, we split the group: Chris, Amy, and Adrian went to Brooklyn to visit Swiss Miss, while Marc, Jessica, and i went to see CBS studios.

Tina Roth Eisenburg from Swiss Miss ("Swiss designer gone NYC") runs a design blog, and took a few moments to talk to Chris, Amy and Adrian. it was a rewarding experience from them talking to Tina. They got some insider info and made new connections. CBS however took Marc, Jessica and I on a little tour of their studio here in New York. We got to walk the hallways where the dressing rooms were located, see the props used in TV shows and saw where all the staging was designed and made. We even got to see the main news room!

From there we took a walk down to Central Park, and on the way got stopped by a CNN lady (not sure what her title was, but she had a microphone and a cameraman with her). Well, she was more interested in Jessica. She showed us a picture of a gentleman wearing a suit, tie and sunglass. She asked Jessica if she thought the man was attractive. She said that she thought he looked a little nerdy/sexy, and said he looked intelligent, hard-working and loyal. Little did we know that the photograph was of White House Budget Director Peter Orszag who is in a love scandal. According to the New York Post, Orszag sent off heiress Claire Milonas to give birth to his baby while back here in NY he got engaged to Bianna Golodrya from ABC news. If you guys see us on CNN let us know!

Later on that afternoon we had the honor and pleasure of meeting with JWT, an international advertising agency that has woked with clients such as: Jet Blue, Microsoft, Cadbury, Ford, Nike, Johnson&Johnson, DeBeers Diamonds, and more. The JWT agency was an entire world in it's own. They had multiple floors fully equipped with office spaces, meeting areas, game room, showers, and even their own bar lounge. The interior had a fun contemporary style to it with white walls, wood paneling and brightly colored floors and walls.

Lindsey Barnes, the human resources coordinator for JWT brought us in to one of their conference rooms on their pink floor (yes, the carpeting and some walls were a bright pink). We sat down around a large conference table where we were provided folders with information about the company and business cards. Carlos Fernandez, the Senior Art Director, along with Paul Fix who is a copywriter at JWT showed us some of their work, including pitches for clients. We met Carl again from the AdColor Awards in Scottsdale. We had a great Q&A afterwards. They were all friendly and eager to answer any of our questions. Paul Fix made an interesting statement saying that most people have the impression that these big agency people are jerks, but that the opposite is true. The higher the position, the nicer the person tends to be. They also predict that creatives will run the future of advertising, so we as students are in a pretty good spot right now, coming in to a work force when the economy is expected to pick up. One of the key things they made sure to stress was "don't burn your bridges." The best policy is to be nice and respectful. We also talked about having "360" items in our portfolios, meaning to show all the ways a product of service can be advertised successfully. Include only and only the good stuff in portfolios, and do it because its right and it works. They recognized the competitiveness of the market, but to keep pushing forward, work hard, be strategy-driven, and find a mentor.

After we had our meeting and tour of the company (which was described by a couple of the rad's as 'Disneyland' and 'Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory'), we all met at the lounge for drinks and to hang out with them and other employees. It was a more of a casual thing where Amy, Jessica, Carl and Lindsey played ping-pong, while the rest of us were sitting on the couch nearby chatting it up with Paul, Carlos and Danny (another copywriter). We talked about anything from work, to play, to family life, and future aspirations. There are no words to describe how thankful we are, and how awe-inspired we have become. The people at JWT are amazing.

JWT Fun Facts:

• in 1939, JWT created the first television commercial
• in it's 125+ years, J. Walter Thompson has sold more goods and services in more languages than any other single ad agency
• JWT invented Kellogg's "Snap, crackle and pop"
• in 1909, JWT hired Helen Lansdowne, who would become the first female creative director in the business
• in 1957, JWT created the first color television commercial
• in 196, JWT London established the first account-planning department in any agency