“The client had asked for the logo to be .0874% bigger and its not!” Though initially this may not seem like a concerning issue, however, in the bigger picture as you soon learn in advertising, the decision could be a reason for a dormant volcano to suddenly come alive.
The coffee machine breaking down, the fax machine not working and papers being stuck in tray 2 is not helping either (cross departmental training, very important, if you want to appear lucrative in the corporate world). After shining through challenges the day has pitched up (no battle is too small) I’ve now returned, like a bride on her wedding night, not sure what to expect, from her loaded outlook page.
One rule however, that I was quick to learn - if the morning has gone past a little too unexpectedly, the afternoon expectedly never fails to make up for the lack of excitement. The fifty third option of the layout that was presented is still not what the client had in mind. Reason - that’s why multinational agencies are hired, to decipher words of wisdom like ‘hmm.’ ‘Ummmm’ ‘Kuch…mazaa nahin aaya ’.
*Sigh* Off I go to try a different pantone for blue, or air brush a chicken’s breast and make it worthy enough for an award winning line ‘I’m Juicy Eat Me’(arrived at by the Client, out of deep brand understanding). After the tribulations of turning a short lived chickens life into a super models dream, I suddenly become conscious of the 4 other clients, neglected since. Every day to buy time, I try the same line ‘but I’ve sent you the email already, my server is a little slow’ and everyday my client retorts with a standard ‘but the deadline was an hour ago’. We have an understanding. I slip away from prying eyes and don my wonder woman costume.
I return! Successful. Tired, but not stirred, just in time to be informed by the boss of another earth shuddering event. After a few lekin.. magar mein… suno to… I’m off again, reciting (as loud and in the head mostly), on all the reasons I wanted to relentlessly pursue an unglamorous career in a glamorous industry. Cadbury, Coke, P& G…I begin to smile.
At times like these there can be no greater sin than questioning the sanctity of a cigarette break. In an unrepeated corner on the balcony, finally a spot you can call your own, your shelter from the world behind those doors, your haven, only for you…. and the other 10 account executives who feel like they’ve just prevented a mini tsunami. As I stand gusting into the sunset, everything around me fades away. Familiarity meets conscious as I draw on the last puff. “Tough day huh?” and heads shake in concurrence. In that moment, you’ve suddenly reached out and bonded.
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