London Calling…

I just found out that I’m going to London next quarter. I’ll be working at Saatchi & Saatchi London learning to do advertising the British way.

From what I have heard, little, if any work gets produced. You refine marker comps like crazy. Then you do them again. Then again. Then again. You come back with a binder of killer ads, vetted and waiting for production. While this bothers a lot of people, it doesn’t bother me a bit because I’m going to London to develop conceptually, and production takes time and focus away from that. It also means that when I get back, I can choose only my best work to produce.

This production-focused attitude is unfortunate, and all-to-common among students eager to have pieces to show. By focusing on producing an ad early, the concept often doesn’t have time to fully bake. If you produce before you’re sure it’s a winner, to quote an industry adage, “You’re just polishing turds.” Although sometimes you get lucky.

Unrelated to advertising, the huge downside of going to London is that I’ll be 6,000 miles away from my fiancee for 10 weeks, missing both Valentine’s Day and our 4 year anniversary. Between the distance and the time change, it’s going to be really hard, and I am extremely thankful she’s willing to make this sacrifice for me. That’s just one of the reasons I’m the luckiest guy in the world. Hopefully I will make it worth both our whiles in the long run.