My roommate Jay is a very talented individual. Aside from his art director-related pursuits, he plays several instruments and is the guitarist and lead singer for Paid Pilots, a Chicago-based indie rock band (or Indian rock band, as we like tease him).
Since he’s always headed to Chicago for either practice or a gig, the Quarter Away Kids tagged along the last weekend in October and were treated to a concert at the Elbo Room and a local’s tour of Chi-Town.
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.
I’d heard about it. I’d heard that it was enormous, that it had an amusement park and a water park and a Ritz-Carlton, and a subway system, and a 10-story roller coaster, and that you could get lost for days in there.
The truth is, I was expecting to be awed. I expected a jaw-dropping display of American conspicuous construction. In reality, MOA doesn’t look like much from the outside, but once inside, I found a large and extremely well design shopping mall. Its genius is both in not being too big, and in not feeling as big as it is.
MOA is basically 4 normal malls arranged with an amusement park in the center.
Keys to Success:
You never, ever feel overwhelmed.
Your vision is always limited. There are always walls in your peripheral vision. The entire experience is paced, logical. You don’t need to think about where to go, you just keep going. You never realize how far you are walking, and because you don’t really care how much is ahead, you don’t feel the need to “save” your spending.
Natural light penetrates almost everywhere.
Sunlight makes people happy. It also makes them comfortable and don’t feel like they “need to go outside” for some air.
Stores are billboards for other stores.
Because MOA is so large, brands can sub-divide their across multiple stores, or have multiple locations, creating brand impressions, and awareness of other lines. Fossil has three stores in MOA. I never knew they made clothes, but there was a whole store of only women’s clothing and accessories. Likewise, I counted three Auntie Anne’s Pretzels (although the directory only lists two…)
I have to say, MOA knows what it is doing. MOA made me want to spend money.
“The quickest way to take the pulse of a town is in the asphalt arteries of its roads.”
Whenever I’m in a new city, I like to go for a run as soon as possible. I feel like it grounds me in the place and teaches me something new. I think I’ve learned alot about this town so far.
Minneapolis cares about aesthetics.
It is so apparent that art, design, and architecture are appreciated in this town. I will have another post on just this subject (probably many). In short, Minneapolis realizes that people that are surrounded by beauty and inspiration will work better and live happier lives. Whenever there is something to do, they don’t ask how they can do it cheaper, they ask how they can do it better. They invest in people with every brick they lay, and every poster they print.
People here are genuinely friendly.
On the street, a car will always slow down for you, and not in that San Francisco/Los Angeles “how-close-can-I-skid-to-the-pedestrian” kind of way. While it causes traffic to be unpredictable at times, and cross-walks appear to operate merely as suggestions, no on really seems to mind.
In the shops, not only were the sales-people cheerful, when I told them I was new to town they all went out of their way to make sure I knew where to go for everything I needed. While retail folks generally have at least an easily scratched veneer of civility, every single person I’ve met has been genuinely friendly and seemingly happy. I suspect its a combination of Midwestern hospitality and the universal enjoyment I see of the wonderful weather here so far.
So I was all ready for a frosty slap in the face from Father Winter, but when I got off the plane, my sweatshirt and sneakers were a little hot for the 80-degree plus weather.
My new roommate Martin, from Miami via Argentina, and I changed into flip-flops and shorts and went exploring. We had lunch outside at The Local, got groceries, crossed the Mississippi River, and discovered that pretty much every kitchen in town closes after 9pm. Luckily The Loon Cafe, an oddly named sportsbar and grill done up in darkwood and plasma, still had their kitchen fires burning to warm us up some of the best chili and wild rice soup I’ve ever had.
Miami Ad School has a full-time campus in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I will be doing my first “Quarter Away” there, and after a bit of calendar counting I realized I will be there almost exactly 75 days. I plan to make the most of them.
I take off Thursday at 6:30am. The living room is a mess with all of my worldly possessions as I organize, pack, and put away. My dad looks doubtful that it will get done, I know that it will, but I also know that sleep is optional.
Observation: It seems like everyone has a Minneapolis connection, a brother, cousin, past job, or old friend. I met a few of my own connections while filming in LA, so maybe I’ll drop them a line when I get into town.
Expectations: Friendly people. Lots of work. Cold weather.
(note: this post is backdated to preserve chronology)
