I have spent more than 10 years in the advertising and marketing world but have never been called an “intern.”
In college, when I was told to apply for internships at big-ticket agencies in hopes of landing a half-a-desk job in the glitzy ad world — almost always without pay — I confidently went out to apply for part-time jobs as a writer. Guess what? I landed one in the first few attempts.
But after spending a good decade exchanging hats/ideas/threats on both sides of the client-agency L.O.C., the pandemic hit. By then, I was already capable to poach my own clients and fend for myself as an independent consultant. For me, this was a time to pause and re-learn. And in my own head, I stepped into the shoes of someone that I never allowed myself to be — an advertising intern.
With so much loss and pain around me, I started pouring my thoughts into how, if given an opportunity, advertising could sympathise with those grieving due to city-wide lockdowns.
I remember writing down a lot of copy ideas for a “lockdown campaign” but often finding them offensive and intrusive. But there was one idea that passed my scrutiny. I made a resolve to learn Canva and design my first spec ad. It was spun around the narrative of video calls being the only thread connecting two families grieving in separate cities.
#advertising #design #writing #internships
