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In the 9 months of hard work involved in this year’s Public Service campaign, one huge aspect of it that I, as committee co-chair, knew was beyond my ability to pull off was a fundraiser. To make matters more complicated, we happened to choose a client—The Center for Great Apes—that necessitated a larger amount of money to be generated because their operation happened to be larger in scope than what a normal non-profit might be. So after all was said and done, we realized if our project would see a successful end, then we would need to put on a fundraiser that was larger in fundraising potential than what had ever really been attempted in the past.

No big deal right?

I couldn’t do it, and neither could my co-chair. Try as we might, we had no experience in Event Planning, and we were almost half way through the year already.

Enter Lisa Marie Chimento. In the span of four months, she almost single handedly put on not only a spectacular event for the Center for Great Apes, but also an event that’s sure to be a record setter for the amount of money raised in one night for any Ad 2 Orlando fundraiser.

I couldn’t be more proud and honored than I am today to have worked with such an amazing group of people this year, and Lisa went well beyond our expectations to place herself as one of the clear leaders in this years Public Service effort.

The activities (just to name a few) included all night entertainment, dancing, a silent auction, poker tournaments, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, premium buffet, door prizes, an amazing documentary created by local production company, Big Sky Productions, and of course, the “Hollywood entrance”.

Thanks to Lisa Marie, and to all our 2010 Public Service teammates. Kristina and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to work with. I’m confident in saying you’ve all earned the respect of the entire Ad 2 Orlando community.

-Wayne Alan Kan, Art Director and 2010 Public Service co-chair

Doug Pray’s latest film provides its viewers with insight from the some of the greatest creative minds of our time.  I knew the agencies (some of them), I knew their clients and I knew their campaigns, but I didn’t know who the “Mad Men” and “Mad Women” were and how they created their masterworks.

According to the movie we receive 5,000 advertising messages a day.  The film goes on to say that 61% of Americans feel they are bombarded with too much advertising everyday.  Those two statistics really got me to thinking.  Are 5,000 messages a day too much?  In my opinion it’s not the amount of messages that people receive that is the problem, but the quality of those messages.  As much as we hate to admit it, as a culture, we love advertising.  The Super Bowl is watched as much for the ads as it is for the game itself; we don’t dislike advertising, we dislike bad advertising.

The question then becomes, is there anything we can do to change the system?  How do you address the concerns of each party?  We all know agencies want to do good work, clients want to move product, change perceptions and shape opinions, and customers don’t want to be bothered.  That last part is only somewhat true, because according to the film people don’t mind being sold to if they understand why it’s happening and enjoy the process.  If you can sell someone in an entertaining way they will love it – why don’t more clients realize this?  Are we as agencies doing enough to convince our clients that we are the experts and we know what’s best for their brands?

I enjoyed Art & Copy and I think it should be shown to anyone who thinks they have an inkling of what it takes to work in advertising; whether they are on the account side, creative or media, it doesn’t matter.  I loved this film so much I think agencies all over should put it on a continuous loop in the lobbies of their offices, and just happen to have it playing in conference rooms prior to a meetings.  Not so much to inspire the staff (or to drive the receptionist mad), but as a means to indoctrinate the clients who come to visit.  George Lois, the man Tommy Hilfiger called a visionary, said in order to make his clients wealthy, he had to drag them with him kicking and screaming.  Ads are all around us and there’s nothing we can do to stop them, but we can try our hardest to make the best ones possible.

– Marquis Duncan, Ad 2 Orlando Membership Co-Chair

There came a time for me (three months ago, to be exact) when I realized that although I loved my job and the talented, wonderful people I worked with, I needed more; I could use a new challenge. I was once told that even in hard times, talented people can find jobs. Over the past year, I have seen about a dozen very talented friends and co-workers lose their jobs. I agree with the advice, however, I would make some small edits.

In hard times, talented people—with connections in their profession—can find jobs much easier.

Thanks to my networking and connections made in my position as the ’09-’10 Ad 2 Orlando Socials Chair, I was able to secure a position as Lead Graphic Designer in the marketing department at Turnstile Publishing Co. During the initial interview process, I was able to call on fellow Ad 2 board members for references. Now that I have the job, I take advantage of my professional relationships when I am in need of any outside resources (freelancers, print jobs, interns).

–Jillian Baco, Ad 2 Orlando Socials Chair, and Lead Graphic Designer, Turnstile Publishing Company

Ad 2 Orlando’s Public Service committee took a trip recently to visit our 2009-2010 beneficiary, the Center for Great Apes, a permanent sanctuary that provides a safe environment for orangutans and chimanzees in Wauchula, Florida. The trip was, for lack of better words… amazing. We met with the director, Patti Ragan, who is incredibly passionate about this initiative.  The sanctuary is not open to the public (we were told that a group tour of the sanctuary was worth a couple thousand dollars) however, we got a private tour, all feeling incredibly honored to be there.

Patti took us around the sanctuary to see all of the 40+ apes. We were amazed by the huge environments they are housed in (see photo below). As we went by each habitat, Patti told each of their heart-wrenching stories. We found out that most of these primates had been through so much pain and torture before being saved by Patti and her team. A couple of them MAY even make a cameo in some of our creative work… hint, hint

Overall, it was an experience our team will never forget. We left the sanctuary (6 hours later) feeling nothing short of inspired. We can’t wait to share our campaign with everyone as soon as it is ready. Stay tuned!

Tip of the day: Don’t call them monkeys! Monkeys have tails and apes do not.

– Susan Watts, Media Planner/Buyer, Push.

When I heard about the Ugly Sweater social for Ad 2 I thought – what a fun idea.  We all get to dress and look ridiculous and it’s totally okay – and it’s not even Halloween!  The date I was bringing, a girl of course,  loaned me a sweater that was, admittedly, very ugly.  She was wearing a red wool coat that actually looked pretty good on her.  I told her she looked like she was going to a nice Christmas party, not an Ugly Sweater social.  I suggested we trade, so she could have a truly ugly sweater and I could sort of cross dress and look silly.  Well as ugly as cross dressing can be, I was definitely in the spirit of the social.  I didn’t intend on
being competitive in the contest, but once we realized the genius in my costume we started lobbying and charming the other people at the social for bows (they are like your score – more bows = win).  I thought I had it won, but another competitor who had won second last year came prepared to win this time.  Still, getting second place on a last minute idea was pretty fun.  The people I got to meet at the social were all really cool and nice, and what a great time!  I’ll definitely be there
next year again, with my own ugly sweater.  Hopefully the tradition of second place winning the next year stays true.

Cliff Steinhauer, Account Representative, Progressive Communications

It was the Ad 2 National Mid-Year Retreat. Not only would this be my first-ever national conference, but my first time in San Diego! I was traveling with 4 other Ad 2 Orlando BODs: Will Royall, Kristen Zucks, Lindsey Levy and Ashton Dunn, who was on the same departing flight, Nashville-bound for a Jay Z concert. Overall, a damn good crew, I’d say.

We arrived in California late afternoon with one thing on our minds… The San Diego Zoo.