I believe I left off last time talking about having to go to a party that our PR department was organzing ... so I guess I should start from there ... The party was great, my 'job' was basically to take the 'VIPs' (aka journalists) to the VIP area and get them drinks, chat them up, talk about the event ... basically, to mingle. Met some really interesting people, lots of freelancers ... a couple people who write for Men's Health, some others from Maxim, some from GQ ... Lots from the 'local' london papers etc etc ... hard to remember. But, if working at Ogilvy means a VIP pass and an open bar, sign me up! Only problem was how late I got home, but power through with some apples and a coffee ...
But what REALLY woke me up Thursday (the 3rd of July) was taking the boat to work ... I think I mentioned the 'clipper' before ... I get on the huge boat which has an indoor seating area that looks like a short, wide airplane with about 200 seats, and then an outdoor area in the back part with another 30 seats or so ... if you check out the website, you can see the kind of boat it is ... http://www.thamesclippers.com/fleet/
Pretty cool experience, get on a boat in the middle of London underneath London Bridge ... the boats takes off with a roar and 'clips' along to Tower bridge (the more famous one) and stops to pick up some more people ... few minutes later, and I can see St. Pauls, the 'city', tower bridge ... as the boats skims somewhat slowly through the water ... pass by 'Tower of London' with a very very very old wall that says, 'entrance to Traitor's Gate' (traiters gate is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traitor's_Gate ) ... then the boat makes a bit of a turn as I'm standing enjoying the 'pleasure cruise' ... all of a sudden they leave the 'speed restricted zone' and there's a huge roar, the front of the boat lifts and it takes off through the water with incredible speed ... and this is not a small boat ... this is big and it's just flying through the water ... 2 minutes later, I'm at the pier ... 3 minutes later, I'm sitting in my desk ... talk about a way to get to work!
every now and again, something happens, or I look up from my desk and see the OGILVY logo on the wall, or look out the window ... and it just makes me laugh. I can't beleive that I'm here, in London, working at Ogilvy. It's all so surreal and amazing ... anyways ... just had one of those moments when I looked the wall that says " 'We SELL, or else,' David Ogilvy " .
Yesterday was spent working on this project that I am doing, my team is often not around the office, so I'm often chatting with random people from the British Gas account, or AMEX ... everyone is so nice here. People will just come up to me, or see my in the halls and say, 'oh ... you're one of the summers, would you like to have a coffee and chat, do you have any questions for me?' ... it happens all the time ... It's such an amazing atmosphere ...
Got to work yesterday morning, and since have been continuing on with this on going project as well as doing some more 'meanial' office type things, but everything is interesting. Like, typing up someone else's handwritten notes is not always the most fun ... unless it's notes from a meeting with a very very important person about where they want to take their very important business in their future with Ogilvy ... some very priveledged information, to say the least!
Have been working mostly on this British Airways account, filling in here and there with American Express and working on 2 seperate pitches with the PR department ... hours are long but I'd stay all night around here ... and some people do!
Us summer people have actually just been assigned a mojor project that we have to have done and present on our last day to about 50 people here in the office. Bascially, it all reveloves around the agency's 360 policy ... you can read more about it at www.ogilvy.co.uk ... (the policy, not our project) ... but the people who will be watching, commenting and taking part in the q & A of this two hour presentation will be all the top management ... like the chairman of Ogilvy UK and others who hold extremely high positions in the office. It happens on our last day here, so it should be pretty awesome!
Ah ... Softball!!! Ogilvy has a softball team, and I made my 'Ogilvy Wharf Rats' debut last night! It was quite awesome to play softball in the middle of Regents Park. .. Unfortuantly, as I was trying to make an impression ... I started in the outfield, which is tough when you have no idea how big the park is so its hard to tell distances. The very first batter, the very first pitch, absolutely launched one WAY over my head ... I tried my best to run as hard as I could, but to no avail ... the first batter was at home plate before I even caught up to the ball ... haha ... So, I had to make ammends ... my first up-to-bat saw me hitting with the bases loaded ... I liked the look of the first pitch, had my target out in the outfield ... and hit probably the best baseball shot of my life (and most likely will never hit anything as good as that ever again) ... for a grand slam home run ... we ended up winning the game 24 - 10 ... :) a very good debut!
This morning, I took the 'clipper' into work again ... once again over-awed by the sites and sounds ... it's funny, when I take the bus to school in Ottawa or walk around downtown on my way somewhere, I am always wearing my IPod, but here ... I never do. I put it on the other day when I left my place for the walk and commute to work, but took it off shortly after as I felt like I was really missing out on the sounds of the city. Not sure if that makes any sense ... but especially being on the boat ... or even waiting for the boat ... with the accents of the people, the views, the water rolling along ... it's almost like its a waste to listen to Coldplay as I would be missing out on so much ...
Well ... today is the first of 'Summer Fridays' ... which means people are allowed to leave work at noon ... and Fridays is usally the day when people go out for big lunches ... So, I'm looking around me at this 'open concept work space' which is usually buzzing with email alerts and phones ringing and people chatting and coming up with ideas and discussing ... at the moment, I'm counting 3 people in front of me at the desks and 2 people behind me ... it's pretty damn quiet ... and it's 1:45 ... might be a bit of a long afternoon! ...
more to come :)
- O
1 comment on Softball, Pitches, Briefs, Meetings and a Party
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Fantastique Oglivier! Well done. This is mumsy ol' chap. So proud of you.
In his book, Confessions of an Advertising Man, David Ogilvy has this to say: "At the age of nine I was sent to board at an aristocratic Dotheboys Hall in Eastbourne. The headmaster wrote of me, "He has a distinctly original mind, inclined to argue with his teachers and to stray and convince them that he is right and the books are wrong: but this perhaps is further proof of his originality". You probably don't remember this, but when you were in Grade 6 at Ashbury, and for 7 years thereafter, you would constantly approach your teachers who gave you less than stellar marks and make a case that "the books were wrong" and you should be rewarded for your creativity". Your Grade 6 teacher. Greg Simpson, your favourite teacher of your favourite subject, drama, was one of the only ones who thought this was not such a bad thing!. Oh yes, and David Ogilvy was also a drama enthusiast while at Eastbourne, which I gather might have been the equivalent of Ashbury!
So today, the 3rd anniversary of your wonderful dad's passing (they don't call it "die" anymore, and I'm not a widow, I'm a surviving spouse!) I am feeling, sad, nostalgic, grateful, proud, fulfilled, and lucky beyond belief to have you as our son. You have the right attitude, and you truly are living your dad's mantra of "never taking yourself seriously", and "never getting a swelled head!".
Je suis tellement fière de toi. Ton père avait bien raison (il avait toujours raison!) quand il m'a dit dès ta naissance que tu serais la lumière de ma vie lorsqu'il ne serait plus avec nous. Je me souviendrai toujours lorsqu'à huit mois enceinte, et tellement grosse que je ne pouvais plus attacher mes souliers, nous avons fait un voyage à Londres alors qu'il était député. Le voyage de retour était plutôt pénible, et à l'atterissage, nous avons aperçu une jeune dame qui était seule. Nous l'avons invitée à partager notre taxi. Elle était une soeur en habit de ville! Elle s'est tournée vers moi et m'a dit avec toute sincérité qu'elle nous regardait, ton père et moi, lors du long voyage en avion, et qu'elle était certaine que "votre fils (car on savait que tu étais un garçon!) aura une vie très spéciale et fera sa marque sur ce monde". Je ne sais pas pourquoi, mais je n'ai jamais oublié ce moment spécial. Je t'aime beaucoup.