First
off, to you my tiny twelve followers, I don't blog anymore. You
probably miss my poorly-written low-end music analysis, but that's
just how it is. I'm sorry. I started Tu Joues? as a writing practice
when I was in Cambridge learning english, but life moves on while
Blog stays behind. The reason for me to write today is because I
write every day as a copywriter in New York, and I need that to get
better. Significantly better. This post is my candidature to the DamnFine Words writing contest, organized by Men With Pens, and offering
a ten-week online writing course to the winner.
My
New York settlement is probably one the boldest and most emotionally
intense event in my life. I always dreamed about being an advertiser
in New York. And after I graduated last May, I was finally set to
start this chapter of my life. I already got my U.S. working Visa, I
earned enough money over the summer in France to make it happen, and
I had until November 16th
to find a job. There was no real obstacle between me and the city.
But suddenly, something unexpected happened at home and I had to stay
and help my parents. I remember that violent pain in the chest when
my parents told me, like if someone stabbed me or something. Of
course, I couldn't be angry at them, they needed my help. Although,
everyday spent at home seemed like my hopes to make it to New York
were being carried further and further away. Until October 30th, a
Friday morning, when my mother told me they had found a solution. I
could finally leave, and yet I was scared. I had barely two weeks
left to find a job. But I decided to go no matter what. On Saturday I
told my girlfriend I was leaving, on Sunday I booked my plane ticket,
and on Monday, I was sleeping in New York. No time to fool around -as
soon as I landed I got a phone number and went to the public library
every day to access internet and network. After five days, a one day
trip to L.A., and some hundred something emails sent, I met Daniel
Korkhov, co-founder of Ludique, a small advertising agency whose work
I couldn't find anywhere. I was very intrigued.
We
met on a morning in a café, I had a hair cut before because I wanted
to present myself at my best. After we sat, he started “Okay, I am
going to be honest with you.” I knew it was going to be bad. You
never hear someone say this and they tell you you're the best
whatever
in the world, so I prepared myself for the worst. He glanced at me
and said “you are close to average, average at most.” Boy, it was
the first time someone ever told me that. I was kind of glad
actually, of him being so straight with me. Then we went over my
portfolio that I had sent him the day before, and he made comments
for each work, before finally handing me the agency's portfolio. At
that moment I almost fainted. It was world-class advertising, pieces
of art put together for commercial purposes. He earned my complete
admiration, but also sort of broke my heart as I knew he would never hire me after what was said in the meeting. I gave him back the
cellphone, he laid back in his chair, paused for a few seconds, then
looked at me and said “if you want, you can come work by my side.”
I was completely lost. Why? How? Somehow, Daniel found a certain
affection for me and decided to mentor me through my beginnings in
advertising, and it's now been three months we work together.
You
want to know why I participate in the Damn Fine Words writing
contest? If you care digging through my blog, you'll see my writing
skills have been propelled to a whole new level in a few years. It's
actually pretty good, considering the world's average level of
writing. But let's face the truth, Daniel was right, I'm an “average
at most” in copywriting. I got to realize it by myself too once I
started writing real-life copies on a daily basis and that I'd take a
lot more time to write and proof-read than I should. My ambition
being ruthless though, in a heart-beat I took a radical turn to
foster my english. I picked up reading again, about three books a
month on average, and about hundreds of Flipboard's headlines per day
for their succinctness. Regarding my grammar issue, I invested in a
couple of grammar and copywriting textbooks to solidify my writing's
foundations. Yes, I am dedicated to become a first-rank copywriter.
But regardless of how much effort I will put into this complete
self-reformatting, in the end I will only become a good copywriter.
I'm not aiming for good, I'm heading for the excellence. Especially
since I have someone behind me spending his time and energy for me,
someone that believes in me. It is my duty to try as hard as I can to
succeed. And that's why I'm competing for the scholarship.
Finally,
what I'd like to do with better writing skills is to write meaningful
advertising. I know only too much how people consider advertising to
be a shameless immoral practice. And I understand how the confusion
could occur, too. I wrote a thirteen page paper on the subject, which
actually got published -I'd say I'm a published author if my writing
wasn't so average. However, I prefer to look at advertising as a
powerful tool to bring people to develop a sense of critical
thinking, essence of free thinking -I'm not trying to start a
hard-determinism vs free will debate. From raising questions about
life, to opening your mind, and all the way to coming up with
concepts like the democracy, critical thinking is an asset which I
believe has the potential to change the world. The advertising which
promote such education, are those good captivating oblique ads that
stops you, engaging then a reflection, and creating a reaction almost
unique to each of us. Those ads are the fruit of three competences
put at work together
First,
you need to be an advertising nerd with a theoretical expertise as
sharp as a knife. Great social skills comes next, being naturally
good at communicating. And finally you need to be an amazing
copywriter who's able to pitch meaningful ideas in a clear, concise
and compelling way. Fortunate enough, I was born naturally good at
communicating and I got so passionate in my studies that I have a
very good picture of the theoretical aspect of advertising. You got
the idea, I really need to step up that writing.
It's
funny, this whole narrative reminds me of my ex-girlfriend. She used
to say “You're so lucky” because of events like me finding a
copywriter job in just a week in New York. Between you and I, if the
rewards of living your life with nerves is being lucky, then yeah, in
fact, I'm damn lucky.
