{"id":49576,"date":"2018-09-24T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2018-09-24T15:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.creativecircle.com\/?p=49576"},"modified":"2018-09-24T08:00:47","modified_gmt":"2018-09-24T15:00:47","slug":"get-creative-directors-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.creativecircle.com\/blog\/get-creative-directors-attention\/","title":{"rendered":"Using a Stunt to Get a Creative Director\u2019s Attention"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m about to admit to something embarrassing: It was the summer after I graduated college with my degree in Communications and Advertising, but before I\u2019d started Book Shop<\/a>. I was in that stage of blissful ignorance where you\u2019re unaware of just how much you don\u2019t know, so you think you\u2019re brilliant! I lived in an area with a lot of mid-sized, regionally famous advertising agencies, and I wanted to start getting some work. As a way to pique a creative director\u2019s interest, I\u2026sorry, HOLD ON, I need a moment.<\/em> This really pains me to write, it\u2019s that embarrassing.<\/p>\n

*deep breath*<\/em> I sent out these mailers of custom-labeled packages of gum made up with my name and the copy \u201cLooking for some icy-fresh creative solutions?\u201d (or some horrible garbage like that) along with my resume and cover letter. Despite spending a fair amount of money on the whole thing, I got exactly zero responses. And thinking about it now, why would I have gotten any? It was a terrible, lame, meaningless attempt at wordplay, which (with the exception of this<\/a>) is pretty much the lowest-hanging creative fruit. The product itself wasn\u2019t cool, useful, or inspiring and it told the recipients nothing about me or my skills.<\/p>\n

So, if you were looking for ideas, go ahead and scratch that one off of your list.<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s a long and storied practice of using stunts or gimmicks to get the attention of a creative director or a hiring manager, it takes effort to pull one off that works for the right reasons like this mind-bogglingly ornate orchestration<\/a> that landed its creator a job at TBWA\/Chiat\/Day Venice. So many others take effort but don\u2019t work like the would-be candidate who took out a billboard with her name and info on it.<\/p>\n

What works and what doesn\u2019t?<\/h2>\n

Slightly similar to, but a million times better than, my tragic gum promo is Brennan Gleason\u2019s \u201cResum-Ale<\/a>\u201d: a 4-pack of craft brewed beer with a resume printed on it. It got him plenty of attention and, more importantly, a job.<\/p>\n

It works because it:<\/p>\n