Please feed the lions.

When someone comes up to you and asks: "What do you think of this?" how do you respond?

Do you give honest feedback, not sparing details hoping to make it better?
Do you dumb it down tell them its good to help save a possible argument?
Or do you say I like it, because the worse their work is the better yours looks?

Most people would be the first two, Mark Fenske thinks its number three. And as much as I hate to admit it, he might be right. We use these little lies to help justify being a good friend or to save face, but sometimes it is that simple drive to be the best.

While it might seem like the lions don't really want to eat you. They might just be waiting.

But part of me also calls bull shit. I've heard a few times now that to achieve greatness in this industry, you need to sacrifice. Sacrifice family, friends, time, and morals to reach the upper echelon. This is a flat out lie. If you can't reach the top without violating every inch of your soul. You can keep the top.

So I've decided to be open and honest about work I see, becausewhile I might not be right about the work, I refuse to compete through capitulation, and am done listening to people telling you to sacrifice me for tiny gold statues.

The new workout.

When you start working out with more weight or different machines I have usually beaten the shit out of myself after the first day. That bad curl up and die the next morning, hurts to cough, cursing the strong kinda hurt. Mark Fenske's workout is making it hard to laugh.

Fenske believes in one thing for his portfolio class: volume.

Instead of light reps over three weeks. Full projects are due every week. More weight less time. I was concerned when I first started. How in the hell could you produce quality in 2 weeks let along one. I thought I was going to leave in May with a portfolio full of one offs and puns.

But like everything I've learned here, everything the professors do here is for a reason. Doing work in half the time produces work twice as good. It focuses your mind, makes you think simpler, and produces work at volume. Now of course not all of it is good, I'd say 50% is bad but better than a lot of other things we've done.

If anything, there is one thing that I have learned here. When you force yourself to work hard, you surprise yourself with what you get back. Time for some more reps, gotta get ripped before May.

Semester Review: 3

75% there. This was a good semester. Tough trying and at sometimes fruitless but in the end it was a good semester. I saw lots of progress ended on a great note and am ready for a month off of informational interviews, sleeping and some intermittent work.

This was supposed to be the semester where you're supposed to put it all together, start to gain traction and get ready for June. It didn't start that way. I was working hard but wasn't getting anything out of it. It was a lot of art direction for very little good ideas. The professors said relax and simplify and it will come, but it didn't, until a couple weeks ago.

I stopped freaking out. Starting sleeping and working less, and the work got better. The more I lived a relaxed life the better the work got. I finally found some traction. And now I'm a little worried that I found some traction, will I be able to keep it with a month off.

Theres actually too much to work on to worry about that though. I've been busy reaching out and asking for time with former Adcenter/Brandcenter students in San Francisco, working on the One Show, D&ADs and, refining the work I already have.

My last semster will be full of the big boys. I have Charles Hall for International Brand Campaigns and Mark Fenske for Portfolio. It will be an interesting last few months. I've heard and seen the recent grads work, but I'm excited. The light at the end of the tunnel is slowly filling the screen and soon enough it will be May and this will all be over.

Slow down there big boy, one day at a time.

Boing Boing Boing!!

There were no teachers here to get an opinion of our work for Airborne. We thought we had a great idea and wanted someone to say "Yes. I love it." Only Mr. Mark Fenske was here. So we sighed and opened the door and asked for some help.

"I won't look at work from any other class."

Damn it.

The 20 minute conversation that followed was worth more than the help we were looking for.

"Do what you think is cool. If its a poster that people unfold and say 'Cool.' then thats the answer. No agency wants to see how you did on your car-wash assignment. They don't care. They just want things that are cool."

"I did an ad with an orange ball on a white background bouncing up and down going Boing Boing Boing as it hit. I ran that across eight pages. It was like 'What the fuck?' But it helped sell air and shoes for Nike."

"If you think your idea needs a 1/3 of a page plus another two. Do it. But only if its cool."

"You might have an ad and realize that 'This would totally work for another product. Yeah all I have to do is switch the logo and its perfect.' Would an agency know that you did that? No. All they know is that you know when you see a great ad."

So go do cool stuff.

Boing.

Boing.

Boing.

The Fenske Left Hook

WHAM!!!!

I even see it coming. I leaned into it. Even braced for it, maybe even tried to run into it a little, and it still hurt like hell.

I saw people get chewed up before me. I told myself I wouldn't let it get me. I'd fight back argue, stand my ground, walk away with a moral victory. What I didn't realize is that its hard to walk away when you're knocked out.

I've never felt so bad about my work. So disappointed. Never felt the world flip like that in so little time. It felt like I was dead.

I got pats on the back as I sat down, face flushed and glowing, half anger half embarrassment.

"Good Job." "You stood your ground." "I like it, don't worry." They all seemed empty but helped the sting.

But it was over, and there was only one thing I knew. My work did suck. I fought the losing cause. But in all this there was of course a Fenske kernel of truth.

"My job is to make you feel bad, because that's the only way to get you to do better work."

Bullshit I said, still frustrated with defeat. But an hour later I realized it was true. I would never allow myself to do that work again, I wouldn't let him do that again.

I saw him in the hall after the class, he stopped said hi, made a sarcastic comment about my bad work, and smiled.

I told him "Thanks for rocking my world today." To which he replied "I didn't."

I don't know if that was a form of apology, or good job for standing behind your work, or a you better do better quick, but he's right, he didn't rock my world. I let him, but that will be the last I will let him. Lesson learned.

Fenske: A lifetime of ad lessons in 3 hours, plus Van Halen.

So in the first day with the Mark Fenske, I learned everything I needed to know about advertising, however I couldn't write that fast, so I guess I'll listen closely next time.

Everyone was nervous about this one. He came in like the most polite celebrity you've ever met. Intimidating and completely at ease in his surroundings he started. However after the first half hour it was clear it would not be as bad as I thought, again.

He is definitely the real deal in advertising, he told us stories that not many have heard. I know know where the tagline "Just do it." comes from. If you don't google Gary Gilmore. I'm not kidding. I won't give it away but trust me, thats where it comes from.

But everyone knows that he is advertising in alot of circles. What I came away from it was that he is probably a great person to sit and listen to about his stories, sans advertising. He just seems like the kind of guy who is always smack in the middle of stories. And I guess knowing Van Halen helps when you're telling "I should have been there stories."

His style seems to be: Simple and "Where's the news?" Or more simply what has the ten seconds you've taken to talk given me? A little harsh but true in the industry, and if you can get by that you're there, except talent, experience, computer skills, concepting, story-boarding, and networking skills.

Shit.

I guess I've got bigger things to worry about until next Fenske class.