The downside to being twenty feet tall
Posted on
2008-Jun-10
at
11:37
Here is a tip for all you young advertising folk. Never ever model for campaigns at your agency. Especially if it's a particular campaign you don't want to be reminded of. Don't do it out of the goodness of your heart if the client has no money. Just don't. You'll probably regret it for years to come. I sure do.
A couple of years ago, at the first agency I ever worked at, we did a campaign for the local downtown business association. The concept was nothing spectacular, just people enjoying themselves downtown. Being naive and probably a little flattered I agreed to pose for the China town shot.
The shot was of me and another co-worker posing as a young lovers, enjoying the outdoor market in China town. I was gleefully teasing my so called girlfriend by holding a star fruit just out of her reach. It was probably one of the cheesiest, most awkwardly posed shots I have ever seen. Thinking about it now almost makes me vomit.
If that wasn't enough the campaign was primarily a transit campaign and I, at the time, was a transit user. I was horrified to discover that the bus stop I waited at everyday was part of the media buy. Consequently I had to wait beside a transit shelter with a life size image of myself in this horrific pose. I wore a hoody almost everyday.
Eventually the campaign finished and I found a job in the city I'm in now. Leaving behind the shame of an unintentionally bad modeling career I embraced the fresh start. I had almost forgotten about the whole fiasco when I started getting emails. Emails from friends, acquaintances and people I barely knew in the town I had recently left. The titles of these emails were always in the vein of: I saw you and you were 20 feet tall!
Horrified I found out that the campaign had been revived for a second year but this time they went for gold putting some of the campaign on the back of double decker buses. Hazard a guess at which glory shot they chose. That's right.
I have been unwillingly immortalized as the 20' China town lover and star fruit holder of pure cheesy awesomeness.
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