I'm off to The Clios.
May 15|2004

I ain't no Wulf Blitzer but I'm sure happy to be your host here at the virtual Clios. This is Ignacio, reporting live from the Clio Awards here in sunny Miami Beach. Tune in for the latest pictures and updates from the Clios.

(I wrote this at Pearson waiting for my plane)

Ok, I’m off to work hard at the Clios. Not even I buy that story. In fact I felt hesitant when I wrote “Business” in my US immigration card. I’ll be staying at the Eden Resort & Spa. Picture me with a daiquiri listening to Bob Isherwood and Lee Clow chat. Nothing “business” about that, I think.

The nicest thing about going to an advertising conference is leaving your advertising world. The dozens of projects I was working on yesterday which made up my entire stressful existence are far far away (sorry Jancy). For a split second I feel that advertising lies beyond the doors of my ad agency. This is why attending advertising events like The Clios is very important to anyone working in advertising. It opens up your mind, takes you out of your bubble, shakes you a little bit.

The 2004 Clio Awards are composed of many conferences and screenings. It’s a pretty heavy schedule, so I guess you have to test the waters and see which conferences are right for you. Personally, I am most excited about the ones that don’t talk specifically to me as an art director, since I know I will learn more things in those. We are very incestuous as an industry, we work in advertising, read about advertising, talk about it, award ourselves, so it’s nice to take a break and hear about the latest production techniques or the latest interactive advertising trends.

I’m sure that in the old days, entire creative departments whisked off to award ceremonies like The Clios, Cannes or the One Show. These days, I’ve met a lot of creative directors who bravely sacrifice their business trip and stay in order to pay more entry submissions instead. I’m not really sure what to expect or who’ll be there. Last year, if you read the dailies the big topic was the lack of super incredible work (Cog being the exception). I’ll be eager to find out if we’ve risen from the ashes.

I’ve been asked if I know anyone there, and the answer is yes, but no. I interviewed Bob Isherwood and Lee Clow on the phone, so I kinda know them. However, you can picture me trying to break in the circle of people around them only to say, “Hey Lee, it’s me Ignacio” and get that uncanny big brother ‘who the fuck are you’ look.

How to break successfully into those important guy in the middle circle surrounded by people he doesn’t know is an art that which, (with cocktail in one hand and business card in the other), I will master this week. Because after all, these award ceremonies are mainly about networking. When Rick Boyko was still North American Chief CD he told me that people at Ogilvy would get jealous because he went every year to the award shows, but his argument was that his trips were good for the company because he established networks that benefited the company.

Why am I here? Because I believe Canada does amazing work and no one knows about it. I want to shed some light on these amazing advertising awards. Tune in with me for the next few days as I discover what the Clio Awards are all about. Feel free to email me your thoughts.