ADVERTISING AND MY NEW BEST FRIEND

I have a new best friend.

I would probably not recognize her if I saw her in the street tomorrow (sorry Kaitlin) but hey, when a second grader writes you a note saying  you are her BF she means it... at least in that moment. 

My friendship with Kaitlin and her group started a couple of months ago when I was part of career day at my daughter's elementary school.

I had spent quite a few hours deciding how to best explain advertising to a bunch of first, second and fifth graders, in a fun way (you don't want to be a bore in front of your kid and her friends)  and do it in a G rated presentation. I decided I'd start from the beginning and I would use lots of cute cartoons and examples of commercials they could relate to.

"Let's suppose I'm a caveman--I said-- and I just discovered fire and want to sell it to other cavemen..." Then I explained how when we were very few, the  person to person approach worked fine but as the  number of people in the world grew and grew we needed other ways of communicating the information; ways like newspapers, radio, tv and of course--they added before I could mention it-- the internet. Any questions? No?

Good! they grasped the idea. I had them.  I could continue. 

Not so fast! One little guy is raising his hand. 

Me: "Yes?"

Him: "I... I.... I... forgot"

Big laugh from the rest of the class. 

I explain to them,  in a very simple and fun way what I do in the agency, what my job is.

"You know what we do to come up with an idea for a commercial? Let me tell you. Me and my friends that work sit down and think... and think and think and think. And when we're done thinking you know what we do?"   (Big eyes, wondering, expecting) "we think some more, and think and think and think".  They smile, they laugh. 

Then I show them a spot for Build-a-Bear Workshop. It shows two cute little girls talking to camera. They're adorable and funny. The class thinks so too. So, now they know a bit more about the process, they're engaged and I'm ready to move on to the next example.

 I see another little hand raised. 

"yes?"

"My cousin went once to Build- a-Bear..."

And then it happens: A real life testimonial  barrage, ranging from "I went to Build-a-Bear once and bought a kitty cat because I don't like bears..." to "I've never been to Build-a-Bear", which started another series of unrequested and very informative descriptions of the store. 

Once the comments about Build-a-Bear were finished, I showed them a spot from Mexico. It is for a brand of peanuts and shows a little cute girl in the zoo eating some generic peanuts. An elephant gets her attention. He wants peanuts but she cannot give him the peanuts because there's a sign that asks not to feed the animals. Eventually she gives up and gives the bag of peanuts to the elephant, who throws them back in her face because they are bad, generic peanuts.

Big hit! Everybody laughs. Applause. 

I'm waiting for the little hands raised to hear dozens of stories about the zoo and elephants.

One hand. I'm trying to decide, will it be zoo or elephants?... 

 "My brother can't eat peanuts... he's allerkick"

Before this turns into another discussion, I immediately move to the next example and topic; how advertising can help people in need. I show them the spot we did for Unicef, where a mom is looking for water for her baby and, not finding any alternative, gives him dirty water from a puddle in the street. 

Their faces while they're watching are priceless. This is not cute, not funny.

When it's over they look at me like I did something wrong. What's going on?

"Did you do this one?"

"yes, we came up with the idea, found the actors, shot the commercial with a camera, added music..."

"Is that a real baby"

"yes"

Silence. 

Suddenly I realize what's going on.

"Hey guys, don't look at me that way. What the baby is drinking is not really dirty water, it's apple juice".

"it doesn't look like apple juice"

"Really, it is, it's just it's not as clear as the one you guys usually drink. I swear"

Smiles. We are friends again.

Now it's time to put them to work. Give them a real brief on a project we are doing for the Ad Council. 

"So, this is about telling kids your age to eat right and exercise, OK?  You can use any Looney Tunes characters you want. Let's do a TV commercial"

I divide them into groups and give them 5 minutes to work on it.

They are working, they're brainstorming. Most importantly, they're enjoying it.  A lot.

They present their ideas to the rest of the class. We all applaud every idea (that's the rule).

And then the bell rings and we're out of time. "Two minutes", says the teacher.

"Any questions before we let Mr. Weinstock go?", she asks.

Little hand up. I start sweating.

"Which one of our ideas did you like the best?"

My daughter looks at me. I start sweating more.

I babble something about all of them being so good I can't decide at that moment, every idea has some merit.  They're used to that kind of answer from their parents, I guess. They buy it, kind of.

"Ok, final question, comment".

Hand raised.

"I like your job. How can I do that job? I like doing commercials..." They all agree.

"We like your job the best" (they had heard from a mechanical engineer before me).

I leave the classroom.

I like my job too. 

I like doing commercials. 

Thanks for the reminder, little friends.