AdLand Suit is Dan Shute, a Board Account Director at Delaney Lund Knox Warren, a top ten London Advertising Agency. This is where I write about the life of a Suit - which can include pretty much anything. Delaney's didn't know I was doing this, but they do now. They still don't agree with everything I say though. They'd also probably rather I swore less.

Wednesday 23 December 2009

Komodo Dragons In The Boardroom


So, here we are. Everybody in the office seems to be carrying a baby of some age or other, there's a Komodo dragon wandering around the board room, and I'm eating smoked salmon sandwiches and drinking Champagne. That can only mean that today is the Agency Kids' Christmas Party (my favourite day of the Agency year - all the Agency offspring come in, there's an Animal Man, there's a Magician...), which can, in turn, only mean that we've reached the end of the year.

2009 has been quite a year for AdLand Suit. That goes without saying, I suppose, given that he/it/I didn't exist a year ago. Something that I started back in March (Feb?) because I had a spare ten minutes and I was fed up of reading snarky comments on Scamp and elsewhere about the lack of Account Man blogs turned, quite unexpectedly, into something quite big. People read it. You read it. I really wasn't expecting you to. But you did. And you left comments, some of which were nice, some of which were a little bit fuckwitty, all of which were hugely appreciated. Then Campaign wrote about it. And then we made three and a half grand for charity. And came out. (X-Factor also happened. But the less said about that, the better. Damn you, Snaggletooth.) I haven't posted as much recently, because I genuinely haven't had the chance, or the energy, for reasons that will become clear when you see the slew of new work on Halifax that will appear in January.

But I will in the new year. Promise. I'll probably even write some stuff between Christmas and New Year, and then stagger the posting of it - you know, like a PROPER BLOGGER. (I don't really believe Proper Bloggers exist. It feels like that sort of organisation would go against the very nature of blogging. But anyway.)

Here's hoping that 2010 is a slightly more fun year for advertising, and for life in general. Let's face it, 2009 sucked on quite a few levels, and in quite a lot of ways on those levels, but it does feel like we hit the bottom a couple of months back. Whilst we might not be quaffing champagne (ironically, of course, I am currently quaffing champagne) and building castles out of cocaine (like what they used to do in the olden days) any time soon, it feels like a bit of the buzz is coming back. Let's make 2010 a good 'un. I'll see you all for Lunch.

Right. I have to dash, as the magician's starting (I wasn't joking about today being my favourite day of the Agency year - seriously, they've already had the Animal Man in already (THERE'S A KOMODO DRAGON IN THE BOARDROOM) - but quickly, before I go, one last top tip to tide you over 'til new year:

If you ever find yourself at the Agency Kids' Christmas Party, don't over-indulge on the free-flowing Champagne. If you do, you'll find yourself more than a little refreshed by mid-afternoon, which can cause your evening's plans to come crashing down around your ears. I learned this last year. And, as you might have guessed, it was all my fault when they did. I'm still in trouble with a lot of people for that one. The bastards.

Happy Christmas, chaps. You're all lovely. See you in 2010.

PS As a quick bonus, here's the worst Xmas song (opinion author's own, but also completely true) every made:


And here's the best. Happy Christmas!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This blog is rubbish now the mystery has gone.

Mike said...

But having anonymous people leave insults behind brings the mystery back.... who are you, mystery insulter?

But seriously, as we come to the end of a pretty shitty year, and approach a new and hopefully better one (one in which I might actually stand a chance of getting a grad job!), thanks for the blog. Your posts can be somewhat terrifying (see "Everything is your fault"), but never fail to remind me of how great a suit job can be.

(Though, seeing as your agency rejected me at the final stage, I must hate you, the agency, and everything you ever produce from now until the end of the world.... or something).

AdLand Suit said...

Thanks to both of you for your comments - for the criticism, and Mike, for the support. You're very welcome, and I'm glad ALS has been of some use to you. It's a shame you now have to hate me, but I understand. Good luck with the grad apps this time round - and keep plugging away in the meantime. I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of Agencies taking on more grads throughout the year, as things pick up - which they are, and will.

And as for the criticism... I'm not sure you were trying to be constructive, but it's an interesting point, and one that I have considered at length - and had done, as you might have expected, before I chose to reveal who I was. I won't go into it here, as I've just written a post about it, but hopefully you won't be disappointed by what ALS continues to be. And if you are, well, then you can read something else. The internet's a pretty big place.