There can be only one

No. This is not a review of Highlander, that piece of crap movie (I can sense the snipers around me, courtesy of all my blog contributors). No way. This is a tribute to the ONE cool exec that made my life easier and fun for almost two years. This person ruled for one basic principle. She trusted me with her eyes closed.

This was the greatest AE there ever was. Cool to work with. Easy to talk to. She got that I had other deadlines that sometimes would make her work not be a priority. She didn't care. All that she wanted was that I deliver great ads in a decent time. By the way, when she got my ads, she never used to change anything without a great argument. She came and talked to me, tried to understand my concept and we usually talked about the ad until we had an agreement.

Her jobs were massive. She had one of the biggest clients of the agency, and she took care of them like a pro. Her deadlines were tight, but if it couldn't be done that day, she would be the first to call the client and say: sorry, we have to talk about when we are going to deliver this to you. That's client service. She never - ever - was late with anything. Everything she promised her clients, she delivered. Why? Because she asked me, honestly, when I could give them to her. She never gave a deadline that I didn't know about. That's teamwork.

Creatives and AE's must have a bond, based in trust. I always think that AE's and creatives could be a great match, if they trust each other and cut the bull. The thing is, many AE's think of creatives like kids (well, most of us are younger, but that doesn't mean we act like children - even though we have toys at our desk) and don't give us the props we deserve.

In advertising, if you are creative, you have to prove yourself to everyone. The fact that you are younger than most people at the agency is a sure bet that, if you don't open your mouth and have an opinion, you will be branded as a cool kid that comes up with funny (dare I say witty?) ideas. Most of all if you prefer to be left alone at your dark cubicle than to go out and meet your clients, go to presentations... Man, you are shooting yourself down. You have to go out there. Fight with clients. Argue. Negociate. Get known. Get respected.

And for our great nemeses (had to google the plural for nemesis, jeez) out there: take a chance on that South Park viewing, message tshirt wearing, beard growing, funny haircut sporting and Lord of the Rings toy collecting dude. He might know stuff that will help you out. Come on man, do it for Froddo.