"Anyone can do it—write, draw, paint, and photograph."
"Flexible working hours, cheerful workplace, and a fat salary!"
Try asking someone what advertising is. You will come across one of those answers for sure.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Advertising is as demanding as any other industry and requires long periods of hard work, missed weekends, and vacations.
The Work
The perception of a totally carefree lifestyle probably stems from the creative aspect of advertising. However, a career in advertising is not limited to creativity, even if creativity largely defines advertising.
Work at an advertising agency involves everything from creative copywriting and photography to the world of cold facts and numbers, for the account and media planners. And don't forget the merciless world of client servicing. Some clients hire agencies only to proceed with their own ideas—whether or not they're workable.
One interesting aspect of ad agencies, however, is that the "job" of creative imagination is not restricted to the creative workforce: the planner, the client-servicing executive, and even the front office people can all contribute to ideas.
Passion and Teamwork
The advertising profession is all about being in love with your work. But an advertising job also requires commitment, passion, and a constant desire to do one's best.
Because of the intense subjectivity of the work, all ideas are closely analyzed. A typical day at an agency can involve many meetings just to brainstorm and fine tune an idea. Very often, ideas get mercilessly taken apart as soon as they are generated.
Ideas depend on teamwork for successful implementation. The advertising professional must communicate clearly. This is important to frame the idea correctly, as well as to execute it successfully. There is little doubt that advertising professions are people oriented. Being able to get along with your colleagues is key to delivering projects on time. And, needless to say, advertising requires thick skin!
Openness to Learning
This would probably top the list of all other skills required to succeed in advertising. If you are able to listen well, you will be a successful advertising professional. Look at some of the most-successful campaigns; you will notice that most resemble real life. Therefore, an advertising professional has to be tuned into life at all times. The pesky co-worker, the tiring neighbor, the annoying aunt—all can be sources of learning, however unconscious. For an advertising professional, whether in creative, client servicing, or planning, learning never stops.
Don't Bother Looking at the Time
Enter the erratic schedule. This is one place where you will find that the actual work most often takes place after the rest of the world has headed home. The work might stretch into the night or later. This pattern is even likely to be repeated over the course of a weekend.
On the brighter side, time is never a factor for those on the creative side because creative inspirations do not follow routines or set timelines. Ideas are independent of space and time. They can hit you during a holiday or even during a Sunday afternoon game of football on the television. For an advertising professional, work does not stop at the workplace.
One perception of advertising holds true: the image of a professional working in shorts and pink flip-flops—they are likely to be part of his or her night wardrobe at the office!
