Baby Hugger Diaries – Entry #1

Location: Microsoft Campus, Conference Room

Time: June 8th, 2009

What: Advertising Campaign Concept Presentation

Attendees:

• From Ad Agency:
• Creative Director
• Director of New Biz
• Microsoft Account Mgr
• Project Mgr
• Art Director
• Copywriter
• From Microsoft:
• Windows Business Group Mgr
• Corporate Marketing Brand Group Mgr
• Me (and my Baby Hugger)

Dear Diary:

Alright, here’s what went down. I had people from the agency, people from Microsoft, me, all in a meeting. Now this is a pretty big meeting that we’ve been working toward for the last few weeks. I set-up the meeting, and just as I was about to hand it over to the agency to show their creative, there was a sudden RIIIPPPPP, quickly followed by a SNAAAAP. And then thundering silence. Um, yes. My Baby Hugger came undone. It was like in slowwww motionnnn... The riiipping of the velcro, and me slowly looking down in horror in front of everyone and then looking back up and slowly panning the room, when the snaaap followed suit as the elastic bands sprung every which way hitting me and the table. Neat. So what do I do? How did I recover? I did what every North Dakotan does best in times of turmoil: I ignored it. Just full on pretended like it didn’t even happen… Furrowed my eyebrows in concentration, nodded my head, gesticulating with my arms, “MmmYes, Jonathan, you were saying…?”.

And if the meeting were over then, that would be great. But alas, this was a lunch meeting, and with lunch comes food. And with food comes gas (not from THAT end). So after I recovered from “the incident”, and I was in the middle of critiquing the creative… I believe I was in the middle of the sentence, “What I like about this concept is that when people watch TV on their computer, BELCH”. Right in the middle of the middle of the sentence. Scoozie? What? Where did that come from? No warning, no time for suppression, nothing? Just come on out for the world to hear? Well, I had already ignored one party foul, I was not to ignore another. So red-faced, I looked up, pointed to my belly and said, ‘Um. Excuse me, boy, what a cheese sandwich that was.” “WHAT A CHEESE SANDWICH THAT WAS????” Are you serious Lisa?? That’s what you come up with?Greeaaat come back. Suh-moooth. Jebus.

Needless to say, it was a good day for creative concepts, but not a great day for career advancement.