When you work in an advertising agency, there are far more hair-raising, teeth-chattering, stomach-churning phenomena that make people turn pale, break into a cold sweat, wobble their knees and pray for the kingdom to just come already than troubled spirits, white ladies and other supernatural beings. More often than not, these are the creatures they interact with day by day… in meetings and big pitch days.
So, for halloween, in collaboration with AEs of Manila, Ad People of Manila, and Copywriters of Manila, we have collected real life accounts of actual ahensya people’s encounters with the dark side.
These are the – “Ahensya Horror Stories”.
1. Diyos ko, board!
“Big pitch setup: AE opens his big black illustration board carrier only to find out that it was empty. The boards were left at the office. Office is an hour drive away from client’s hq.”
2. What office hours?
“Out na ko by 6.”
“Bakit, half-day ka?”
3. ISP Bonanza
“When you’re a top-tier ad agency pero ang internet speed niyo pang-1996” pa.
4. JO. Job Over.
“It was a great day at the beach–sun, sand, surf and all when AE phones in a rush JO. And there’s no net.”
5. Stuffs.
“25,000 flyers were printed and were delivered right on schedule to the event site. AE reads the copy and sees ‘stuffs’.”
6. Prayer vigil mode on.
*Night before the pitch* “Guys tingin ko, off strat na ‘to.”
7. Airplane mode > Pray.
“When you text your officemate a rant about your client only to realize that you sent it to that client instead.”
8. Table flip.
“The final revision is done. As you are about to press CMD+S, nag-brownout bigla.”
9. #Selfie
“When your community manager posts personal photos using the brand’s Facebook fan page.”
10. NSFW
“You know how those links to porn microsites just pop up like flies in the computer screen? Well, When I was a junior copywriter (barely been a month with my first agency), I may have clicked on one of those and voila: Felatio Festival. It would’ve been alright though if my ECD hadn’t decided to conduct a surprise check on my work. You know, one of those “I will just casually pass bya nd look over your shoulder” kinda thang. So the time I realized someone was breathing down my neck, I turn to find my boss’s flabbergasted face, pale with shock and IDK, disappointment? So we just looked at each other for a while before he finally said: “I’m going. Just show me what you got tomorrow.” And it was like 2 in the afternoon. I was so shaken I went straight to the nearest bar and gulped down an entire bucket of beer. Also, that was when I learned of what they call #NSFW.”
– Mister Orgasmo
How about you? What’s your story? Share them using the hashtag #AhensyaHorrorStories!
Illustrations by Julian Vinzon
There are only a few days left before the adobo Festival of Ideas 2015! Tickets are available at Ticketworld outlets, online and at the adobo magazine office. Buy now!
For more details, visit festivalofideas.adobomagazine.com.
