Represent! Represent!
April 7, 2008
Finally got around to browsing through Fortune’s Best 100 Companies To Work for list. Hmm… no ad agencies? Not a one? I guess those foosball tables don’t make a difference when it comes to competing against law firm Perkins Cole’s paid sabbatical, Station Casinos 100% coverage of employee’s health care premiums or Scripps Health onsite child care.
Nor did an advertising agency make the Top 20 Great Employers For New Grads or the Top Companies For Leaders list. We also got stonewalled out of the America’s Most Admired Companies roster, which actually, makes some sense.
Okay, like really? Not one advertising agency? Not one makes any of these ridiculously blogged to and PR’ lists? At least, you’d think the industry would represent on new grads. A year in the offices of Naked? Totally fun and educational. On the other hand, you might become a hermit from the long hours, but 365 days at Ogilvy will always look good on a resume. Seriously.
April 7, 2008 at 6:35 pm
haha. seriously? you really thought someone would put an ad firm in there?
yeah, you get paid shit for a living and work a minimum of sixty hours a week so the firm can bring out a case of beer once a month and talk about how awesome they are for having alcohol at work.
and that pool table, yes, the agency staple no one seems to care about.
advertising is a rip off. if you’re a young grad, run.
April 7, 2008 at 6:46 pm
i am much sad to hear that; however, it’s nice to know that, as usual, advertising is a bunch of lying liars and the lies that they lie about. (i’m still starry eyed and think it can change, and that msm is going to help that happen).
even that list is an advertisement for companies… and it’s funny the truth that can come out in odd places. Google is at the top (#1) of the best companies to work for, but then i read things like this that make me amused and somewhat skeptical… the anti-google.
April 7, 2008 at 7:06 pm
another factor: journalists are generally overworked (and sometimes just plain lazy) and don’t have the time or resources to properly research an article like this. as a result, the companies selected are usually the ones with the most proactive PR departments who made the reporter’s job easiest. maybe no ad agency PR folks bothered to check out the editorial calendar.
April 7, 2008 at 7:30 pm
[...] Spy wrote an article regarding the fact that not a single advertising agency made it to any of the great places [...]
April 7, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I somewhat disagree with you RT. This is Fortune Magazine we’re talking about, so it’s harder journalism. They are assessing companies based on real quality of life merits. Conversely you always find ad agencies ranked well by the local business journals from the towns they are located in. Ranking well in those listings is all about the stupid shit that doesn’t matter, e.g. the pool table and a case of beer.
April 7, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Being beat out by the perks of a private investment firm I can see, but when IPG or Omnicom are beat by Wegmans, The Container Store and Stew Leonards, that’s a sad state of affairs.
April 7, 2008 at 9:02 pm
So are ad agencies really that bad? I know they might not be in the ‘top 20′ but there have got to be some great places to work at, right? I mean, advertising has got to be better than accounting.
April 7, 2008 at 11:20 pm
No, they ARE that bad. It’s fun while you’re young and pre-jaded. But in time you realize this industry is full of backstabbers, egotists, and bullies.