Mad Men 2010

9.15 AM. Well, this is what it looks like most days before 10 AM
or so at one of the world's most admired digital
ad agencies.
It's the environment where people work on ads and websites and apps and whatnot.
Between 10 AM and 5.15 PM.
The fact that most people show up late doesn't mean they stay late.
As someone wrote on a white board "It's getting late early around here".
Maybe the environment isn't conducive to creativity.
It's crowded, it's messy, it's noisy.
And it's depressingly ugly.
I've seen better looking sweat shops in Hongkong.
If it wasn't for the iMacs and the odd designer office chair
(most chairs are not the upscale type) it could
pass for a sweat shop anno 1904.
The space used to house garment workers huddled over sewing machines.
Now it houses creative staff huddled over macs, even an ECD (who comes in around 8AM or so most days by the way),
with some production and account people mixed in.
This is a typical picture of the business of Mad Men anno 2010.
The glamour is long gone for those who do the real work.
And actually, the hours are generally 12 or more per day
for most people still lucky to be employed in the industry.