Life of An Ad Girl: On Deadline

Welcome to the second installation of Life of An Ad Girl. While reading, please keep in mind that my ad world is nothing like Peggy from Mad Men. Instead I always had perfectly coiffed hair, just the right amount of make up and a killer outfit from head to toe (and also from a sample sale since no one is making big bucks). Anywho on to the fun stuff..ENJOY!

I’m sure you’ve heard that fateful phrase “On Deadline” no matter what field you’re in…and I’m sure it also feels like nails on a chalkboard to you too, right?

Well in the ad world, you quickly realize that there are never enough people, time or services to meet your clients’ insane expectations. You get used to having a never ending to do list and just keeping your head above water. And people wonder why I’m constantly in a need-it-now (or yesterday) mode.

The best deadline is from clients’ who won’t speak to you unless they need an impossible task completed. I had one client who refused to address me (only my supervisor) even when I sent the email, did the task, gave the presentation, etc except for when something is 2 minutes late. And that something can range from an email to a presentation but if it’s late–the whole world is crumbling.

Another fun deadline—is the oh sh*t what are we gonna do? deadline. I worked for a company that constantly had recalls. And for some reason, I was designated the holder of Radian 6 (our tool to monitor social media activity). That meant when sh*t hit the fan, I was the only person out of 150 people in my group, who knew to use the tool and who was staying late (and late meant 10:30 not 7:30) Oh and did I mention I’d be ALONE?!?

The last deadline and perhaps my favorite is the Because You Can Manage deadline. Well aren’t you honored to be the only idiot who constantly sacrifices their time and happiness for the company. While everyone else is pretending they’re overwhelmed, you’re calm cool and collected and get MORE work!

The key take a way here is that the deadline is not an actual line between being dead or alive in an agency. Push back like a mother, don’t rush because you’ll make mistakes and don’t sacrifice your life for work. You’ll pick up valuable skills like negotiating deadlines, working efficiently and most importantly standing up for your self.