After getting back to the hotel, Rosalie and I cleaned up and hopped in a taxi to the Holiday Inn to setup our meeting room. We accidentally had the address for the wrong hotel, and after a rather surreal search of all the hotel's ballrooms, realized our meeting was in the Holiday Inn across town. Sigh. Things like that only happen to dumb-ass visitors or tourists in a place who have no clue about where they're at. Like us. Anyhow, grabbed another taxi, made it to the room, met up with our clients a little late, and spent the next 3 hours setting up the room. Unpacking our gear, laying out documents, testing the DVDs we were given, and just making sure the meeting tomorrow would go seamlessly. We've orchestrated dozens of these meetings for the folks from Leo Burnett, but this is only the second time I've been in a conference run by the client with competing agencies present. McDonald's employs DDB, TBWA, and Leo Burnett in Eastern Europe to promote their business, and all three agencies, from a half-dozen different countries are going to be in the room tomorrow. There's a lot more to be stressed out about this time around... Anyhow, we got it done, and then headed out to a big dinner hosted by McDonald's Russia at the All-Time Bar, a local establishment run by one Dmitri Sokolov, a famed Muscovite who apparently is one the city's better-known barkeeps. It turned out to be quite an evening.
Our very hospitable client spent the night wandering around the bar with bottles of vodka ensuring that everyone within arm's reach had a glass full of vodka. I'm all for ice breakers but I learned pretty early in the evening that if I was going to be coherent, it was probably a good idea to avoid being seen by the client. It was all in good nature, though, and the alcohol definitely eased the tension up and helped facilitate some really interesting conversations amongst our table mates.
I don't spend a lot of time with people from competing agencies. I don't know if it's something a lot of ad folks do, unless you've reached a certain level of notoriety in this industry. I suppose the big bosses are used to hobnobbing with the competition, and fighting over clients at pitches, and rubbing elbows at award shows. For me it was a novel experience. Given that creatives are such mercenaries, though, perhaps they're used to it, as a lot of talented folks bounce from agency to agency seeking out the plushest of assignments. I found it insightful and illuminating to talk to folks from TBWA and DDB in the region, as I haven't spent a lot of time with people from the Baltic states. They've had quite a life, enduring governments falling and rising in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse. It's always a learning experience to converse with folks from places you've only ever read about, and hear about their perspective on experiences you share in common. I enjoyed my dinner and the constant stream of vodka kept the conversation lively. I particularly enjoyed meeting Richard Russell, of DDB in the UK. He's a contemporary of my boss Mark Tutssel, and had a lot of interesting stories to share and insight into the business. He also wrote Honda "Grrr", one of the best ads of the past decade, and it's always nice to meet the people behind work you admire. Especially when those people turn out be personable, approachable, and entertaining - it reaffirms your belief that maybe the business isn't as cutthroat as it often seems. Suffused with vodka, my evening unfolded beautifully, and I stumbled back to the hotel with Rosalie a few hours later with a renewed appreciation for Moscow, McDonald's, Leo Burnett, and TBWA and DDB. Perhaps I'm just where I ought to be, surrounded by good creative people and learning new things. Life is good.
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