Before starting at SCA, it was safe to say I knew nothing about ads. 

I thought I’d watched an awful lot of them, (I’d barely scratched the surface), then spent an awful lot of time avoiding them (or trying to), then came full circle; avidly seeking them out. Checking out Dave Dyes podcasts, digging through the archives to find the classic Red Stripe, Hamlet, Benson & Hedges and Cresta ads. 

Irrespective of how much I’m into it now, I’m still completely mind blown that it’s four weeks until the end of the course… and I’m dreaming of agencies…

Dreaming of my dream agencies. 

Dreaming about dreaming about my dream agencies.

Dreaming about dreaming about working at my dream agencies. 

Working hard to make the hours, the minutes and the seconds count, squeezing my subconscious dry, going the hard yards. 

I’ll admit it’s tricky. It’s bloody hard. But we’ve got to keep going. It’s the final push. 

To get those dream jobs at our dream agencies we’ve got to push. Harder, faster and smarter too. Setting SMART goals, thinking smart, sleeping smart and eating smart too. Not to be mistaken with eating Smarties, although when consumed in moderation they can’t be all that bad can they? 

Booking crits, going to crits, getting feedback and acting upon it. 

Rinsing and repeating.

Pushing forward with a couple of my favourite campaigns. Spitting and polishing (metaphorically). Looking for the ‘blurred lines’. Nothing to do with Robin Thicke, but to do with unusual places and spaces your work could live. Where else could these campaigns work? Which other mediums or platforms could be used? Could you deliver your message in an even more unexpected way?

But now, I’m thinking of throwing out a lot of my book and starting again. Might be a risky move, but I’ve realised that what has held me back is being precious about ideas. So, I’m choosing not to be.

Legend has it that when Marc and Pete were in their last weeks at SCA, Paul Arden came in, tore up their books and told them to go again. So, I think I’ve got to be ready for that and really keep on pushing out those ideas and SMPs (Single Minded Propositions). 

We’ve got to keep on earwigging on conversations in Lidl, gaining insights anywhere and everywhere we can. 

Writing everything down and then refining. 

Pushing and then refining some more.

Not being precious has seemingly given me a second to breathe. Just a second though! Could it be the trick to hacking it in an agency? I think it just might be, along with a big dollop of grit.

I’m excited for my dream job at my dream agency and the fact that hopefully sometime soon the dream will no longer be a dream! I’m also bloody terrified. But I am choosing to use that as a driving force too.

So, let’s use our dreams to drive us. Push us harder, make us think smarter. Whether your aim is Droga5, Ogilvy or 23Red, there are four weeks left and we can bloody well give it our all.