valedictory address
Sad to say, Mel Myers is leaving our Portland office after 11 years to join The Talent Business. She sent an amazing email to say goodbye to everyone here. It’s funny and inspiring and it reminded me, at the end of a difficult week, why I love working at this place. I asked her permission to reproduce the email here. For anyone who’s ever wondered about what Wieden + Kennedy is like to work at, this will give you a pretty good idea.
Although there are
many of you in other offices, even Portland, I don’t know, after writing
this email and being reminded of some of the history of W+K as I know it, I
thought it might be a good read. If you don’t like to read, or don’t give a fuck
who I am or what I think, feel free to delete it now and sorry to clog
up your Inbox.
It was a dark
and stormy morning July 1, 1996.
and stormy morning July 1, 1996.
I started my
first day of work at this place called Wieden & Kennedy.
first day of work at this place called Wieden & Kennedy.
Regardless of my
Journalism major in college, I didn’t know dick about advertising; I spent
more time supporting the bars and decorating the soles of my shoes with the
answers to the tests in a remote Texas college town. I like to think
that’s where I began honing my survival skills.
Journalism major in college, I didn’t know dick about advertising; I spent
more time supporting the bars and decorating the soles of my shoes with the
answers to the tests in a remote Texas college town. I like to think
that’s where I began honing my survival skills.
I’d experienced the
Wieden studio during my first Portland job, where I managed a pre-press
service bureau in town. I’d get floppy disks marked RUSH JOB! from Michele
Lefore or Shari Borella or Wendy Martenson, I’d send them to an image
setter and deliver film and RC paper to W&K as fastasfuckingpossible. I
was intrigued because I thought they were much funnier and cooler and more
interesting than the drones with which I was sharing office cubicles and
attending Dale Carnegie classes with in order to win friends and influence
people. The studio once sent me a box of candy and a really nice thank
you note for all my hard work. Marni Bearsdley, then a traffic manager,
even signed the card.
Wieden studio during my first Portland job, where I managed a pre-press
service bureau in town. I’d get floppy disks marked RUSH JOB! from Michele
Lefore or Shari Borella or Wendy Martenson, I’d send them to an image
setter and deliver film and RC paper to W&K as fastasfuckingpossible. I
was intrigued because I thought they were much funnier and cooler and more
interesting than the drones with which I was sharing office cubicles and
attending Dale Carnegie classes with in order to win friends and influence
people. The studio once sent me a box of candy and a really nice thank
you note for all my hard work. Marni Bearsdley, then a traffic manager,
even signed the card.
I moved away, and
when I came back to Portland a year later I knew I wanted to be a part of
whatever that place was over there on 3rd & Washington, where all
the normal people worked. The Dekum Building.
when I came back to Portland a year later I knew I wanted to be a part of
whatever that place was over there on 3rd & Washington, where all
the normal people worked. The Dekum Building.
My first interview,
I came in and taught a Quark class to the IT guys to see if my computer
knowledge was worthy of joining their department. It went great, until
the guy interviewing me was fired. A few weeks later, I met this girl named Jenni Hong
who was desperately trying to find an assistant for the CD’s on Microsoft so she
wouldn’t have to continue servicing them herself. So I dressed up in my
snappy brown pantsuit from J. Crew and interviewed with Bob Moore and
Michael Prieve, who somehow bought all my bullshit and hired me. I was ecstatic.
I came in and taught a Quark class to the IT guys to see if my computer
knowledge was worthy of joining their department. It went great, until
the guy interviewing me was fired. A few weeks later, I met this girl named Jenni Hong
who was desperately trying to find an assistant for the CD’s on Microsoft so she
wouldn’t have to continue servicing them herself. So I dressed up in my
snappy brown pantsuit from J. Crew and interviewed with Bob Moore and
Michael Prieve, who somehow bought all my bullshit and hired me. I was ecstatic.
My second week
at W+K, I came in to a buzz of energy and posters plastered across the
Dekum building of Jeff Kling doing a stag-leap in the air in spandex
tights. The poster requested that the agency walk to Pioneer Square at
noon for a dance exhibition. Jeff had lost a bet to Anthony Sperduti, the name
of a song I think it was, and the loser had to dance in public.
The agency, and I mean the entire fucking agency, walked over there at noon and
formed a huge circle. No one realized there would also be a traveling Dutch
children’s dance troupe, De Buddies, performing simultaneously in
clogs. Suddenly, Kling appeared, but he was on crutches. How could this be?
How was he going to dance? Powerful music began playing, Jeff raised his arms up
to the sky, the crutches fell and right there in front of our
eyes Dancy Prancerton was born. Then the cops showed up and told him if he
didn’t stop, they’d take him to jail. For real.
at W+K, I came in to a buzz of energy and posters plastered across the
Dekum building of Jeff Kling doing a stag-leap in the air in spandex
tights. The poster requested that the agency walk to Pioneer Square at
noon for a dance exhibition. Jeff had lost a bet to Anthony Sperduti, the name
of a song I think it was, and the loser had to dance in public.
The agency, and I mean the entire fucking agency, walked over there at noon and
formed a huge circle. No one realized there would also be a traveling Dutch
children’s dance troupe, De Buddies, performing simultaneously in
clogs. Suddenly, Kling appeared, but he was on crutches. How could this be?
How was he going to dance? Powerful music began playing, Jeff raised his arms up
to the sky, the crutches fell and right there in front of our
eyes Dancy Prancerton was born. Then the cops showed up and told him if he
didn’t stop, they’d take him to jail. For real.
What I remember most
about that day, I felt so unbelievably fucking lucky to work at this
place. There didn’t seem to be any hierarchy. Every last person in the
building had a voice, a voice that mattered. No one gave a fuck about titles on
business cards or whether we won or even entered award shows or
how we were perceived by the industry. All anyone seemed to care about was doing
the most kick ass work they could and every creative/account
service/media/strategy/traffic/studio/broadcast/accounting/business affairs/art
buying/AV/IT/PR/HR/proofreading/travel/recruiting person, assistants and
receptionists and the God’s & Goddesses of the mail room were an
integral and respected part of this process.
about that day, I felt so unbelievably fucking lucky to work at this
place. There didn’t seem to be any hierarchy. Every last person in the
building had a voice, a voice that mattered. No one gave a fuck about titles on
business cards or whether we won or even entered award shows or
how we were perceived by the industry. All anyone seemed to care about was doing
the most kick ass work they could and every creative/account
service/media/strategy/traffic/studio/broadcast/accounting/business affairs/art
buying/AV/IT/PR/HR/proofreading/travel/recruiting person, assistants and
receptionists and the God’s & Goddesses of the mail room were an
integral and respected part of this process.
And by kick ass
work, I mean Walt Stack. Heritage. If you let me play. Frozen Moment. Hello
World/Tiger Woods. Freestyle. Miller High Life. ESPN. Honda. In my humble
opinion, if I feel something every time I watch it, regardless of how
old it is, it transcends advertising.
work, I mean Walt Stack. Heritage. If you let me play. Frozen Moment. Hello
World/Tiger Woods. Freestyle. Miller High Life. ESPN. Honda. In my humble
opinion, if I feel something every time I watch it, regardless of how
old it is, it transcends advertising.
I did the assistant
job for a year, until the day Michael Prieve pushed me to my
limit, asking me to research leather samples so he could have a custom dog
bed made for his Range Rover. It needed to be this certain color of gray because
it had had HAD to match and he couldn’t take Anna’s nails
scratching the leather interior any longer. I told him to fuck off, burst
into tears and started thinking about what other jobs I could do at this place I
thought I would never leave.
job for a year, until the day Michael Prieve pushed me to my
limit, asking me to research leather samples so he could have a custom dog
bed made for his Range Rover. It needed to be this certain color of gray because
it had had HAD to match and he couldn’t take Anna’s nails
scratching the leather interior any longer. I told him to fuck off, burst
into tears and started thinking about what other jobs I could do at this place I
thought I would never leave.
A week later, Beth
Anderson, the pioneer of creative recruiting at the agency, was moving to
Minneapolis and thought I’d be a good replacement, so I started recruiting
creatives.
Anderson, the pioneer of creative recruiting at the agency, was moving to
Minneapolis and thought I’d be a good replacement, so I started recruiting
creatives.
A year later, Mary
King, my boss, mentor and friend with a gold front tooth was getting the
absolute fuck out of Portland and heading back to her beloved NY. I was
honored to follow in her steps and I became the Creative Manager, with Dan
as my boss. I was petrified, perhaps because every time I had a
conversation with Dan I walked out feeling like a complete asshole. Usually
he’d just stop talking half way through a meeting and give me that
look that says nothing but, "What the mother fuck is wrong with you and when are
you going to shut up?"
King, my boss, mentor and friend with a gold front tooth was getting the
absolute fuck out of Portland and heading back to her beloved NY. I was
honored to follow in her steps and I became the Creative Manager, with Dan
as my boss. I was petrified, perhaps because every time I had a
conversation with Dan I walked out feeling like a complete asshole. Usually
he’d just stop talking half way through a meeting and give me that
look that says nothing but, "What the mother fuck is wrong with you and when are
you going to shut up?"
What I realized
later is I needed to quit trying so hard to impress him. The more I just acted
like my normal, foul-mouthed, sarcastic, honest-even-if-it-gets-me-in-trouble
self, the better we got along.
later is I needed to quit trying so hard to impress him. The more I just acted
like my normal, foul-mouthed, sarcastic, honest-even-if-it-gets-me-in-trouble
self, the better we got along.
It may have
been the Creative Retreat we had at Opal Creek in 1997, when I had a long
conversation with Dan by the campfire, that changed our awkward dynamic the
most. After singing songs around the fire at midnight, and
several passed bottles of straight bourbon, avoiding Rob Palmer
showing his dick to anyone who’d look and Jaime Barrett stripping down and
dancing in his boxers, I decided it would be a good idea to just go on over
and talk to Dan. For a long time. Hammered. With him sober. To this day, I have
no idea what I said. But the next morning, as we all watched Kevin Davis’
PowerPoint presentation on the importance of Internet advertising, we caught
eyes and both started laughing.
been the Creative Retreat we had at Opal Creek in 1997, when I had a long
conversation with Dan by the campfire, that changed our awkward dynamic the
most. After singing songs around the fire at midnight, and
several passed bottles of straight bourbon, avoiding Rob Palmer
showing his dick to anyone who’d look and Jaime Barrett stripping down and
dancing in his boxers, I decided it would be a good idea to just go on over
and talk to Dan. For a long time. Hammered. With him sober. To this day, I have
no idea what I said. But the next morning, as we all watched Kevin Davis’
PowerPoint presentation on the importance of Internet advertising, we caught
eyes and both started laughing.
A good rule to
follow: Do not talk to Dan Wieden after you’ve had more than 2 drinks. He is
sober.
follow: Do not talk to Dan Wieden after you’ve had more than 2 drinks. He is
sober.
We won Miller High
Life, lost a chunk of Nike to Goodby, had layoffs, eventually got that Nike
business back, lost Microsoft, had more layoffs.
Stamps.com, Homegrocer.com, Evineyard.com, Gamers.com all came and
went swiftly.com. The nightmare of RoundTable Pizza & Miller Genuine Draft.
The AltaVista win!
Life, lost a chunk of Nike to Goodby, had layoffs, eventually got that Nike
business back, lost Microsoft, had more layoffs.
Stamps.com, Homegrocer.com, Evineyard.com, Gamers.com all came and
went swiftly.com. The nightmare of RoundTable Pizza & Miller Genuine Draft.
The AltaVista win!
Riswold’s Summer
parties
parties
Gunilla’s "Happy
Friday!" pages
Friday!" pages
The day John F.
Kennedy Jr. came to the office
Kennedy Jr. came to the office
Valentine’s Day
Haiku Contest
Haiku Contest
Y2K and the move to
the Pearl
the Pearl
The Pie-Off
We lost Matt
Schekel, I will never forget that morning. One day you’re here, one day you’re
not. We lost Shelley Sippl, Steve Sandoz, Claire Grossman, Jack
Peng, Hawthorne Hunt.
Schekel, I will never forget that morning. One day you’re here, one day you’re
not. We lost Shelley Sippl, Steve Sandoz, Claire Grossman, Jack
Peng, Hawthorne Hunt.
Oh Hawth, I miss
you. I will never forget the day Hawthorne, who after her first round
of cancer treatments, popped her cheerful self into my office one day and
started drawing on the chalk wall in my old office in 4/SW. She drew
this amazing blue shoe, with what looked like her own leg attached to it. She
and I both colored it in and it stayed on the wall. That blue shoe now
hangs by the coffee bar. Please think of her vivacious, bubbly, stubborn,
goofball, energetic, child-like self every time you walk by it. She
was a gem.
you. I will never forget the day Hawthorne, who after her first round
of cancer treatments, popped her cheerful self into my office one day and
started drawing on the chalk wall in my old office in 4/SW. She drew
this amazing blue shoe, with what looked like her own leg attached to it. She
and I both colored it in and it stayed on the wall. That blue shoe now
hangs by the coffee bar. Please think of her vivacious, bubbly, stubborn,
goofball, energetic, child-like self every time you walk by it. She
was a gem.
Founders Day. Good
God these people know how to throw a fucking party.
God these people know how to throw a fucking party.
My first one, I won
a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon with Doug Stringer, Jennifer Howard and
K.P. Anderson. They gave away 15 trips, 4 people per trip, all over the
world. Even Belize and Tibet.
a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon with Doug Stringer, Jennifer Howard and
K.P. Anderson. They gave away 15 trips, 4 people per trip, all over the
world. Even Belize and Tibet.
One year we had
teams participate in a scavenger hunt through Portland where one item was to
steal a manhole cover. That went over well with the City That Works.
teams participate in a scavenger hunt through Portland where one item was to
steal a manhole cover. That went over well with the City That Works.
There was
the prom at Embers. I chose the Madonna/Bridezilla
outfit circa 1982. I fell dancing, cut my elbow open and Dan
Wieden was the only one sober, so he took me to the ER to get stitches. I
was mortified he had to wait for me, looking like my pimp in his prescription
sunglasses.
the prom at Embers. I chose the Madonna/Bridezilla
outfit circa 1982. I fell dancing, cut my elbow open and Dan
Wieden was the only one sober, so he took me to the ER to get stitches. I
was mortified he had to wait for me, looking like my pimp in his prescription
sunglasses.
For the 20th, we
flew Portland and New York to a remote desert site in Arizona. After driving
through a junk-yard in 98-degree busses, we arrived at Camp Dignity – a sea of
small tents we were to share in groups of three. David Kennedy said, "That must
have been some website." Jim Riswold, Bill Davenport and Ben Grylewicz were
immediately on their phones trying to order limos to pick them up. Their efforts
failed, and they were forced to stand, like everyone else, in a shit-filled
horse corral listening to Country-Western legend Jerry Jeff Walker. Luhr, please
explain to everyone who that is?
flew Portland and New York to a remote desert site in Arizona. After driving
through a junk-yard in 98-degree busses, we arrived at Camp Dignity – a sea of
small tents we were to share in groups of three. David Kennedy said, "That must
have been some website." Jim Riswold, Bill Davenport and Ben Grylewicz were
immediately on their phones trying to order limos to pick them up. Their efforts
failed, and they were forced to stand, like everyone else, in a shit-filled
horse corral listening to Country-Western legend Jerry Jeff Walker. Luhr, please
explain to everyone who that is?
A reminder of
the 21st W+K/Portland anniversary is tattooed on my ass for
the rest of my life.
the 21st W+K/Portland anniversary is tattooed on my ass for
the rest of my life.
During my stay here, I got married, separated, back
together, had a baby, separated again, divorced and met the love of my life.
together, had a baby, separated again, divorced and met the love of my life.
I learned what true friendship is from Michelle
Seely and Marni Beardsley.
Seely and Marni Beardsley.
I got to travel to New York,
London, Amsterdam, France, Tokyo and Thailand.
I had the privilege of
working directly with these amazing bitches: Tess Bethune, Alicia
Kuna, Regan DeKoning, Alicia McDaid, Allison Bick, Lauren Brogan now Ranke,
Stacy Grogan, Tanja Alger, Claire Reynolds, Kellie Pederson and Keith
White. What a wealth of humor and talent in that group.
London, Amsterdam, France, Tokyo and Thailand.
I had the privilege of
working directly with these amazing bitches: Tess Bethune, Alicia
Kuna, Regan DeKoning, Alicia McDaid, Allison Bick, Lauren Brogan now Ranke,
Stacy Grogan, Tanja Alger, Claire Reynolds, Kellie Pederson and Keith
White. What a wealth of humor and talent in that group.
This place
and the people who have flowed through its veins the past eleven
years have given me more than I realized until writing this email. I’ve
learned so much about myself; What I’m good at, what I’m not. It has pointed me
to my strengths and opened my eyes to my weaknesses. I’ve learned how to
be resilient, not take shit off anyone or fear using my voice and most
importantly, being a part of W+K has taught me the kind of person I want to be.
If you can look yourself in the mirror every day and feel good about what
you see, you got it.
and the people who have flowed through its veins the past eleven
years have given me more than I realized until writing this email. I’ve
learned so much about myself; What I’m good at, what I’m not. It has pointed me
to my strengths and opened my eyes to my weaknesses. I’ve learned how to
be resilient, not take shit off anyone or fear using my voice and most
importantly, being a part of W+K has taught me the kind of person I want to be.
If you can look yourself in the mirror every day and feel good about what
you see, you got it.
And now it’s time to
move on and see what I can do outside this place.
move on and see what I can do outside this place.
It has been an
absolute honor to work and play here, and I’ll miss being a part of it.
absolute honor to work and play here, and I’ll miss being a part of it.
Thank you Dan &
Dave.
Dave.
xo,
Mel
Mel
Melanie Myers
