July 29, 2022
Creative Department Presentation
Every month, P&P hosts a meeting for the whole creative department, in which a few people will be chosen to present on creative project or topic that's personal to them. I really enjoyed attending the June session, in which an art director shared a nonprofit campaign he worked on, and an HR worker shared a her favorite feminist art exhibit. For July, the organizers the creative department meetings decided the interns should present, and introduce themselves to the agency.
The thought of presenting to the entire creative department was a bit nerve-racking, but exciting. It gave me the opportunity to introduce myself to the entire department in a memorable way, just two weeks before my internship ends. Plus, we were given a very open-ended prompt; we could basically talk about anything that inspires us.
I took the prompt in a slightly different direction — instead of an ad that inspired me, I talked about the movie No, a foreign film on the political campaign to overthrow the Chilean dictator Pinochet. I remember watching the film in high school, and seeing them breakdown the strategy, argue over the tone, and analyze their audience. Based on true events, the movie demonstrated the power of advertising in a poignant, authentic way.
After talking about how this film helped spark my interest in advertising, I went into my personal creative philosophy through the metaphor of coffee and tea. I've written in my academic and personal writings about the presumed dichotomy between coffee and tea as a metaphor for the clash of my American and Eritrean identities. Just as these drinks are seen as contradictions, growing up my two cultures at times felt opposed to each other. I've always existed in the tension, AND the overlap, of my two cultures. I've heard before that creativity comes from cultural tension, and I see that evidenced in my own life, with my cultural clashes giving me my unique perspective on life.
There's a bit more to this metaphor, I go into Eritrean coffee ceremonies and more, but you get the gist. The point was that it was exhilarating to share these personal details about me to the whole department. I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to speak up and make myself known to the agency. If you're curious to learn more about me (or what a coffee ceremony is), check out our deck below!