A Banner Ad For A Copywriting Job?

June 13, 2007 By Dan Goldgeier 10 Comments

Can’t say I can recall seeing a banner ad like this before. Partners+Simons in Boston is looking for a copywriter. And on some parts of Adweek.com, they’ve got a banner ad on the site just to advertise the one job opening.

Wow. Back in 2002, they’d have had a million folks applying right away. What’s going on in the job market in this industry these days?

Filed Under: Agencies

About Dan Goldgeier

Blogging on AdPulp since 2005, Dan Goldgeier is a Seattle-based freelance copywriter with experience at advertising agencies across the U.S. He is a graduate of the Creative Circus ad school, and currently teaches at Seattle's School of Visual Concepts. In addition, he is a regular columnist for TalentZoo.com. Dan published the best of his TalentZoo.com columns in a book entitled View From The Cheap Seats: A Broader Look at Advertising, Marketing, Branding, Global Politics, Office Politics, Sexual Politics, and Getting Drunk During a Job Interview. Look for it on Amazon in paperback and e-book editions.

John Reid

Saw that one. Thought it was really cool.
What’s happening in the job market these days? 4.5% unemployment. Which, as you might know, is awesome.
http://multicultclassics.blogspot.com HighJive

that is not a new idea. plus, it’s a safe bet it was co-produced by a copywriter, and the true goal is to submit it for awards shows. sorry, but the lousy job market does not require running banner ads. there are much better and effective ways to find candidates.
http://www.guerrillacomm.com Propaganda Minister

I agree with HighJive that it smells a bit like an adwards show goal.
http://www.adpulp.com Danny G

Just to clarify, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the “Lorem Ipsum” idea before. I just don’t think I’ve seen a banner ad advertising one job on a place like adweek.com before. It’s a very prominent type of placement for a lone classified ad.
http://multicultclassics.blogspot.com HighJive

hey, danny, they probably had an entry deadline to meet. and posting it on craigslist probably wouldn’t have qualified.
http://tangerinetoad.blogspot.com Tangerine Toad

I dunno HJ, I sure hope they weren’t planning on submitting that to an award show. As Danny noted, it’s not exactly a fresh idea.
My guess is they are an under-the-radar shop and figured that they’d get people looking at their website and work and maybe get a better quality creative interested. Not a completely dumb thought, fwiw.
As for the job market, it’s pretty unstable here in NYC. Lots of account shifts, traditional freelance factories like Ogilvy are hurting, and freelance rates and overall salaries are heading south.
That said, it’s a lot better than 2001-03.
True

I really hope for their sake that they do not consider this an award-worthy ad.
I think they figure their ad gets more pull on adweek than it would on monster or whatever.
http://multicultclassics.blogspot.com HighJive

Just checked out their website. The recruitment banner ad is the best creative they’ve done. Not sure why they need a copywriter. It looks like the account people have been handling the chores to date. So maybe they weren’t looking to enter the banner in awards shows—although it actually flies in the face of the shop’s professional personality and methodical approach to creative.
http://tangerinetoad.blogspot.com tangerine Toad

I think you answered your own question, HJ
Maybe they’ve come to realize their creative looks like it was created by account types and want to change that.
But then again, I’m always an optimist.
http://multicultclassics.blogspot.com HighJive

Perhaps, toad.
But when does a true creative ever succeed in an organization that has literally been built without creative? Any legitimate creative candidate would inevitably be a fish out of water. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this agency—they’ve been successful delivering a certain type of work for a certain type of clientele. They should have posted on craigslist or run a two-inch ad in the local gazette to find their candidate. But then again, I’m always a realist.