Normally, an agency like Fallon doesn’t have to go around placing classified ads to entice people to join its creative department.
But, as as we noted a while back, interactive creatives are much in demand. So Fallon has placed an ad on CreativeHotlist for an interactive copywriter.
Fallon would like to hire a writer. But not just any writer.
We’re looking for an interactive writer, which at Fallon means something very different. Something much bigger.
We are not looking for someone who thinks ads are the end all be all. Or who are really just trying to get their foot in the door of the Fallon advertising creative department.
What we are looking for is a writer’s writer. That means someone who truly understands structure and grammar and style… all those things so many people don’t think are important anymore. (A book full of visual puns will not demonstrate that ability.) Of course, they’ll also have to be crazy about the web and technology and all its potential. They must be wildly creative. In other words, a bright, articulate visionary.
This seems like a very weird ad. If Fallon is looking for a “writer’s writer” for the interactive department, does that mean their advertising copywriters aren’t good enough for interactive? Or, if they think some jobseekers are “really just trying to get their foot in the door of the Fallon advertising creative department,” does that mean their interactive copywriters aren’t good enough for the advertising department? It sounds as if “different,” “something much bigger,” and “bright articulate visionary,” are very disingenuous descriptions.
I’m not suggesting that writing ads and writing for interactive don’t involve different writing techniques. But I’m starting to get the impression that interactive agencies, and interactive departments of regular ad agencies, are largely becoming ghettos. It’s now gotten to the point where you can’t move from traditional to interactive (or vice versa) without prior experience, or without an employer questioning your motives. And it sounds like the two rarely work together.
I liken it to copywriters who love to write TV but would avoid radio like the plague. Once again, agencies are asking their creative departments to hire one-trick ponies, or once they hire them, agencies are determined to keep them that way.
