Lewis Lazare: He’s baaaack! Thomas Kemeny that is, the plucky Columbia College/Chicago valedictorian who graduated last spring with the dream of becoming an ad man. Soon after graduating, Kemeny departed for an internship at the very hot and happening Crispin Porter + Bogusky ad agency in Miami.
Now Kemeny has returned to Chicago, where he continues to learn his craft as a free-lancer at the city’s largest agency, Leo Burnett. The Crispin gig, Kemeny told us Tuesday, was a real learning experience.
That’s great, but we wanted to know what the vibe was like at Crispin, especially compared to shops he has interned at in Chicago. Very fast-paced, he said, perhaps because a lot of the Crispin staff were East Coasters, with a hefty infusion of Texans for good measure. And the hours were very long. “Twenty-hour days weren’t uncommon,” Kemeny said.
Forgive me for appearing even more churlish than usual, but I am compelled to ask: Why exactly is Mr. Kemeny newsworthy? Is Mr. Lazare that hard up for something to write about? I don’t mean to disparage Mr. Kemeny, but come on. As the late existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre would have so eloquently put it, “Oy vey!”
I hear ya. Perhaps the Chicago ad scene is not sufficiently exciting for Lazare.
As far as my interest in the story, it’s all about the SWEAT SHOP perched atop our industry for the moment.
Seriously, how can one do great work if one never leaves work?
This is a follow-up to Mr Lazare’s blockbusting 11-para lead story in his 6/9/05 column.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20050609/ai_n14673445
So far as Google and I can tell, no other news organization has followed up on it, so who can blame Lew for capitalizing on an exclusive?
I for one am hoping that it becomes a regular feature.
Where does Mr Kemeny recommend for lunch on Michigan Avenue? How does Chicago agency decor compare with out east?