dear diary

As of this moment, I haven't decided if I'm going to tell people about this blog or not. 

This is unheard of in my industry.

In advertising, you're supposed to demonstrate your obsession with creativity by producing a steady stream of side projects and more importantly, constantly posting about them on LinkedIn. 

That way, people will know you're a Real Creative. Not some charlatan who has the gall to do something else with their free time when they're off the clock.

But in 12 years in this business, I've never been able to bring myself to play the game. 

I've probably cost myself gigs by not constantly posting tired industry observations, weighing in on new business wins, and ooh-ing and aah-ing over every big budget spot profiled on AdAge. 

But I didn't get into this business to become a "personality." I wanted to do great work, and then spend my nights and weekends not thinking about advertising.

I think that's possible. The industry doesn't seem so sure.

Regardless, I didn't start this blog to pad my resume. I did it so I could write sentences that weren't designed to sell you something. 

It's pretty refreshing.

pilot episode

I'm a professional writer. 

That is to say, I get paid to write for a living. I don't wear a suit or anything. 

More specifically, I'm a copywriter. Which has nothing to do with copyright law. (When I tell people I'm a copywriter, they often envision me working in a patent office. I imagine them, imagining me, holding a large rubber stamp, "copyrighting" things. Seems like noble work.) 

No, a copywriter is someone who writes ads. 

I write the headlines on the billboards you try to ignore when you're driving down the highway. 

The words on the Instagram ads that interrupt your friends' attempts to convince you that their lives are better than yours.

The un-skippable videos that run before the thing you actually want to watch on YouTube.

For all of this, I am sorry. 

I've written a lot over the past 12 years. And, somewhere along the way, I stopped writing for fun. I hear a lot of chefs don't make gourmet meals at home for similar reasons.

But lately, stuck at home day in and day out in the throes of Covid-19, I've started feeling the itch again. 

The itch to write freely, without the shackles of brand guidelines and client feedback. To write because I want to, and not because I have to. 

It's cheaper than therapy. And serves much of the same purpose.

Let's see if I still know how to do this.