Yesterday was my weekly schlepp into the City of Angels and it was demoralizing. Not because of the two hour drive in and the two and a half hour drive home - that's already baked into the Monday Misery Cake. It was demoralizing because it gave me a glimpse into what we've become.
I say that as someone whose been out of the day-to-day corporate rat race for nearly five years, working from home and unexposed to the daily stupidity and venality that comes with office life. And it was based on two observations.
The first was amusing at the time, but depressing the more I thought of it. Once I finally reached the office after the tortuous drive in, I hobbled my way to the bank of elevators that go to the lofty floors of our corporate overlords. I was a little taken aback to see half a dozen people waiting since the elevators are generally pretty swift and it was 11am, before the normal lunch rush. I noticed every single person had their head bowed staring at their smart phones, some texting, some not.
And then I saw the open elevator.
It must have just arrived, I thought. Otherwise, why would everyone just be standing there? And yet, no one seemed to notice. I made my way on my one good leg and my hulking laptop bag to the elevator, excusing myself as I squeezed past everyone. No one looked up. I ambled into the lift and assumed at least SOMEONE would notice the open elevator. Nada. As the doors closed, I gazed out on these people, heads down in prayer, praying to their little smart phones. Now that I think of it it just seems like a sad commentary on where we are in the Year of Our Lord, 2012.
The second observation was just disgusting.
Like Lesotho, our corporate owners have plopped us down in the center of one of their other acquisitions, a fairly well-know and (formerly) respected ad agency. We occupy a land-locked cluster of cubicles surrounded by agency hipsters.
Now, I have nothing against hipsters; I like to think I was one myself back in the day. Although the current wardrobe has changed and I think not for the better. Wearing board shorts and bow ties to the office definitely makes a statement, but I think not the one you're aiming at. Unless that statement is "douche bag".
The other notable hipster change is the attitude, and that's what I found so alarming.
I was set up to work for at least part of the day in the office and for hours I was able to overhear the ongoing hipster conversation. There were five of them and they were all gathered together to brainstorm ideas for an afternoon creative meeting. And the conversation went something like this...
"Did you see that new Nike campaign? We should definitely rip that off."
"For the outdoor campaign, I found these cool Coke billboards to copy."
"We need a slogan... how about this one from Nintendo?"
"Look at this logo Urban Outfitters did... we barely need to change anything, not even the font..."
And on and on and on. Cruising the web and stealing other people's work without a care in the world.
It didn't take long to call it a day. When someone had the balls to mention that all their ideas, coming as they did FROM OTHER PEOPLE, didn't really hang together as a cohesive campaign, the leader in the bow tie helpfully reminded them that they just had to show SOMETHING, it didn't necessarily have to be good.
With what passes for "work" out of the way, they could get around to the really important business... shopping for new jobs. They all started trading gossip and job prospects regarding various other shops. Someone mentioned that he had heard that one of the hotter boutique LA agencies was hiring and everyone let out a collective gasp. Then one of the other guys piped up and said...
"I would SO love to work there, but my entire portfolio is ripped off from their work."
There was a slight pause, and then someone else gave him the reassurance he was looking for.
"You should go ahead and do it anyway. It's not like anyone gives a shit about this stuff anymore."
It just made my heart sink. Remind me again why I got into this business in the first place.
