• by Kendall Allen , October 4, 2010

Within the industry at large, we have more broadly acknowledged a changed relationship with advertising. On a high level, Advertising with a capital A has a different stature now; its place is integrated into the marketing and media equation. It rarely stands alone. On a personal level, we recognize that our romance with Advertising has become more erratic. He's an old flame, a one great love who comes unexpectedly to town. At our best, we go to dinner; we laugh and we cry. We cannot put our finger on it -- but we are moved. And, then back to the day-to-day, a bit more blended into the commercial mix, he's there in the background, touching and tinting our world.

It was with this reality always somewhat in mind that I found myself in an industry room last week -- quite unexpectedly moved. I attended the finale of "The Big Ad Gig" at the end of Advertising Week. In the second year of this contest, the final competitors -- eight aspiring advertising professionals, some copywriters and some creatives, most of them recent graduates -- took four minutes each to present their concepts to honchos from Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, Crispin Porter & Bogusky (CP+B), TBWACHIATDAY, NewCo, and Atmosphere Proximity. Five of the eight entrants would receive paid internships with the participating agencies. One winning campaign would be produced and run across multiple screens of Microsoft Advertising properties, including gaming and mobile. How cool is that?

The entries showed concepts across media and included video, ambient and straight display. Cross-platform was alive and well -- and masterfully presented by these young up-and-comers. I was not alone in being captivated by these young ad men and ad women in the making, not yet sullied by the slippery slope of PowerPoint or the myopic zealotry of any one channel -- concisely articulating strategy and execution; curating their visuals; framing and telling the stories, across media.

But, given the timing of the subject matter, there was more than showmanship to rivet the room. The client was (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network)  GLSEN. The task  was to develop a multichannel awareness campaign educating young adults that casual use of anti-LGBT language translates to more overt harassment and contributes to the negative school environment that plagues LGBT students.

Winning votes aside, the work by all eight was refreshingly good. With only the most minor of quirks, each pitch was crystal-clear, emotionally resonant and showing a cross-platform targeting savvy. Each pitch got it, which seemed surprising given the youth factor, and then not.  It was professional poetry to hear young voices skillfully, lucidly pitch such work on the same day that the news of Tyler Clementi's suicide off the nearby George Washington Bridge (presumably committed under the pressure of cyber-bullying) pervaded the news outlets.

You'll be seeing the winner's work some time soon -- incubated, honed and run through one of the most certifiably creative shops around before it unfurls. As popular attention turns more acutely to the themes of such bullying, it will be fascinating to see how this campaign does.

But, in the meantime, it is clarifying to reflect anew on what makes good advertising so arresting. We often talk about what goes into striking that chord. In this case, contextual timing, raw thematic emotional resonance, dewy professional youth -- and the gray rain pouring down over the George Washington Bridge just outside -- heightened the hit .