“According to the environmental journalist Lucy Siegle, most women now buy half their bodyweight annually in clothes. The writer’s new book, To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World? states that the average female invests in 62lb of clothing each year, has upwards of 20 garments hanging in her wardrobe that she has never worn and owns four times the amount today than she did in 1980.” *
Because it appears that we are what we wear, The Brief chose to explore the evolution of an iconic Canadian department store – one that has struggled to stay relevant through radical economic changes and a tectonic shift in retail.
To bring us up-to-date with The Bay, The Brief turned to a keen observer and former marketer for The Bay, Clint Gaudry.
THE BRIEF: What’s happening with the Bay? It feels like it’s separated from itself and formed a new self.
GAUDRY: That just might be the experience. It started with The Room in Queen Street and then kept evolving. The Room truly is a destination for some of the most wanted designers on the globe. It went from around 12 internationally known designers, perhaps a little stayed, to over 70 – some of the newest and most buzz-worthy.
And then there’s the White Space – flanked by Lauren, Pink Tartan and Juicy Couture, it focuses on hot brands such as See by Chloe, Isabel Marant, Alexander Wang, Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, McQ by Alexander McQueen. The White Space speaks to aspirational luxury. It’s the Bay’s attempt to reclaim the fashion credibility it’s lost in recent years. The White Space also appeals to a broader audience than The Room.
THE BRIEF: Bloggers are talking about The White Space. Did you know that?
GAUDRY: I think it has wowed many of the critics and introduced a new generation of fashionistas to The Bay. Shoppers are happy to see the concept move beyond just Queen Street, with more locations now open in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. They are buying so brilliantly for Ladies fashion and accessories, that it’s now a whole new experience, and a reflection of where the brand is moving.
THE BRIEF: Take a look; you won’t believe this is the Bay!
THE BRIEF: So who’s mostly responsible for the magnificent new vision?
GAUDRY: Enter Bonnie Brooks, * the President and CEO of the Bay. She came with decades of experience in the luxury market and she had the connections in the fashion industry to make things happen. She’s very dynamic and fearless – very opinionated – in a good way. She has an exceptional taste level that demanded that the assortments be edited and refined.
And taste has nothing to do with price – taste has everything to do with attitude. That it is fashionable, stylish and on trend is tantamount. I think Brooks has brought a certain taste level to the Bay that’s unprecedented. Very contemporary and certainly not restricted to The Room or White Space.
THE BRIEF: Could Brooks have done this for the brand ten years ago?
GAUDRY: I think it would have been more difficult.
THE BRIEF: That’s a perfect cliffhanger for next week’s column. Why the Bay couldn’t become the Bay until now.
GAUDRY: Let’s go for it.
The Brief wishes to thank Clint Gaudry for helping us understand what’s happening with our landmark department store. And quite possibly how this evolution of the brand will be a success story.
In the middle of May, I received an email from my friend, the great DDB Art Director, Bob Matsumoto.* He told me about his year-long project as Chairmain of a momentous advertising event: A 60s Doyle Dane Bernbach- New York Reunion. It was for writers and art directors of those halcyon days only and would take place June 1st in the DDB-NY offices on the Corporate Floor. (Makes The Brief breathless just writing about it.)
120 advertising greats had already RSVP’d, and all were flying from here and taxi-ing from there, anticipating seeing one another again for nostalgia and laughs. What they went home with instead was a huge emotional experience…
The Brief thought you might like to be a fly on the wall.
Bob Matsumoto sets the scene: ”Imagine getting together after 40 years with people you worked with all those years ago, those who mentored everyone - just imagine all the respect and feelings throughout the crowded rooms - because of what everyone accomplished in their careers?
In the big Boardroom, there were huge wall murals/ graphics of the classic ads, an hour-long loop of everyone’s ads and commercials which ran on two screens; there were photographs of everyone as they looked in the 1960s, and even a documentary was being filmed.”
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The Brief can only imagine, but the great Howie Cohen was there. With Cohen’s permission to reprint from his blog, MadMensch.com, The Brief has excerpted the following.*
“…I couldn’t wait. I actually began my career as a 22-year old copy trainee at Doyle Dane Bernbach working on the legendary VW Beetle account. In a real sense, I would be returning to the place of my birth – in advertising.
There, before me, were all the greats.
Over there was Bob Levenson, the genius writer and creative director who gave Volkswagen its voice and set the standard for cleverness at DDB. He’s also the guy who approved the first ad I ever got produced (for Volkswagen) after only my 9th try.*
Over there was the legendary George Lois, looking a little older and balder, but still full of it – energy, that is.
Standing in the corner was Charlie Moss, or “Boss Moss”, as we used to call him. A DDB alumnus, he went on to become creative director of Wells, Rich, Greene. I worked for Charlie for many years at Wells in New York and LA, and considered him a great mentor.
In fact, Charlie was the guy who assigned Bob Pasqualina and me to the Alka Seltzer account (albeit as the third backup team) and who gave the nod to “Try it, you’ll like it” and “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing,” Clio Hall of Famers that changed our lives. We shared funny memories.
Standing next to Charlie was George Gomes, a former DDB art director who made the switch to become a top commercial director. He was our director on the Alka Seltzer campaign, and we always appreciated his special gift for getting humorous performances out of actors – after only 64 takes.
And all over the room were the people I used to rub shoulders with in the halls of DDB: Len Sirowitz, Sid Meyers, Bob Reitzfeld, Mike Mangano, Mike Lawlor, Bob Matsumoto, Bob Kuperman – great creatives who helped change the look and the language of advertising.
We talked, we drank, we schmoozed. And then the lights went down and a special video came up.
It began with a scene from Mad Men. The guys from Sterling Cooper are sitting around looking at an issue of Life Magazine and discussing a full page ad for Volkswagen with the irreverent headline, “Lemon.” They question it, they mock it, they trash it.
“Why would anyone pay money to say something negative about their own car?”
Someone offers up, “Wasn’t that done by that guy Bernbach?” To which someone adds, “He’s a Jew, isn’t he?” Big laugh from our crowd.
The scene ends with Don Draper saying, “I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but we’ve been talking about it for 45 minutes.” It was the perfect exclamation point, and a tribute to the riveting work that defined Doyle Dane Bernbach.
Then came the emotional part. Appearing on the screen, one-by-one, were the young, wide-eyed faces of us – the people who made it to the reunion, as well as the greats who are no longer with us.
A rich orchestral score gave poignancy to the images. And when the final face faded out, a simple two word super came up: ”Welcome home.”
That’s when the tears flowed. I know I wasn’t the only one.
The people in that room were responsible for changing advertising forever. Volkswagen “Think small”, Avis “We Try Harder”, Levy’s Rye Bread “You don’t have to be Jewish to Love Levy’s,” Mobil “We want you to live” and Ohrbach’s and Polaroid and Alka Seltzer… I could go on.*
The amazing thing was, the brilliant minds behind these campaigns didn’t have a creative road map. No creative history to build on. No awards books to steal from. They were making it up out of their heads. That’s the definition of “breakthrough.” Never been done. Never seen or heard of before. Just true original genius.
The party had begun at 3 in the afternoon and by 6:45 it was winding down… It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
A chance to be close, once more (and maybe for the last time) with the people we grew up with in advertising. The very people who changed the creative landscape and helped make the golden era golden.” *
The Brief hopes you enjoyed attending this DDB/60s reunion by proxy as much as I did. As I was just a measly assistant to the producers AT DDB/L.A. in the mid-70s , (and only spliced together 35mm presentation reels and radio tapes from New York and Los Angeles’ best of the best commercials,) Matsumoto reminded me that I wasn’t welcome at this reunion. Not for anyone who wasn’t “THERE”. So many thanks to my friend, Bob Matsumoto, Chairman, for sharing his event with The Brief. Thank you to Howie Cohen of madmensch.com for letting me botch up his blog. Please read it in its entirety.
And, if you’re anything like me, and you sometimes feel like filling the well with riches from the past, remember this: Great ideas do not die, they live on youtube.
SOURCES of INSPIRATION FROM PERSPIRATION
The Committee of 5 responsible for the DDB-60s reunion include: Bob Matsumoto; Domenick Marino; Deanna Cohen Drew; Jackie End, and Andy Langer.
Read Bob Levinson’s “Bill’s Book” dedicated to Bill Bernbach.
Though Phyllis Robinson died at 89, she was responsible for some of the legendary work of that era you can enjoy here: http://www.ddb.com/ddblogs/creativity/thank-you-phyllis-robinson.html
Some DDB serendipity care of Bob Matsumoto: 62 years ago, on the exact day of this reunion, June 1st, Doyle Dane Bernbach opened their offices in a walk-up building with 10 employees and $500 thousand worth of billings. Just a couple of blocks south of 437 Madison Aveune where they prosper today.
Historically everyone looks forward to summer. The Trojan women gave it up… in summer.
Positioning:
This brand has no competition, except for a small fringe group who like winter sports. Nothing else is summer but summer.
Target Market:
Men and women 18-110.
Psychographics:
Our customer likes to feel lazy, lusty, stress-free, drunk on life… in a suspended period of happy expectation.
Objective of Advertising:
To make summer go viral.
How does the consumer feel about the brand?
Research confirms that summer is a universal doner.
What is the single most important/interesting thing we want to communicate?
Summer makes you feel sexy. One customer was so moved by the brand he posted the following:
because i love you)last night
clothed in sealace
appeared to me
your mind drifting
with chuckling rubbish
of pearl weed coral and stones;
lifted,and(before my
eyes sinking)inward,fled;softly
your face smile breasts gargled
by death:drowned only
again carefully through deepness to rise
these your wrists
thighs feet hands
poising
to again utterly disappear;
rushing gently swiftly creeping
through my dreams last
night,all of your
body with its spirit floated
(clothed only in
the tide’s acute weaving murmur
ee cummings
Emotional Connection:
Aroused. It’s that girl or boy making you sleepless from across the lake.
The challenge of our communication:
This summer has been tainted by the lamest ‘sex? scandal’ of this millennium. Congressman Anthony Weiner, (perhaps predestined by his chosen name) launched the brand’s inherent promise of sexuality with a lewd and ludicrous series of sext messages. (Who knew opposable thumbs were erogenous?) Instead of getting laid, Weiner got f-ck’t. Our challenge is to restore the pure sexual benefits of the brand.
Media:
Television. Print.
Executional Mandatories:
Salacious selling. For inspiration, see below.
Television:
The west coast fast-food chain, Carl’s Jr. has a delectably dirty mind. Enjoy this buffet of pop culture tarts.*
Paris Hilton for Carl’s Jr.
Kim Kardashian for Carl’s Jr Cranberry Apple Walnut Chicken Salad
Miss Turkey will make you hungry for Turkey Burgers at Carl’s Jr.
For sexy with humour - Pepsi from The Brief.
Cindy Crawford is every little boy’s fantasy.
I’m very certain this is one is as sensual and suggestive as Georgia O’keeffe’s painting “Black Iris”.*
This one’s from The Brief. A spot from Japan that was ripped off by Double A Paper, but the original is far too wonderful to miss.
A young Japanese girl innocently climbs atop a Mikado Copy Machine to reach for paper when suddenly the machine starts copying and collating copies of her… well… you’ll see.
Something to dream on. From Dior J’Adore Perfume.*
Charlize Theron for men and women.
Here’s ‘The Sexiest Commercial Ever’ - ”Monica” for Xenergy drink.
Zero calories. 100% sex appeal. 1,585,378 hits agree.
A Canadian commercial to conjure at the cottage.*
From Marca Bavaria Beer.
Print.
50 hot ads.
Here’s one to jump-start your imagination.
SOURCES OF INSPIRATION:
*Many thanks to Elaine Hollified, Advertising/Marketer/Copywriter – Los Angeles for suggesting Carl’s Jr.
Paula Purdon, Copywriter and Creative Consultant turned The Brief onto Chocolate
paula purdon | copy & creative | Toronto tele: 416.469.1897 | fax 416.469.4608
The production company LTB offered director, Michael Bernard’s site to get your creatives juices flowing. Wayne Fenske, Executive Producer; LTB Films Inc.
Bruno Marsala, President HD Media-Creations offers you Charlize in all her glory. www.hdmediacorp.com
Robert Wineberg, President, Qualitative Research Inc, wishes you a great summer with his pic from a 2003 Canadian Commercial for Marcia Bavaria Email: rob@rwqr.com
Tele: (416) 968-0007 Fax: (416) 968-2114
Tweet or Facebook TO411DAILY your favourite sexy ads. We’d love to know more about your dirty little minds.
Goodness gracious, was I ever relieved to write this week’s Brief. And why, you might ask?
Because thanks to a recent article in the inestimable New York Times, people over 50 (like me!) can emerge from the premature grave marketers have dumped us in, and reclaim our right to be a consumer-viable demographic again.
This is not because Betty White delivered great numbers for NBC on SNL, though there is something to be said about that. The boomer resurrection has more to do with the financial havoc the recession has rained on the 18 to 25 to 45ers.
To every marketer’s amazement, the only recent gain in employment has been among women aged 55 and over. “Full-time employment has returned to the level of October 2008 for the first time.”
“According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, those people aged 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 had the highest median weekly earnings of any age segment in the United States: $844 and $860, respectively. Meanwhile, those 20 to 24 had weekly earnings of only $454. Those who are 25 to 34 earned $682.”* Targeting the youth market exclusively? Big mistake.
Guess who’s paying for dinner? Boomers are. And Canadian mogul, Moses Znaimer gleaned that, owned it, and built an empire around it in 2007. First he renamed his 50-plus target, calling them ‘Zoomers’, which means Boomers with ‘zip’. Then he defined them as a group having the “Body of a 65 year old. Mind of a 45 year old. Heart of a teenager. And someone who controls 1/3 of all Canadian wealth.”*
Znaimer’s ZoomerMedia owns two radio stations, CARP (the Canadian Association of Retired Persons), and Zoomer Magazine which in total target 3.3 million Canadian baby boomers aged 40 to 49 and 11.2 million that are 50-plus, for a total of 14.5 million…This group controls more than half of all spending in Canada, buys 58% of the cars, 55% of the vacations…”*. Yet, in more ways than 14.5 million, The Brief believes the marketers have labeled a market they don’t understand. Just listen to ZoomerRadio on 740AM and you’ll get what I mean.
Nine commercials and zero minutes to live. Targeted to Zoomers are not commercials for air travel, or Diet Coke, or Nike – or anything with zip. But commercial after commercial that make The Brief conclude that time is of the essence and what time is left for my generation is brief. Yesterday’s mid-day programming included the following:
1. A commercial for funeral arrangements.
2. A remedy for Joint pain.
3. A spot from Miracle Grow. (Because, of course, we garden).
4. Insurance for Long Term Care.
5. Medicine for muscle strain relief and joint pain. Again!
6. A promo for a show about Dean Martin starring his son, Deano.
7. Retirement investment advice from Appraisal Institutes of Canada.
8. A message from the Naturopathic Board for – you guessed it – pain!
9. A commercial from Tridel announcing a new retirement residence.
The Brief turned to Brent Bouchez, Founder of Agency Five0 to find out how an advertising agency purposefully reaches the 50-plus market. I learned a lot about how you can inform or insult.
The Brief: Did you find that there was a lot you didn’t know but thought you knew about this generation?
Bouchez: Yes and no. There is no shortage of data and research on this group. They are the most chronicled generation in history. On the other hand, anyone who tries to talk to them as “boomers” will fail.
The Brief: Yes!
Bouchez: There really is no such thing as a boomer, there are simply 80 million people born between 1946 and 1964 (or even 65 or Remember that GenXers will start turning 50 in less than 5 years). And boomer is truly a pejorative term. Nobody uses it to describe themselves in a positive, proud or happy way.
The Brief: I like to refer to myself as a ‘grown-up’.
Bouchez: At Five0, we’re focused on studying what happens when people mature, when they become true adults, when they figure out who they are, what they want and why they want it.
In fact, we call what we do “Adults creating marketing and advertising for adults.”
The Brief: That sounds like a reasonable premise for sound advertising.
Bouchez: Maybe the most surprising thing we have learned in the last year and a half is that this is a group of mostly happy people. People who have learned a lot about life and really like how they think today.
That, and the fact that people over 50 have more sex than any other age group.
The Brief: Perhaps that ties into why we’re so darn happy? That along with the money to maintain a vital lifestyle - that’s what our generational magazine tells us. Have you seen Zoomer Magazine – Canada’s Boomer Lifestyle Magazine?
Bouchez: Since I’ve said how we feel about the term boomer, I imagine you can assume my animosity towards a name like Zoomer. It’s boomer on some kind of grammatical steroids. That said, I do think the magazine looks nice and there are some good pieces in it. And it’s far, far better than most publications in the category.
The Brief: Yes. I agree. The content is superior to the conceit.
Bouchez: The more we do this, the more we find that the general rules of journalism tend to be thrown out the window when it comes to writing and editing for the 50+ crowd. All of a sudden, everything is labeled ‘over 50’, How to handle your money ‘over 50’, how to eat ‘over 50’, how to have sex ‘over 50’. I don’t understand why a magazine or a website can’t target this group with it’s concept and editorial without saying over 50 in every headline. Just make something that talks about things I like and need and I’ll decide how old I should be to read it.
The Brief: They’re now targeting 45-plus. If I were 45, I’d be pissed.
Bouchez: And switching to 45 changes nothing.
The Brief: Is this group as socially connected to brands via digital devices as other age groups? Are they interested in CRM?
Bouchez: This group is as connected as they want to be. They have the technology, they like their ipads and blackberrys, but they will only use something like Facebook or Twitter if they feel it makes their lives better, they won’t be there just because all the other kids are doing it…
For a huge percentage of this group, social media is still called a phone conversation or at least a note through email. But, for what it’s worth, companies like Groupon are finding huge success with the older target because more of them carry smart phones than any other age group. Because they can afford them.
The Brief: How are you engaging them media-wise?
Bouchez: That is really the great thing about talking to this group, they like advertising and they expect it. This is a group that grew up with an understanding of the relationship between the media, the advertisers and the consumers.
We find that the percentages lean to television and print to create the image and attitude for brands, while we use the web as a provider of information.
In many ways, the web is the new point-of-sale and brochure/catalog. I have to say that I am always amazed when I see a marketer still printing things… everyone we talk to in this category automatically goes to the web for information about products and services. Which makes the need for websites to be smart and easily navigable paramount to selling.
The Brief: Any insights you can share about the what, why, where and how you exist exclusively for this post-deceased demographic?
Bouchez: The insight that I would put forth is this: If the CEOs and CFOs of most major brands in this country could hear what we hear in focus groups, research panels, blogs, speeches and other dialogues with consumers over the age of 50 or even 40, they would be shocked and horrified.
Most of these people look at the commercials they see on TV and the ads they see on the web and say simply ”I don’t get it” or “What are they trying to tell me?” or “Why should I buy their product?” or “What is their product?” or “That’s just stupid” or “I would go out of my way to buy another product just because that commercial is so insulting.”
And quite often, they do.
The Brief thanks Brent Bouchez for talking to my generation with intelligence, wit and wisdom and not as a cliche. Being lumped into a demographic is somewhat like being picked for the wrong team. We are on the whole distinctly individual human and bonded by what is universal and unchanging. Life. Love. And the pursuit of happiness in the face of acid reflex; COPD; high cholesterol; erectile dysfunction; hip replacement surgery; bladder problems, leaky gut syndrome; high blood pressure; depression; thoughts of suicide, and adult children who don’t leave home without us…
With peace and love from Woodstock and Crosby Stills, Nash – Woodstock
Back when, pretty much everyone started in the mailroom or as a copy secretary. But the mailroom, to a would-be creative, was the North Star to the creative department. One would deliver the mail (usually a male), hang around the office of the dictator-in-residence, and beg. Eventually one would get a stab at something. Though the extra work was free, everyone got paid for the jobs they were hired to do. Not a lot. But the payment meant graduating into an adult world - a step - like crawling to walking. This transition in a young adult’s life has devolved over time.
That was then. This is Zen. Today; one goes to a university and then onto one of the applicable trade colleges such as Humber, York, Seneca, Centennial, or OCAD. On Portfolio Night they hold their breath to land an internship. Usually unpaid.
What makes it worth it? There is nothing more useful, challenging and rewarding to a newbie than a constructively thought-out internship. As globecampus.ca wrote in Unpaid internships still worth it. “If you want to attract the right person, you’d better give them the right opportunity. Don’t bring them in and not have a clue what you’ll do with them. Give them concrete roles, where they can have absolute results that make an impact.” *
Everyone loves the kids in advertising as it’s the perfect storm to “…observe youth culture first-hand, maybe ask the closer-than-you-are-to-the-target-demo interns for feedback to things like your latest gaming tie-in ideas. Maybe learn something from them…” * Maybe get something for nothing. Like fresh ideas, perhaps. What’s the sub-text in the followin? What do you think the company Fresh Baked Entertainment has in mind with this recent posting for 2 unpaid internships? With the consent of the company’s President, Rob Tait, The Brief reprinted the post in its entirety.
But internships seem to be a stepping-stone to more internship. And more hoops to jump through. For free. Read this summer intern job ad reprinted in its entirety with the consent of Fresh Baked Entertainment.
———-
SUMMER INTERN CHALLENGE – SOCIAL MEDIA AND SERIES PRODUCTION
MAY 25, 2011
Fresh Baked Entertainment – a Branded Entertainment company, is searching for 2 summer interns to join our team for July and August, to support various social media, marketing and production initiatives.
We are looking for one intern for each of these roles:
1. Social Media
2. Series Production
We’re all about comedy and fun at Fresh Baked Entertainment, and are looking for likeminded people who see the world in a similar way. [SIC] And because of that, resumes are not enough to help us decide who will fit.
Here is what we want to see from candidates who are interesting in joining the team: [SIC]
1). CREATE A 1-2 minute video, post it on YouTube, and let us know where we can see it. It MUST include all of the following:
1. Introduce yourself and which role you are interest in: Social Media or Production (or both)
2. Direct the message to us, helping us get to know you, and showing us what you know about us. – DO YOUR RESEARCH.
3. Have FUN with it and give people a LAUGH.
4. We aren’t just looking for a video blog; show us you know how to tell a story.
5. AND… find an interesting way to incorporate a BREAD CLIP into your video.
6. Make sure that it’s searchable through a Fresh Baked Entertaiment tag when you post it to YouTube.
2.) Send us your resume, and a short letter explaining why you are the one for the internship.
Make sure you do your best to make this as viral as possible. Get everyone to watch it, as the number of views will be part of our final decision for finding our summer interns.
Submission Deadline: FRIDAY JUNE 10TH, 5PM EST
Final Decision of Internships: FRIDAY JUNE 17TH
How to submit: Post the video on YouTube and sending a link, along with your resume and the short letter to Anne-Marie Marais at anne-marie@freshbakedent.com
Check out our site plus follow us on Facebook (under Friends of Fresh Baked) and on twitter@freshbakedent for more updates about this challenge.
THANK YOU. We are looking forward to receiving your submission.
Fine Print (Make sure you read this)
This is open to all current university or college students who can legally work in Canada.
No actual brands other than Fresh Baked Entertainment can be represented in your video.
The final decision on the hiring of the interns will be done by an internal hiring team at Fresh Baked Entertainment. DO NOT contact anyone other than Anne-Marie (and only via email) in regards to any questions you may have about the internship or the video submissions.
Only one submission per person will be accepted. Late submission will not be considered.
Any ideas are property of Fresh Baked Entertaiment.
This is an UNPAID Internship.
———-
Fini.
Gasp! The Brief had to speak to Rob Tait of Fresh Baked Entertainment to discuss what sounded like an opportunistic way to build a YouTube campaign – exclusively for Fresh Baked Entertainment, who would own the material and network it from all their channels of communication. In other words, potentially countless Fresh Baked Entertaiment campaigns for FREE for the privilege of applying for 2 unpaid summer internships. I’m steaming even as I write this.
Rob Tait listened stoically as I accused his company of exploitation and countered that he didn’t see it my way. He told me that he’d been a guest this year at York and Seneca and was moved by the students’ enthusiasm for the concept of Fresh Baked Entertainment, a hybrid advertising/entertainment and branded entertainment company. He simply wanted to give a couple of young people a chance to create with FBE The “Summer Challenge” seemed like a “fun” exercise to uncover the best talent. Tait explained - a great experience for the two lucky winners. “They will shadow and collaborate,” he tells me. “They will be 20% of an 8-person team.” I asked him whether this unpaid internship could possibly wind up in a job? “It could,” Tait says. “Call me after the summer and write how it went down and then you can judge us.” Fair enough. But, are you really asking for applicants to submit a video, post it on YouTube and make it go viral?!!! Don’t you know THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE?
But really? For all that schooling, and all that work on their portfolios, presentations, co-op ed, grad schools, trade diplomas, isn’t it time we compensated these people with at least what they’d get at Starbucks or in retail? The minimum wage is $10.25 an hour. A fresh idea is priceless. The New York Times had this to say in their Business Day section: “With job openings scarce for young people, the number of unpaid internships has climbed in recent years, leading federal and state regulators to worry that more employers are illegally using such internships for free labor.” *
The Brief signs off with this winning way to present yourself:
