The second week of being in London has passed and so have our agency visits. Our class had our last visit today at Wieden + Kennedy this morning. The agency was not what I was expecting. It was vastly different than the other two agencies that we visited this week, along with any other agency I have visited in the past.

During the visit we were able to see the layout of the premises because we were given a tour prior to the presentation they prepared for us. Their office was laid back and open to stimulate the creative flow. I really enjoyed the refreshing layout of their office, but I’m not sure I would be able to work in an office space like that. I enjoy my personal space and prefer to have an area to myself.

Aside from the work environment, I learned a great deal about what their company represents. I did not realize that they were the agency that does the advertising for Nike and Old Spice. I found that to be quite impressive. I remember whenever all of the Old Spice advertisements came out a couple years ago, enjoying them very much.

These particular advertisements impressed me a lot because they grabbed your attention and held it throughout the clip. I am not sure if they were still involved whenever Terry Crews became Old Spice’s commercial star, but since I’m not a big fan of those particular commercials I hope they weren’t.

During the presentation they gave us a “creative exercise” to give us a broad idea on how to market ourselves better to potential employers. They spoke about examples that they did and ones they noticed along the way. For instance, they spoke about a particularly recent one that occurred at their company. A person sent in a package to their boss and it was an animals testicals packaged in a container like beef with humorous phrases relating to the person that sent it in. This was more British humor than American because I found it to be absolutely disgusting. Though the presenters were beyond themselves because the person that sent the package had included numerous spelling errors, essentially ensuring the man would not get the position he desired.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed Wieden + Kennedy last Thursday morning. They gave an insight into how their company is set up and presented what they do in a new fashion. They got the group of college students that are still learning the business to think on their feet and come up with any idea, whether it be good or bad.