End of the dream...
After promising results for their "W+K Seeking" competition by February 15, Wieden + Kennedy finally got back to me today. I didn't get in.
I have actually suspected as much for a while, as another entrant in Belgium received his "golden ticket" by FedEx on the 18th. So it was a pretty safe bet that if I hadn't got anything by FedEx within a couple of days of the magic date, I wasn't going to make it. Part of me was still believing that they weren't in any hurry to notify me that I had won because I lived here in Portland... it's a very silly part of me and shouldn't be listened to in the future!
I like my entry, I really do. But looking at the few winning entries I have seen (there's links to a few in the blog above), it's obvious that W+K are after something more "left field" and "out there" than what I submitted. They're after people who can provide them with that tangential solution to a problem that hasn't occurred to 99.9% of the population, and my entry didn't present that.
On the bright side, now I can concentrate my efforts on other ways to get employed without the distraction of W+K's carrot hanging over my head.
In closing, I also have to say I'm a bit disappointed in the way that W+K lets you know you haven't been selected. It was simply a postcard-sized sticker on card that says "Wieden + Kennedy gave me this sticker" on the front, while the back is simply a rubber stamped (literally!) message that reads:
SEEKING haiku
you shared your story
one in forty made the cut
not this time for you
Ouch! Not only does the front suggest the old "My parents went to Maui and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" joke (or in this case, "The guy from Belgium is going to W+K and all I got was this lousy sticker"), but the back is brutally to the point. I understand they have thousands of rejections to send out, but surely it could be done a little less harshly than this? People have poured their heart and soul into these entries, hoping for a way into one of the best agencies in the world, and this is what they get back?
Posted in: chaosboy, employment, portland on February 22, 2008 at at 2:32:00 PM
Cam, I feel bad the way they are going about this. I am 99% sure that I'm also in for the drop. I concur with you that they should have a little bit of softness.
I had put all my eggs in this basket. Guess, I'm going to fucked left, right & center.
To be fair, I think this is their first time attempting something like this and I think the logistics involved have caught them somewhat by surprise.
No, this is not the first Seeking thing they've conducted. However, yes, the number of entries this time were more than their expectations.
I feel the same way, Cameron, and I'm glad you said something as well on the W+K blog. No matter what excuses we'd like to defend them with, the issue here is more about the message they're sending. You could have the cheapest production in the world (ie cool PDF in an e-mail; formal letter) to appropriately say your gratitude in participating. The sticker/haiku thing is very unlike them. They've had this experience with WK12 and were kind in their rejections, sending freebies and whatnot. I'm not sure why anyone would parade around in a W+K rejection sticker...so what the hell are they trying to say?