Pitching in the biggies.

By Andrew Gilbank, third-year student


Presenting to DDB may just be the standout memory of my education career.

Just a little background—a week earlier we’d completed and presented a project to Canadian Blood Services (CBS). They liked it so much they suggested we show it to their real agency, DDB, while we were in Toronto on our agency tour trip.

At first we struggled to find the right floor, but once we did, it was obvious we were in the hallowed halls of one of the world’s greatest agencies. Spacious rooms, cleverly named, lined the hallway. As we made it to a waiting area—more or less a couch in the shape of a circle just outside some offices—the stampede of students took over.

We were then whisked on a tour of DDB, starting with the top floor and moving down to their lower level. This is where we went into the “Jacques Plante” room. For those who don’t know, Jacques Plante invented the hockey goalie mask and was the first goalie in the history of the NHL to wear a mask in a game, thus changing hockey, the position, and the NHL forever. As we piled into the room we discovered chairs, couches, and tables all cornered off in little areas for each team. The room was also designed with hockey boards around it; the level of detail was fascinating including the classic Sherwood 5030 wood hockey sticks sitting around the boards.

We gathered our teams and went to various sections of the room. After each mini-presentation to actual DDB creative directors we rotated to another section—sort of like an advertising version of speed dating. Each creative director took time to speak with us, discussing our work and engaging us personally. This was no boring agency reel presentation. In fact, it was something completely different from anything I have experienced in college or other agency tours. The insight was interesting, and we felt like they were speaking to us as colleagues, not just students. The content and context of their feedback was invaluable.

Before I knew it the bell had rung and the next set of professionals where ready to hear our pitch once again. This time it was the professionals from OMD, DDB’s media arm. As a media planner I sat up a little straighter in my chair and prepared to pitch. Again it was that two-way dialogue that is truly memorable. We listened to their feedback, heard what they liked, and got a true sense of the what the industry is really like.

We were there from two hours but it felt like 10 minutes. Presenting to DDB was truly inspirational, educational, and motivating, making it one of the greatest experiences I have had.