Client just called and gutted our previously-approved spot the day before delivery. Who’s got crushing last-minute client change stories?

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I had to rewrite an entire spot at the pre-pro meeting, while everyone watched.

likefunnyuplifting

I once had an entire TV campaign killed 3 hours before flying off to shoot. Why? B/c the CEO’s 50-something year old wife saw the scripts on the kitchen counter and didn’t understand the humor. The target was male 18-24. Smh

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Shot a spot that referenced a hurricane. While we were readying the spot in post, a hurricane struck, which made the client nervous about backlash. Forced us to Frankenstein almost everything at the last-minute.

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I had to rewrite a spot that I had stayed up until 1am writing the night before. The account people, creative directors and clients all watched.

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👆 Of all the bad scenarios, that’s the least bad.

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A client pull the product off the market days before the full campaign was shipping.

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We were in LA. Two days before the shoot. Already did the pre-pro, and everything was ready to go. The approved spot had been tested as boards, then as an animatic. We had even commissioned an original song for the commercial. So, everything is going great when the client suddenly asks for "alternate endings" that could improve the ASI score...because - although this spot had scored way above average, it was not quite as high as the spot they had been running the shit out of for 2 years. We stayed up all night boarding alternate endings. But he still wasn't satisfied. He wanted to cancel the shoot. We explained to him that the money was already spent, and that canceling now meant losing 350K of the 400K budget. He didn't care. He pulled the plug. We were devastated.
Oh yeah, and all this all happened over the phone because it was P&G (clients were not allowed on the shoots.)

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I thought looking at director reels for an approved spot was bad. Good Lord. Saving this thread to remind me it could always be worse in advertising. Sorry you guys went through all that.

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A year of planning/dev on a global campaign.
5 million dollar shoot of 4 spots.
Buy in up to the CMO.
Shares with the CEO... kills the whole thing.

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A truly epic :60 spot finished and mere hours from airing on the Oscars one year, CEO pulled the plug because he claimed he hadn’t approved the script even though he blatantly had, several times.

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FBBDO, that makes me sad. Sorry that happened to you.

likehelpful

I’ve got a whole reel of finished spots that were killed before a single airing. Mostly from the early 2000’s when there was serious money for production... followed by serious fear and scared clients looking to save their own hides during the economic downturn. Good times!

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Had to re-concept a Black Friday campaign for a major electronics brand in 48hr when client decided they didn't like what another agency spent 2 months working on. 🤷‍♂️

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I had a tv campaign die after it was finished and ready to ship

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1 year in and 1,3 million spent in production on an awesome digital thing - up in clouds a few weeks before launch. 💥

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Spent a year of sleepless nights, anxiety attacks and 3 months almost non stop in LA away from family and missing my nephews bday to launch a project my team and I were exceptionally proud of, to have it all yanks and killed within 24 hours of just the videos being posted (the digital and print hadn’t started yet) because the senior client didn’t like to look of the product anymore.

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Wrote, shot, edited and shipped a spot in 2 very painful weeks. It was on air for 2 days before the client decided to use their inhouse team to horribly rewrite the VO, recut it and reship it.

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was about to ship a :15 after 30+ rounds of irrational client-driven edits when they asked us to rework the footage for a different product instead. Spent 40+ rounds doing that and was about to ship when they decided to go back to promoting the original product plus the new one in one :15. Spent 282874+ rounds of losing my mind when right before shipping they requested we add a THIRD product into it and by that time we had the account team working directly with the edit house as we were all an edit away from checking into Bellevue. Anyway, after a year and a half of this, the Hydra :15 is on TV all the fucking time and gives me PTSD every time I see it.

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We were pitching a global technology brand. Didn’t like the rip, so called in ringers at midnight to re-write and re-cut it. I left at 3a, returned at 7a for the 10a pitch. Didn’t see the rip until the client saw it.
Won the business.

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Celeb agreed to Super Bowl spot. Celeb wanted to rewrite the week before shooting. Client bent over and allowed it. Completely different concept. Spot sucked. Had to make it anyway.

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