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Literally happens all the time. Not much you can do. Better to focus on yourself and your own life rather than worry about people lying their way to the top.
Visual Storyteller
I’ve had that happen. Ultimately if you’re someone who comes up with and sells great work consistently it will show in your portfolio and reputation, and if you’re someone who lucked out being on the help team of another team’s great work and the rest of your work is garbage, it’ll also show in your portfolio
Unfortunately this happens all the time — it stinks. And I’m sorry you’re dealing with it. I recently went through this myself where a marketing person basically took credit for all the strategy work I brought to the table. They positioned themselves as an ally and over time, used it to get a promotion. “Look at the cross functional work we did”. When they were promoted an email was sent out, reading the promotion email was like reading an email stating all the things I accomplished — but they got the credit. Why am I telling you this?
Although it sucks, it’s bigger than you. It’s a culture problem. And if cultures allow people to operate in this way and reward them, it’s likely never going to change.
My team hired someone last year. Became immediately clear their portfolio didnt line up with their skillset. They were let go after a pretty rough year and their updated portfolio is full of campaigns they had little or nothing to do with.
I found it pretty gross, but their rep in this small indusrtry will catch up to them quick. If it hasnt already.
It’s an age old problem that drives everyone crazy. Take some solace in knowing that eventually these people must stand on their own.
The healthiest approach is to just let it go. But, also, maybe it’s good to be generous with credit? Academy award winners always thank their moms and their agents although, chances are, neither contributed much to the film. When a sports team wins a championship everyone gets credit—even those who were barely on the field. Sometimes you’ll be a major contributor to a great campaign. And sometimes you’ll just be the CCO who hired the team that won.
I fully understand. A long time ago I was a CD looking to hire an AD. A book came my way with an ad in it that I had written and produced five years earlier. But I had never heard of this person. So, I called him. It turned out that, as a freelancer, he had resized the ad. I would say, in that case, putting it in his book was an overreach. I didn’t hire him. But I also have forgotten his name.
If it’s at another agency you’d never go to: let it go.
If it’s at another agency you want to go to: send them a message about how you “loved working together on X campaign and would love to work together again”, leverage their bullshit.
It seems it’s not, but, if it’s at your agency ever: let it go and learn from it, know that your CDs seem to buy bullshit so feel free to start weaving your own exaggerations.
Send them an anonymous email
This is an industry standard. I tell noobs to do it on my bigger projects. We have to pay it down. We were once starting out too right????
It happens ALL. THE. TIME.
Wait until you’re a hiring manager and interview someone with YOUR work in THEIR portfolio. —People you’ve never met!
It’s happened 3 times so far and it was FUN.
cat > mouse