A group of eight San Diego State University students seated several feet away at three tables they’ve pushed together. They’re doing some kind of group project — the dreaded group project. I eavesdrop, as I am wont to do, and learn it’s some kind of marketing assignment. They’re supposed to be an ad agency, I guess — everyone with his or her jobs and titles within this pretend agency, and it seems they’ve been told the pretend client they’re pitching sells air-freshening type products.
Okay. That’s the basic set-up for all the eavesdropping that follows.
A collection of what I heard:
~ Okay. We need to emphasize that we are innovative and traditional.
~ Am I the Account Executive? I wanna be the Account Executive, okay?
~ Well, maybe we could share that. Can we share?
~ Well …..
(Hahaha. That was the Alpha Male and Alpha Female of the group. Basically, the only ones talking.)
~ We need to acknowledge the challenge of our competitors. Make sure we talk about them.
~ Well, don’t talk about them TOO much!
~ (to a girl who hasn’t spoken) Do you wanna join the group or what?
~ Remember: The brand is the product. The brand is the product!
~ I think we should focus that our experience is that we’re young innovative professionals with fresh ideas.
(Verbatim there.)
~ Okay. I think we should show two guys: One is good-looking but his room stinks. The other is a total dork, but his room smells good. And the dork gets all the girls.
~ Are we gonna do a skit?
~ Yeah! We should do a skit!
~ Our expertise is that we’re professional.
~ Shannon, you’re Media Director.
~ I wanna be AE!
~ Sorry.
~ We need to focus on three things: our experience, that we’re on top of trends, that our competitors do things but we do them better.
~ Oh! And we need to make sure the client knows that WE choose. Our agency picks and chooses. WE choose YOU.
~ For the presentation, let’s wear suits and flip flops!
~ I think we should do it extemporaneously.
~ (to two students not contributing) You guys are copywriters, okay?
~ (shrug) Okay.
~ Sure. The other agencies will show you their stuff, but will they show you everything?
~ Okay. On Tuesday, me and her will write the copy.
~ (as they’re leaving) I really like us.
~ Me too.
~ We rock.
You know, I don’t know why people say SDSU is a laughingstock among colleges.
I am completely baffled.
“innovative and traditional. ”
Oh my, they have TOTALLY got the marketing “line” down there. They should all get automatic As because only true marketers can do that level of nonsense with a straight face.
That scene you just posted is why I don’t assign group work in my classes.
It was hilarious how earnest they were about it all. I kind of liked the whole smelly room idea. I mean, I actually laughed out loud on that one and had to make it look like I was laughing at something MB had said — and he wasn’t even talking.
“I really like us”.
hahahahahahahaha
I am cringing at the echoes of my college self in this post. 😛
NF — Hahaha. I know. As I read it now, I can hear the echoes too, but right then? I was totally Laughy McJudgerson.
I see myself in the “we should do a skit” person.
Mortifying!
How did you not bust out laughing at the “WE choose YOU” part?
(in embarrassed voice) I’m pretty sure the last group project I was in last spring involved some “we rock” talk on the discussion board. And we’re, um, librarians now.
This is my favorite part: “our experience is that we’re young”
Hahahahahahahaha.
I loathed group projects.
Kate – hahahahaha! We totally RULE circulation and check-ins!
We OWN the Dewey Decimal System, yo!
I almost marched over to their table in a huff to tell the two “copywriters” that they simply could NOT write copy if they could NOT use pronouns properly.
Oh, and Kate P? I did laugh. I laughed the entire time, trying to hide my face from them. MB just ignores me now. I sat there shaking with laughter and writing all of my eavesdropping notes in teeny-weeny print on a Cloth Paper Scissors subscription card.
They may be naive but I am a weirdo.
YOU TAKE BLOG NOTES TOO! I love you so much for that, Tracey. I totally take notes.
Me and you can be weirdos together.
Actually, it was more like, “We wrote a lesson plan unit that made our real-life 7th grade tester totally miserable! We’re gonna get an ‘A’ for sure!”
I do mental blog narration in my head while in the midst of some crazy situation–you know, those “this is SO going on the blog” moments.