(New to the Ad Grad Project? Read weeks One, Two and Three.)

Admen. We're raised to be snobs. From the time I was an intern at DMB&B and Ross Roy, I was told creatives who work for in-house and corporate communications departments can't cut it at a real agency. Or, it was where creatives' careers go to die. Pretty harsh. But to be honest, I understand how that thinking came to be, because I had a few in-house jobs early in my career. Back then, they weren't the most creative outlets. And you didn't have the sexier titles of "creative" or "copywriter" or "art director." You were a "communications specialist." Those places also forced me to wear ...a tie. Damn them.

Twelve years ago, Campbell-Ewald rescued me from an in-house purgatory at a stockbrokers firm. My former creative director there (and I use that term VERY loosely) was a former stockbroker. He didn't know good creative if you smacked him in the head with it (God knows I wanted to several times).

That was then. Times have forced in-house advertising to change.

Now companies are cutting their agencies to save costs and doing the work themselves. I personally know of three companies that fired their agencies, then they staffed up their in-house marketing departments with the people the agencies were forced to lay off.

In-house. It's no longer just the work we were taught to hate. Many are filled with bright, inventive people – former agency people who lost their jobs, not because they did crappy work, but because of a crappy economy. Now not every in-house department is a creative paradise – neither is every ad agency. Just don't look at them as a "rest stop" until an agency gives you a call. There's opportunity in in-house.

Now the investigative part...

I chose 13 states, because I was short last week. I figured big companies were likely suspects to house their own in-house departments. So I went to JobBank USA and asked, who are the largest employers in each state? I uncovered a lot of names, some well-known and respected corporations and a few unexpected places (and that's not a bad thing). Not all of them were hiring, but the majority had in-house marketing and communications departments. You can always check back with those other companies later, but these places are hiring now:

Intern for Microscoft (Seattle, Washington)
Graphic Design Intern for Universal Studios (Burbank, California)
Graphic Designer for McClain Marketing (Portland, Maine)
Product Specialist for Conseco (Chicago, Illinois)
Web Designer for Batesville Casket (Batesville, Indiana). They are one of the state's big employers. When business is dead – it's steady. C'mon, a find like this begs for a comment. And how many of you even thought about casket companies?
Marketing Manager for Wolters Kluwer (Baltimore, Maryland)
Corporate Communications Intern for AstraZeneca (Wilmington, Delaware)
Web Designer for Terradon Communications (Nitro, West Virginia)
PR Strategist for Alegent Health (Omaha, Nebraska)
Consumer Insights Specialist for Tyson Foods (Springdale, Arkansas). Link won't work, but the job is there,
Communications Intern  for DCH Health System (Tuscaloosa, Alabama) Same link issue here.
Direct Marketing Manager for CenturyTel (Monroe, Louisiana)
Corporate Communications Administrator for Bank of Hawaii (Oahu, Hawaii)

So if you go in-house, you are not a second-class creative, unless you produce work like one. Then who's fault is that?  Companies are still holding on to their marketing dollars tightly, forcing you to think smarter with fewer resources. That's just the way of the world, even at an agency. And like an agency, you still have to sell your brilliant idea to some decision maker, but this time he/she isn't your client, but your boss. So are you going to help the company tell its story better? Or, will you  just fall in line and crank out those tired email blasts they've been force-feeding their audience for years? Settling for the latter really will make you a second-class creative. (Then try getting into an agency with those samples in your portfolio.)

Your traditional ad agencies will probably be one of the last businesses to show signs of recovery and likely be the last to hire. Meanwhile, companies still need to get the word out. They are looking for more economical options and they are looking for you to do it. But if you really feel agency life is your calling, you're probably wondering if you can make the transition from one of these jobs. Anything is possible.

I did it.

Twice.


Graphic design by Kriss Szkurlatowski. Courtesy of stock.xching.