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Wexley School for Girls

June 30, 2008

Glass jars filled with white powder labeled "cocaine" in the bathroom? A Chinese-restaurant themed conference room? Rows of rubber chickens in the window? Read "trying to hard" and "overzealous, cultivated eccentricity." When they're not busy brainstorming ways to appear wackier, crazier, and more creative than other advertising agencies, Wexley School for Girls co-founders Cal McAllister and Ian Cohen actually spend time working on advertising campaigns. Maybe they should reexamine their priorities.

"Maybe I should lay on the piano? Would that look cool Ian? On my back? No, on my stomach, that's much cooler. Right? Does this look cool? What if I do this with my hand? Cooler still? Yes? Cool. Is white still in? Maybe we should have gone with black, I just don't know Ian, I just don't know."

Responsible for Microsoft's Hey, Genius campaign and some other paltry work for clients like Nike and Bath & Body Works, the agency's painful desire to stand out as creative visionaries is painfully evident. Using Comic Sans on your website? That irony-clad ship sailed a long time ago friends. You should probably pawn your in-office, nine-hole miniature golf course and use the cash to hire some legitimate creative talent. You know, the kind of people who spent time in school on their work instead of intentionally wiping paint on their clothes.

Written by Jennifer Powell in Agency Spotlight.