⟶ WIEDEN+KENNEDY 12.7 APPLICATION

[ROLE] STRATEGY, PRODUCER
[CLIENT] WIEDEN+KENNEDY, W+K12
[YEAR] 2010-2011

THE PROUST EFFECT. THEY SAY THAT SCENT IS THE STRONGEST TRIGGER FOR MEMORY. WHETHER IT’S THE SMELL OF FRESH COOKIES THAT ONLY YOUR GRANDMA CAN MAKE, OR THE FRESH MIX OF CIGARETTES AND WET CONCRETE IN Shibuya, a single breath can REALLY transport you to another time and place.

THE BRIEF FROM WIEDEN+KENNEDY WAS SIMPLE. FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND ATTACH AN 8.5X11 SHEET OF PAPER AND MAKE IT AS MEMORABLE AS YOU CAN. MAKE THEM HAPPY, AND YOU EARN A SPOT AT W+K12.

I WAS WEARING COMME DES GARÇONS ODEUR 53 AT THE TIME, AND THINKING ABOUT THE PROUST EFFECT, I DECIDED TO MAKE THE SCENT PART OF MY APPLICATION. I SPRAYED AS MUCH OF IT AS I COULD ONTO THE PAGES AND ACROSS THE FRONT, THEN ADDED THE PHRASE, “HI, MY NAME IS EDWIN, AND THIS IS WHAT I SMELL LIKE.”

IT WAS INTENSE. IT WAS HEAVY. AND IT SMELLED INCREDIBLE. W+K AND W+K12.6 SEEMED TO LIKE IT TOO. WITH THAT, I SPENT THE NEXT 12 MONTHS AT WIEDEN+KENNEDY PORTLAND.

Wieden+Kennedy 12 (W+K 12) was an experimental advertising program housed within the agency's Portland, Oregon headquarters. Led by Jim Riswold, Andrew Dickson, Byron Oshiro, and Jinnina Chiles, it defied the typical ad school mold. With a 2% acceptance rate, the program selected just 13 students a year to form a mini-agency within W+K. For 13 intensive months, this small cohort worked directly on real assignments for actual clients. Rather than just recruiting traditional copywriters or art directors, W+K 12 explicitly sought out artists, poets, filmmakers, and unconventional creatives.

THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN MY CREATIVE NORTH STAR EVER SINCE. RIP TO THE GOATS… RISWOLD, DAN, AND DAVE. FAIL HARDER.