Whether or not Agency.com is out of their F'ing minds is not the point.

By now, we all know about this:

It's the stuff ad legends are made of, good or bad, whether they win the pitch or not. My personal take is that it was a smart move and that they just might win it.

That said, here's why I'm pissed.

I guess what kills me is this simple question: How many brilliant ideas are limited by funding and time?

Geek factory is just me. I have consultants around the globe when I need them, but mostly, it's just me.

I've stayed independent since 1998, despite numerous offers to go in house at various agencies.

I didn't fail and take a job at an agency change my business model like other solo practitioners people I could name whenever a client dumped me or I found myself with less clients than I'd like. Instead, I decided to do keep plugging away, and quite frankly, continue to do very, very well. I've been incredibly fortunate - a ton of good clients, with a ton of good recommendations. I've yet to advertise. Every client I' ve ever had has come via word-of-mouth. And even when it doesn't go as well as I'd like, like when I lose a client for no reason, or internal politics means another agency gets picked over me after a merger or takeover, I still do this. Why? Because it allows me to jump out of planes on a random Wednesday, or type this post from here, as I'm currently doing. As long as I have wi-fi and a mobile phone, running my own shop allows me the freedom that those at agency.com or Ogilvy or Digitas simply don't have. Two-word word summary: More fun.

But, with the pluses come the minuses. I don't have the staff or the budget to run 18 hours of film and compress it into 9 minutes of you-tube-ness for a pitch. I wish I did. Because I'm that damn creative, and could easily do it. Instead, I have to work twice, thrice, sometimes even 4x as hard, to make up for those things. But it's still worth it

Pluses and minuses. That's what it all comes down to. So kudos to Agency.com for taking their resources and USING them, as opposed to just sitting on their ass and filling out the brief. Bravo.Had they done that, it would have pissed me off even more, and then I'd be rooting for them not to win the account.

My friend Colin said it best: "Armed with nothing more than skill and two overweight cats, you've gotten your clients on the front page of every news outlet in the world. Let the cry-babies have their budgets. You don't need them."

Maybe he's right. In fact, he probably is. It's just frustrating nonetheless sometimes. But then I go fall out of a plane, or do a lunchtime run around the park after landing a Business Week story, and I feel better.

Now that I'm done bitching about what I don't have, I'm going to go swim another lap in the pool before packing up to catch my flight back to NYC.

And just because I'm feeling bitchy, I'll put a thought in your brain that will stick around and hurt for a few hours, I'm going to swim that lap naked.

Comments

[raincoaster]

Yeah, okay, but they ARE out of their fucking minds. Don't forget: Ebola is viral, too.

In related news, I heard a British agency spent $500,000 on a pitch for BA.

[Caroline]

Peter - Let's just keep a few things in mind (which I know you know, but it is always nice to hear them again)... you kick ass for your clients, your clients love you, everything you touch becomes a success because of your charisma (and sometimes sheer will on your part), and you are enjoying your life to boot. Good for you! Forget all else. All that matters is that you get to do what you love, that you have a good time doing it, and that you have family and friends (and pets) to come home to when you're done.