That’s right, I said charge. In another move reminiscent of an old, stodgy agency that can’t hope to reinvent itself, Fallon Minneapolis “has just launched their version of the Miami Ad School’s Greenhouse
Program called AdKare. This unique program allows students to go to
school inside the walls of Fallon and add a real-world aspect to their
education by working on special projects as well as current clients and
campaigns. For 10 weeks the students will learn, work, think and grow.”
I’m sorry, did she say “unique?” Fallon has partnered with Miami Ad School, which has been sending young addies to work inside agencies for like, a century (hypothetically speaking, of course — putting students in shops is already part of the school’s curriculum). What’s more, why would students want to work there? Hello! Scoff scoff.
My favorite part of the release states, “students will come
and learn from Fallon and in turn we will learn from the young, fresh
talent.” I get the feeling no one will be doing any useful learning. Kids, go to Miami Ad School and leave it at that. They have a great reputation for unearthing awesome creatives.
Update: Miami Ad School has a reputation of putting out talent, and does so by requiring a semester abroad program that takes students out of Minneapolis, Miami, San Francisco or wherever and dropping them in another school. The professors are current or retired addies. But what is Fallon attempting to do by starting AdKare? The agency’s decline, coupled with a failed New York shop and a recent move back to their old digs are just a few moves in a long list of strange behaviors. It doesn’t take an advertising genius to figure out something’s up.