I remember getting the call from Campbell-Mithun like it was yesterday. I was in my off-campus apartment with a friend and when I told him to hush, he knew it was the call I had wanted so badly.
You’d like to offer me the position?
A full-time salary?
Amazing benefits?
I get to work for a top Minneapolis agency AND a fortune-500 company?
When’s the part where I wake up from this dream?
I was stoked. This was and is the college grad’s dream.
I immediately gained deep, well-rounded experience. I worked on a variety of brands in both digital and traditional advertising. I had the honor of presenting my own work and inspiring my clients with outside-the-box thinking. I was lucky enough to have had a few encouraging mentors. I thrived in the responsibility I was given.
Then, a year flew by. Already, I was deep inside the rollercoaster ride of advertising while many of my classmates were still looking for a job—any job, at this point. I was constantly reminded how lucky I was.
All that to say, mithun has a special place in my heart.
Because of that, it’s hard for me to see mithun go the way it did.
Although, I can’t say I’m shocked. Even with a re-brand and efforts to revitalize the agency, it never quite felt like everyone was on the same page.
I believe that successful agencies are united in vision; thoughtful creativity wins. We are hired not to give our clients what they want, we are hired to give our clients what they need. That is what I’ve always tried to do. There is nothing more heartbreaking than having to walk away from an incredible idea because someone was scared—whether a client or a team member.
I’ve witnessed fear, time and time again, to be the greatest hindrance to success. It’s a lesson with real consequences that I’ll never take lightly. Whether in agency life or in our personal lives, we must never be afraid to challenge our comfort levels, to dream bigger, to exude passion, to have compelling reasons for what you’re doing. Once in a while, we’ll fail to be brave, I know I have. But it’s our job to brave. You look a challenge straight in the face and you dance with it. You humble yourself and ask if you/we can do better.
Early on I realized, without passion for creativity, great ideas won’t see the light of day.
That’s basically the point of some of the negative comments I’ve seen surface the internet lately about mithun. Therefore, I feel compelled to get this off my chest: I hear you. I know I’m not the only one who wanted more for mithun or for themselves, but it’s true that everyone must share the same passion and goals or it just won't happen.
Mithun is no more. But the daily lessons (both victorious and tough) are still very much alive in me. Ray Mithun’s philosophy, “Everything talks” is just as true now (if not more) than when he first said it. I think it’s worth holding onto.
I think anyone who wants to be in the cut-throat world of creative marketing should ask themselves every so often: What am I in this for? Do my actions reflect it? What am I waiting for?
I tend to agree fortune favors the passionate, bold and brave.