The First Stelton Presentation, Part 1
Disclaimer: this was before my time and so the information is secondhand, thrice removed.Four years ago, the firm was doing its first big job for Stelton. The assigned task was some basic materials to promote new services for the minerals industry. But under the firm’s still-held insistence on Overdelivery (read: Give Us More Money Faster Before You Realize You’re Dissatisfied), it pitched a three-quarter campaign that involved a superhero, the Silver Stelton. Tag line: “Shining legal advice at mercurial speeds!!” (Why two exclamation points, I don’t know. This must have coincided with the eight months when Harvey couldn’t hire a decent editor.)
Barbara had told the Stelton marketing contacts to bring more than themselves to the presentation. So a marketing partner (an attorney who didn’t know anything about marketing, pressed into thankless committee service) and the head of the minerals practice were also invited.
At that time, Vanessa was the lead designer on the Stelton account, well on her way up toward her current job. The Silver Stelton wasn’t her idea, so that’s how you know she was good. She’d done the best she could with one of Frank’s Silver TurdsSM. (Etymology alert: this is when the phrase was coined, although Frank had been making them since the Ford Administration.)
The presentation didn’t start on time, though, because Vanessa wasn’t back from lunch and, more importantly, the Stelton marketing partner hadn’t arrived. Eventually, the clients said to go ahead and begin. A minute later, Vanessa walked into the room. Trashed.
