By Eva Polis
If you have a degree in what field is it? An advertising and public relations diploma from MacEwan University.
If you could choose one person to work with (outside your own agency), who would it be? With? Not for? Easy. Anna Wintour.
Who was the client for your first advertising project? A financial institution with a noon deadline on the day I started at Palmer Jarvis (now DDB Canada) as a writer. Needless to say, I missed the office orientation tour.
If you were to change professions, what would you choose to do? A health inspector.
What do you consider to be the greatest headline of all time? I admire the body of work created for The Economist.
From where do your best ideas originate? Dark rooms.
How do you overcome a creative block? Creative inspiration usually involves some type of movement and an organic matcha latte.
If you could choose any product to create an ad for, what would it be? Lipstick for a major cosmetics brand. The ads are so formulaic. The current approach obviously moves product so it would be an awesome client challenge.
Do you have creative outlets other than advertising? Sleeping in hotels that have great mattresses and blackout shades. Obsessing about hygiene. Walking fast.
What’s your approach to balancing work and life? Eliminating the need to chew in the morning. I kneel before my Vitamix. This blender will puree almost anything (I know because I inadvertently tried to pulverize a metal spoon) and yields a nutritious liquid breakfast in one minute.
What product/gadget can you not live without? A really, really large handbag to carry all of the other gadgets I can’t live without... my iPhone, flatiron, toothbrush, lipstick, tissue, high heels and, just for fun, my Vitamix.
What’s your favorite quote? A quote and lecture in one from a man who doesn’t appear to censor his thoughts—Karl Lagerfeld. “Be politically correct, but please don’t bother other people with conversation about being politically correct, because that’s the end of everything. You want to create boredom? Be politically correct in your conversation.”
Do you have any advice for people just entering the profession? Try hard, but don’t be a try hard.
What’s one thing you wish you knew when you started your career? You can ask to have the fluorescent tubes removed from your office.
If you could choose one person to work with (outside your own agency), who would it be? With? Not for? Easy. Anna Wintour.
Who was the client for your first advertising project? A financial institution with a noon deadline on the day I started at Palmer Jarvis (now DDB Canada) as a writer. Needless to say, I missed the office orientation tour.
If you were to change professions, what would you choose to do? A health inspector.
What do you consider to be the greatest headline of all time? I admire the body of work created for The Economist.
From where do your best ideas originate? Dark rooms.
How do you overcome a creative block? Creative inspiration usually involves some type of movement and an organic matcha latte.
If you could choose any product to create an ad for, what would it be? Lipstick for a major cosmetics brand. The ads are so formulaic. The current approach obviously moves product so it would be an awesome client challenge.
Do you have creative outlets other than advertising? Sleeping in hotels that have great mattresses and blackout shades. Obsessing about hygiene. Walking fast.
What’s your approach to balancing work and life? Eliminating the need to chew in the morning. I kneel before my Vitamix. This blender will puree almost anything (I know because I inadvertently tried to pulverize a metal spoon) and yields a nutritious liquid breakfast in one minute.
What product/gadget can you not live without? A really, really large handbag to carry all of the other gadgets I can’t live without... my iPhone, flatiron, toothbrush, lipstick, tissue, high heels and, just for fun, my Vitamix.
What’s your favorite quote? A quote and lecture in one from a man who doesn’t appear to censor his thoughts—Karl Lagerfeld. “Be politically correct, but please don’t bother other people with conversation about being politically correct, because that’s the end of everything. You want to create boredom? Be politically correct in your conversation.”
Do you have any advice for people just entering the profession? Try hard, but don’t be a try hard.
What’s one thing you wish you knew when you started your career? You can ask to have the fluorescent tubes removed from your office.
Eva Polis is a creative director at DDB Canada. Her advertising career began fifteen years ago as a writer with Palmer Jarvis (now DDB Canada). Social marketing campaigns are personal favorites; to name a few that she's worked on: traffic safety, drunk driving, healthy eating and physical activity, fetal alcohol syndrome, breast health, young adult violence, young workers’ safety and local causes like Dogs with Wings, Hope Mission and We Care Ministry. Eva's international credits include a Pinnacle award from the DDB network and recognition from Applied Arts, Communication Arts, New York Festivals, Mobius Awards, HOW and Luerzer's Archive. Since adventure follows Eva wherever she goes, about eight years ago she put her creative skills toward writing amusing travel reviews.
