GWDS November 2008

Who is the top financial services marketing director who refuses to be spooked by the global financial meltdown? Amid the foreclosures, mergers, takeovers, bail-outs, bankruptcies, restructures, redundancies and the seemingly endless predictions of doom and gloom, this particularly optimistic bank marketer has just hired a PA. For his PA.

Which international agency CEO, while waiting to go on stage to address a conference recently, was approached by a high profile politician? Was the cabinet minister about to ask about the latest in brand management? No. “Could you get me a coffee?” asked the politician, mistaking the agency boss for a member of the crew. “I'm sure we can arrange that, sir,” he replied.

Who is the newspaper hack who is on sick leave thanks to management discovering he has been fiddling expenses to up to fifty thousand dollars over the last few years? He was so creative he set up friends and family members as fake contributors and paid them for imaginary stories. The hack offered to pay back most of the cash if management didn't prosecute but is now threatening to spill the beans on all sorts of senior management fiddles if they go ahead.

Which agency account director enjoyed making the most of his hotel facilities while on a training junket recently? On this trip his colleagues saw him leaving reception with a bulging suitcase so they asked him to open it up and show them what was in there. They found piles of hotel towels hidden inside, but wrapped in the towels was a marble elephant statue.

Who is the television journalist who treated the bar staff at one posh bar/eatery to a stellar performance which included getting very drunk and flirty in the bar? After repeatedly lunging at the cutest boys behind the bar and trying to drag them into her car, she was escorted out by management when things “really got out of hand”.

Which creative director was spotted at an industry event jostling other guests out of the way in an effort to get to the bar for the free booze “in a surprisingly undignified manner”? Apparently the bar staff temporarily ran out of glasses which started the false rumour that the free drinks were off, which in turn, caused panic amongst the kiasu.