A Very People-Oriented Job

A month and a half ago I started working for an ad agency here in Birmingham called Scout Branding. My title here is account coordinator, which involves, but is not limited to: Managing traffic (don't think cars), maintaining communication between Scout and its clients (perfect for me, a social butterfly), answering phones (Scout, this is Carly), assisting with social media (who new Ad Age commenting was so addicting?), freelance writing (articles, blog posts. love it), running errands (good for cabin fever), and some serious organization (menial crap matters!) Among these responsibilities, I encounter others that are sparingly, but great learning experiences, super interesting and a whole lot of fun.

Just last week, Scout had to film two new commercial spots for Baptist Health System's Be Heart Aware campaign. This project united us, an entire production crew, and a bunch of strangers all at Region Center and Lynn Park. And yes, randos. Let me explain:

In case you didn't see either of last year's Be Heart Aware commercials, the idea is to encourage Americans to understand if they are at risk for a heart attack. The link above presents a commercial in which americans answer to the question "How are you feeling today?" The commercial then spans with a series of various "fines." Each individual you see in that commercial was taken right off the street of downtown Birmingham at Regions Center.

I had the pleasure of selecting the talent for the two commercials this year, and it was great. We paid each actor $20 to answer a few questions and borrow their time. It was amazing how many people truly just wanted to be on camera with high aspirations of hitting the big screen. You have to wonder if they would have done it for no cost at all. I mean, I would have...

So, I met a Gary, an Angie, a Calvin, the cutest old couple I've ever seen, a posse of african-american women who were dressed to impress, among MANY, many others. Not all of them made the cut for the commercials, but hey—at least they got twenty bucks.