What AMC’s ‘The Pitch’ Missed from WDCW

By now, many of you may have heard of AMC's new show: The Pitch

The Pitch pits two opposing ad agencies against each other to compete for an assignment from a nationally-recognized brand.

Many of the larger ad agencies turned down the opportunity to appear on The Pitch, citing the fact that they didn't want to give away their 'secret sauce' for all the world to see.

My former employer, WDCW, accepted the invitation to compete

In an Ad Age article published earlier this month, WDCW principal Tracy Wong did a fantastic job of detailing why WDCW was unafraid to take on the challenge.

There were many things left out of the 42 minute first episode of The Pitch, which Tracy touched on during this Forbes interview.

As a former WDCW-ite, I wanted to share a couple classic 'WDCW-isms' that Tracy left unmentioned that others in our industry could learn from

Enjoy!

Lesson #1: Check your ego at the door

As a seasoned creative director, Tracy has seen a LOT of egos during his time in this industry. And even through all of the success he has experienced, he'll always be the first to tell someone to check their ego at the door.

To paraphrase his acceptance speech at the Seattle ADDY Awards in 2011:

'This industry doesn't need any more assholes; ego-driven, selfish, me-me-me-me-me type characters who think they're better than everybody else. Check your ego at the door and get on board with your team -- YOUR AGENCY -- and focus on producing good work as a group.'

Lesson #2: Use your superhero powers for good

Tracy loved to use this phrase.

Life is not all about making money; at some point, you need to use the superhero powers that were bestowed upon you to work on something that will benefit the greater good.

Lesson #3: The Democracy of Ideas

Tracy touched on this during his Ad Age article, but I believe it's worth revisiting a second time.

WDCW has built their culture around the concept that ideas come from a combined collection of thoughts -- that it's not up to a single person to come up with the 'big idea', but instead that everyone should come together to help bring this idea to life.

Focus on the bringing the broader group together as your agency is ideating and you'll benefit from a more diverse collection of ideas that are generated.

So, what does your agency believe in?