Black Sheep

One uncanny coincidence that I kept thinking about while at BBH was their logo and my upbringing.

Black Sheep Beer was a large part of my childhood. Not in the drinking it sense, I hasten to add (I will never like beer I'm afraid), but in a brand sense. It was the local brewery. I went to school with members of the family. All the men in my family drink nothing else. The thing that has always particularly interested me though is the story behind the name.

Paul Theakston, part of the Theakston brewing dynasty, disagreed with his family over the selling of Theakston's in the early 1990s to Scottish and Newcastle. He left the fold to set up a rival brewery, in the same town. Awkward. Originally called 'Sheep', Paul's wife suggested, 'Black Sheep' as an appropriate name, given the tension and disagreements within the family.

It could be a Catherine Cookson plot...

So when I marched up to the Black Sheep above the door of BBH, I felt curiously at home. A familiar landmark in a way. I've just got to remember that, when everyone else zigs, to make sure I zag. Very Black Sheep.

Bartle Bogle Hegarty

I have returned to the IPA after my week at BBH. I had a fantastic, if slightly exhausting, time. It was a real insight into agency life, planning in particular. Unlike most work experience placements I have done, I felt I was being vaguely useful! Funnily enough, pages 12, 17 and 29 of Marketing this week have shown me that the project I was working on was even more topical than I suspected. I'm resisting the temptation to email the articles over - it would just be too keen.

Overall, the agency were incredibly kind to me, although, unfortunately, I did not meet Sir John Hegarty, but his PA and office were very nice when I walked past!

I had a very steep learning curve while I was there, but it really confirmed that 'plannerish' ambitions are the right kind of ambition to have, for me anyway.

Bartle Bogle Hegarty

A secondment in the Planning department at BBH has been arranged for me. I'm quite excited! Having visited many advertising agencies on my travels, BBH has one of the nicest atmospheres, in my opinion. DDB London and Walker Media are other favourites of mine.

You can judge an agency like a doctor's surgery I find: by the receptionists.