Flippin' Out

Lately I have been paying extra attention to a lot of the commercials on TV, usually looking for something that immediately jumps out and interests me. There are many outstanding funny ads like the new Filet O’ Fish sandwiches, or graphically stimulating ads like Sprite’s ‘Sublymonal Advertising’. But what I really like to stumble upon are the more subtle ads that use simple techniques to accomplish great audio/visual synergies. Here is a recent ad that makes for a great example of what I’m talking about:



When everyone is competing to be hilarious or technically innovative, sometimes watching a commercial like this can be a breath of fresh air. It sticks to the basics: interesting video footage of spontaneous events – supplemented with feel-good music is all this commercial needed to appease the viewer, but at the same time, get this product’s message across.

Pat B.

Creative Intern

Teaching the Rising Generation

“What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero

When it comes to teachers, lets face it – if you’re taking molecular chemistry or even those classic 101 core curriculum classes, chances are you want the easiest teacher you can find. Be honest, I know you’ve all checked out ratemyprofessor.com to find out the teacher with the easiest tests, or (if you’re lucky) who doesn’t even give tests.

Entering my last semester of college at John Carroll University, I have been in school for sixteen years (not including pre-school). Much like any other student, I have encountered some of the best and worst teachers of my life. Now I’ll be honest, molecular chemistry is not my forte. However when it comes to public relations and advertising, I am ready to learn about anything. Having challenging professors within your major is worth the sacrifice of the A- for the B+ if it means you have learned, and are prepared for “the real world.” It is most important to leave a class feeling like you are taking away more than when you started.

The internship program at Liggett Stashower is the best opportunity in Cleveland to learn and experience public relations and advertising at the forefront of the field from the people who know it best. Building brands is Liggett’s motto, however their internship program focuses on building and preparing interns as the rising generation in public relations, advertising, and creative. As Pat said earlier, this is the hardest class I have taken, but the thing is, it’s supposed to be challenging. Being challenged is the best way to learn. Being an intern at one of the top agencies in Cleveland, and the country, there is TONS to learn and experience.

The most helpful and knowledgeable teachers can be found at LS. This agency knows its stuff, and it is impressive to watch and try to soak up all there is to experience. I‘m so excited to be here! I will keep you posted on everything I’m learning and my progress as an intern at Liggett.

Crista S.
Program Management Intern

Insert Catchy Title Here

A finance intern at an ad agency? Aren’t ad agencies for CREATIVE people? I will not lie to you, I have asked myself those same questions. While my fellow interns are researching advertisements, brainstorming new ideas for different companies and sketching ideas for new designs, I am entering credits and debits into journal entries and deciphering between account receivables and account payables. Honestly… I couldn’t be happier. This is my niche; this is what I am good at. Coming up with catchy titles for blogs or designing a poster may not be my forte, but give me some numbers and a calculator and I will go to town.

Don’t let my math background fool you though, I am so excited to be around so many creative people all of the time. With taking on a minor in Public Relations, I feel that LS is right where I am supposed to be. I have sat in on some brainstorming meetings and looked at what the Creative Services department does and I get inspired. LS makes me want to be more creative and makes me think outside of the “accounting” box. Even though it has only been two weeks since the internship started, my creative juices are already flowing much more than before. From working on T-shirt ideas with the other interns to trying take my Mom’s advice and instead of going shopping and getting new clothes, I am getting creative with what I already own to wear to work. I think I am going to fit in just fine.

I am very excited to see what the next six weeks has in store for me and the other interns. In the past two weeks I have experienced and learned so many new things, I can’t imagine that my brain has enough room to hold what the rest of my time here has to offer… but I am more than willing and excited to find out. And hopefully by my next blog I will be able to give you all a catchy and creative title!

Kelly M.
Finance Intern

Cleveland is the city...

People don’t give Cleveland enough credit. The media outside of Cleveland always seem to put down Cleveland sports and it seems like so many of my friends always say they’re moving away from Cleveland as soon as they graduate. And I often wonder, what’s so bad about Cleveland anyways?

Sure, the winters are frigid and summers are hot and humid. But aside from the weather, I can’t find many other reasons to complain about the area. There’s always something going on and something to do, either downtown or in the nearby suburbs. There are sporting events, museums, cultural events, music concerts, theater productions, restaurants, shopping, and recreation areas. Take your pick; these are just a few.

Along the same lines, since beginning my internship at LS, I’ve increasingly noticed and took interest in some of the initiatives and events that organizations within the city of Cleveland have come up with to try to help “slow the brain drain” of people leaving Ohio and to attract more young professionals and recent college graduates. Some of these events can be found here.

LS is an agency made up of a fair amount of young people and individuals who are active in the local business community, and many of them are involved in these organizations. Another cool program that LS participates in is the Late Out/Late In program, which I had never heard of since I started working here. It’s just another way to help attract young professionals to Cleveland.

In short, I think Cleveland is a pretty cool place to be living and working this summer. Sure New York and Chicago are advertising capitals of the world, but I’ve quickly come to realize in the week that I’ve been working here, that I can have a great agency experience, benefit from the work that I am doing, and even have some time to explore and enjoy the many things that Cleveland has to offer. After all, Cleveland is the city.

Jessica M.
Program Management Intern

Agency Life: A Little Bit of This, and a Little Bit of That

As a soon-to-be senior at Kent State studying public relations, I have admired this agency from afar since I heard about it my freshman year. After talking to some employees at LS, shadowing the interns for a day last summer and applying for a PR intern position last fall, I scored my dream internship. And now, all that I learned in my lecture classes are finally taking form. I am able to see the agency use all the tactics, writing styles and strategies I studied at Kent.

One of my favorite experiences so far was brainstorming with the fellow interns and an account coordinator for ideas on how to generate publicity for a potential client. I think it says a lot about LS that they look to the interns for new and fresh ideas and take the time to help us experience real-life agency situations. But that was just one of the fun jobs I have been a part of my first week (and three days) at Liggett.

At Kent, the public relations major is a part of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication; hence, it is writing intensive. I’m silently thanking all my past professors for assigning writing project after writing project to prepare me for this internship. Last week, I was assigned my first writing assignment: Writing two case studies about a client that builds open-air malls. What more could a girl ask for?

Each day I am confronted with a little bit of everything: From putting together press kits and writing case studies to sitting in on teleseminars with the Program Management group and organizing ad clippings for a decking company. It’s something new every day, and that is what I am beginning to love about working at LS. Give me a nice big cup of java, and I’m ready to take on the world.

Olivia M.
Program Management Intern

Where am I?

Being one of the few non-Cleveland area interns I found myself asking this question on a daily basis. I come from a small town with two stoplights, so you could imagine the difficulty I was having with downtown Cleveland when I first arrived. A week has gone by now and I have become one with the streets of Cleveland. Prospect Avenue to Huron Road, no problem. Mayfield Road or Overlook Drive, been there drove that. Carnegie Avenue and Hessler Road, the list goes on and on. The sad thing is, I don’t even live in downtown Cleveland or even the surrounding suburbs. I guess you can say I’m just a man on a mission to drive the streets of my new summer home, Cleveland.

This lack of sense of direction carried over to my first few days at Liggett. The Liggett Stashower office is larger then it first appears in my defense. Even after a tour of the building I still had troubles finding my way to the bathroom for the first time. When I tried to find one of the meeting rooms I ended up in the employees lounge. At the end of my first day I felt like I had the Liggett office down, then I couldn’t find the exit. I even managed to park my car and forget where I parked it. I felt like Ashton Kutcher or Seann William Scott when I caught myself saying, “Dude where’s my car?”

Throughout my lost journeys here in Cleveland and Liggett Stashower I have been pleased to be surrounded by so many helpful people. When I was lost on some random street in Cleveland I rolled down my window and a complete stranger gave me detailed directions to get back on the highway. When I was couldn’t find my parking lot, a person on street pointed me in the right direction (after a very thorough explanation of how I managed to lose my car). Here at Liggett every employee I have met has been so helpful and kind. They don’t mind fielding my everyday questions. As you could imagine I ask lots of them. As they all say, there is no such thing as a stupid question.

One week has passed since my internship has started and I am happy to say I have found my place here at Liggett. I even managed to find my car.

Adam F.
Program Management Intern

My Top 3

I've put together a list of the Top 3 things I've learned and experienced during my first week as an intern.

1. One of my highlights from the past week was the opportunity to sit in on a photo shoot. I realized the tremendous amount of work that goes into the making of a print ad. It's unbelievable how many people and how much time, money and talent it takes to create one of those ads you see in a magazine.

2. There are many uses for duct tape. From creating picture frames, dresses, and flip-flops to hammocks and ipod cases - the list goes on. Who knew that you could easily hem your pants or rip cactus thorns outof your skin with a little handiwork and duct tape? Not me. The reason I now know all of this useful information is because on Sunday afternoon I volunteered for a festival put on by one of Liggett's clients. My job was to man the fashion tent. Fashion design studentscreated duct tape dresses with the theme - "countries of the world". My instructions were pretty simple, answer any questions and make sure nobody rolled away the giant 8x8 ft duct tape globe. Since it wasFather's Day, I decided to splurge and buy a genuine duct tape wallet for my Dad. Now, thanks to me, he's the most stylish guy on the block.

3. Adjusting from college life (taking a daily mid-afternoon nap) to work life (waking up at the crack of dawn) was a bit of a struggle for me. After one week of working in the "real world", I witnessed all ofthe responsibility, hard work and creativity it takes to make LS run smoothly.



Linda F.
Creative Intern

We're not in Kansas Anymore

This past school year, my part-time job was to nanny the cutest one-year-old boy (if you want to see him, I’ve got pictures all over my cubicle). The dress code for this job was yoga pants, t-shirts, and a spit up cloth for my shoulder. My breaks consisted of doing homework, checking email, and watching TV while he napped for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon.

After leaving my nanny job in Cincinnati in May, I figured I was in for a rude awakening when starting my internship at Liggett in June. The yoga pants and t-shirts weren’t going to fly, and the days of two-hour TV breaks were gone. Yes, I’d have to wake up at 6am like the rest of the working world, not to mention I’d have to go to bed between 10 and 11pm like my parents. Going to bed between 10 and 11pm is certifiably insane for college students – we’re used to going out at this time on any given night (yes, that includes weeknights). I’d have to finally become a coffee drinker, and sit in traffic, too. I’d have to do all those “grown-up” things that I dreamed of doing as I watched my mom go off to work when I was little.

Since I’ve started my internship at Liggett, the awakening hasn’t been as rude as I thought. Yes, I had to replace the yoga pants and t-shirts for khakis and button down shirts, but it’s really not all that bad (except for ironing…I try to con my mom into doing this for me…but it hasn’t worked so far). Waking up early and getting into a routine has probably been the hardest, and I’m still getting used to the 830-5pm work schedule. And yes, I don’t get two-hour breaks in the mornings and afternoons, but we do get a lunch break. Today, actually, all the interns are going out to lunch together. I don’t know where yet, but at least we’ll feel really cool and grown up being around the professional “lunch crowd” in downtown Cleveland.

So, welcome to the real world of coffee, traffic, button down shirts, heels, dress pants, deadlines, conference calls, and meetings galore. This is the real world interns - we’re not in Kansas anymore.

Marie D.
Program Management Intern

Experience: The Hardest Class I’ve Taken Yet

After a month-long head start here at Liggett Stashower, I am finally joined by the rest of the interns. And as far as “learning the ropes” goes, I’d say that I’m swinging from them like Tarzan. Or Kong. Or even the curious blue-nosed mandrill from Western-Central Africa.

While studying for a degree in Graphic & Communication Design, I did not think that there was much more I could have done to prepare for a career in advertising. Yet when I arrived here, my opinion changed. I was introduced to the exciting chemistry of the agency, including group projects, 24­-hour deadlines, and flawless execution. It was a stark change from the lax 2-week-long projects I mastered in school.

Complete with presentations, process binders, team intern projects, real client projects, odds and ends around the office, and, as a creative, the constant study of popular culture, fine art, literature, and history, this internship is easily the hardest class I have ever taken. But the challenge is the reason I’m so passionate about beginning a career in advertising and I would have to say that's why everyone else at this agency does it, too.

Pat B.
Creative Intern

Summer Intern Class of '07

Our new interns started yesterday.

Check back soon for updates.