Today was exciting because we got to actually feel productive again with our two media visits, although it took a cup of espresso for me to perform basic functions of life such as sitting and breathing. It’s fine, we’re all fine.
The first stop was at a PR and ad agency, Burson-Marstellar, which quickly became the second agency of its kind to make me change my opinion about the public relations and advertising fronts of the communication field (the first being Art Attack, those pure souls.)
There were five sessions, each around a half hour long. Three things stuck out. One, we learned only 31 people work for Facebook in Italy, which I found crazy enough to write down in my notes. Two, despite not writing down the man’s name, this presenter in particular told us a story of his Italian heritage and explored having a certain identity in the world, and how his son, who lives in New York, actually changed/simplified his very Italian last name to make it easier to establish himself in America. That’s heartbreaking. That’s despicable on our country’s part.
Third, if you ever find yourself at a bar considering ordering a drink and stumble across the word “Campari,” run far, and run fast.
One of Burson-Marstellar’s clients is Campari, a liqueur they compared to Coca-Cola in that no one knows what it is or how it’s made. “Campari is not a gin, Campari is not a wine, Campari is Campari.”
We got to sample it, actually, but we’ll come back to that. For now, I can say this agency knows how to do its job, and do it exceptionally well. They created a short film about a mysterious bartender who specializes in Campari-based drinks called “Red Hand” as well as a series of individual ads interviewing bartenders and their special ways of mixing Campari, each with their own story and twist. If only all advertising took that kind of care and effort, the world would be a much more entertaining place.
After watching those, Campari looks elegant and sophisticated and refined; it makes you want to be the kind of person that drinks this stuff. What makes Burson-Marstellar so good at their job? Because Campari tastes like cough syrup mixed with gasoline. And not even like the good cough syrup, I mean the sad, painful cough syrup you start taking when you’re an adult and work a 9-5 job.
That’s speaking for the group more or less though. I don’t mind drinks with a stronger taste, I actually prefer it, but please for the love of God and for your own sake heed my lecture if you try to drink this stuff straight.
Our second stop was Rai, specifically one of its four production centers, and I had been looking forward to it this entire trip.
Our hosts gave us only a short introduction to the station before walking us through some of the most beautiful and glorious studios I had ever seen. It began with their radio production studio, during which Emily Yurchison got to go on air for her birthday today!
Language update: I can understand 95% of numbers spoken in Italian that I hear! Another language update: I understand maybe 20% of the Italian language in general. We’ll get there someday.
They showed us their virtual set, which was interestingly enough a blue screen rather than green screen. They explained that this way, they avoid that annoying green haze that often appears around the reporter on camera. Collective sigh from everyone in U-View that was on the trip. Their news studio nearly brought me to tears, and their main studio was big and beautiful and had so much room for activities.
Like La Repubblica, this station was thriving. Italian media gets it done, my friends, so long as you look past the nasty conflicts of interest between them and their politicians as we learned all about at AUR! (Refer to first blog.)
After some down time, a group of us went out for Emily’s birthday. where we indulged in classic American gluttony in an Italian food buffet. Happy mediums do exist.