Don’t Stress Dude, It’s Just A $20 Mil. Account On The Line

Southbay is a lifestyle magazine serving one of the most culturally, economically, and ethnically diverse areas in the United States.

The current issue features Lee Clow of TBWA\Chiat\Day on the cover and inside contains profiles of Clow, Paolucci Communication, Team One and Margaret Keene and Chris Adams, co-executive creative directors at Saatchi/LA.

Both Margaret and Chris have young families, and Saatchi’s emphasis on a prioritization of life appealed to them. “It’s the concept that everyone matters … that everyone’s ideas matter. All the shops in the South Bay agree with that,” says Margaret of the local ad agency culture.

Chris adds, “It’s that culture of creativity meeting commerce that exists in Southern California in a way that it doesn’t exist in other places. The difference between Madison Avenue and Southern California agencies: You can still do really breakthrough creative. You can do really amazing things. You can get results for clients. You don’t have to take yourself so seriously. You don’t have to have the pressure and the conflict to get things done and do amazing work.

I know it’s a lifestyle magazine, but the description above of how Saatchi/LA values the right things in life sounds more like a Hollywood scrpit. I’m not saying it’s not real, just that it sounds like a story that’s been touched up, or “had some work done” in the local parlance.