Jeremy Hutchison, WPP Fellow 2003-2006

"It seems the world is divided into good and bad people. The good ones sleep better... while the bad ones seem to enjoy the waking hours much more.” Woody Allen Does the Fellowship make you evil? Will small children point and cry as you mutate into a vapid adman? Will you have to sell your soul to WPP?

Here’s the reality; WPP know you’ll produce better work when you are happy. And it’s fairly likely that the more options you are given, the more likely you’ll be to work out what it is that makes you happy. In essence, the Fellowship gives you three years to make some important choices. So, rather than squeezing into a little corporate box and compromising all the things that make you unique, its a chance to stay oddly-shaped and work out where you truly fit.

Personally, that has meant finding a way to match my interests (creative, ethical, cultural), with a career path. I’ve spent my time in small creative agencies, learning about advertising, branding and design: United London, Enterprise IG, and Berlin Cameron United in New York. Nominally, I’ve ended up as a copywriter – writing ads for brands such as NYC Parks, Heineken, Hennessy, The Glenlivet, Nestea, Silk Soymilk. But in truth, I look for ways to make these brands behave in strange and unorthodox ways – making books, video installations and cartoons. I think people pay more attention to the strange and unfamiliar. And that’s exactly what the Fellowship will give you; unconventional training that breeds unconventional thinking.

And you will sleep just fine at night.