Amber Page - All's Fair in Lust & War

Mark looked at her, then looked at David.

David nodded encouragingly.

He took a deep breath as he strode to the head of the table. This is it, he told himself. Time to knock their socks off.

“I’ve spent a fair bit of time around women,” he said. “I like to think I know what makes them tick. In fact,” he said, turning to write on the whiteboard behind him, “the way I see it, women want three things... First, they want to look good. Which, for most women, means being skinny. Second, they want other women to be jealous of them. And third,” he said, writing the number three with a flourish, “they want a man. Not only that, they want a man of their choosing. And they want him to drool over them. Which, if we’re honest, brings us back to number one. But there are plenty of yogurts promising to make women skinny. To stand out, we need to say something different.”

He turned the first board over, so the whole room could see a woman in a cocktail dress being admired by a host of attractive men. Once he was sure they’d seen it, he read them the headline.

“‘Eden. The yogurt for the woman who knows what she wants.’ That’s our tagline. We’ll use it in connection with women in all kinds of situations. At the beach,” he said, flipping over boards sequentially, “in the dressing room, hailing a cab. In every scene men will be staring, openmouthed, at the female.”

When he’d finished a momentary silence filled the room. He glanced from one face to another but couldn’t read what anyone was thinking. This crew would be awesome at poker.

Finally he looked at Becky and cocked an eyebrow at her. The concept had come a long way since the last time she’d seen it.

She cleared her throat.

“So your message is pretty much: ‘Eat this, be skinny, get men to lust over you’?” she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. “In a nutshell. It’s taking the bikini-clad woman in a beer commercial and turning it on its head. Men get to be the hangers-on.”

“Huh... But what about women who aren’t interested in men?”

Mark turned to look at her, expecting to see spite in her eyes. But instead he saw genuine interest. “That’s a good point,” he said. “But I think this idea has legs. It could cover different topics.”

She walked around the room, grabbed the marker out of his hand and began to write down ideas. “Like instead of men it could be openmouthed business associates admiring her. Or cyclists left in her dust.”

“Oh, I see where you’re going,” he said. “That could be cool.”

She grinned at him, and for the first time since they’d returned to New York he got a glimpse of the happy, gorgeous girl he’d shared a night with in Vegas.

He grinned back. “So, what if—?”

David cleared his throat.

“I like where this is going—but, Becky, didn’t you have a concept to present, as well? This is a competition,” he said.

Becky blinked, and the laughter in her eyes disappeared.

“Right. Of course. Mark, can you clear your stuff out of the way? I’ll grab my boards.”

* * *

A few moments later Becky took center stage. And when she did she was magnetic.

“So, on my team we got to thinking about what women really want. And we think it goes deeper than just being skinny or attracting the right man. That’s what our mothers wanted. But we want more. We want to be recognized as the strong, independent beings we are. We want the superhuman feats we accomplish every day to be recognized. After all, today’s woman works like a dog at her corporate job, putting in twice as much effort for half the pay, then heads to the gym to ensure she stays model-thin, then goes home to run a household. Today’s women are incredible. We think it’s time for a marketer to sit up and acknowledge that.”

Then she flipped a board over.

It showed a business-suited woman standing in a superhero pose on top of a conference table as her colleagues clapped.

“‘You save your world every day before lunch. Choose the only yogurt high-powered enough to keep up with you,’” she said.

She flipped more boards. One of a soccer mom pulling a dirt-covered boy from a vat of quicksand. One of a runner flying ahead of the pack, cape billowing out behind her. And another of a lab-coated woman punching an oversize germ in the mouth so her patients could get away.

After she presented the last board she looked up and smiled. “Every woman deserves to feel like a superhero. Because she is one.”

Her team applauded.

Mark had to stop himself from joining in.

David looked at Mark, seeming to be waiting for something. Oh. Right. He was supposed to be shooting holes in her concept.

“What about all those young hipsters who don’t feel like they’re accomplishing anything yet?” he asked.

“Well, we could have smaller situations. A woman stopping a cab before it can get away,” she said.

“Or wowing a crowded club with her dance moves?” he suggested.

“Or saving a cat from a snarling dog?” she chimed in.

“Or what about—?”

“I hate to break this up, but we’re not in a brainstorming session,” David broke in. “We’re supposed to be making a decision about which concept to present to the client.”

Mark snapped his mouth shut. Damn it. He’d gone from shooting her down to making her case for her.

Thinking fast, he smirked in David’s direction. “I think the choice is clear,” he said. “Superheroes are great—if you’re seven. I think most women would rather fantasize about a good-looking man than dress up in a Spandex suit.”

The look Becky shot him was murderous. But before she could open her mouth David held up his hand.

“You have a point, Mark,” he said. “But there’s something in Becky’s idea, too. Let me think for a minute. Everybody be quiet.”

Instantly the conference room was deathly quiet.

David moved to the front of the room. “Mark, put your boards back up.”

“Sure,” he said, reaching for them.

“Just do it. Don’t talk about it,” David snapped.

Mark blinked, then did as he was told. This man could give any dictator a run for his money.

David paced back and forth, picking up boards, shuffling the order, then shuffling them again. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke.

“All right. Here’s what we’re going to do. I want you to merge these campaigns. They both have their good points, but together they’d be stronger. So,” he said, smiling broadly at Mark and Becky, “I want the two of you to work together.”

Shocked, Mark stared at Becky.

She stared back, panic in her eyes.

“Together?” she blurted. “But we were competing.”

“Not to worry,” David said, patting her on the shoulder. “You still are. We’ll just have to think of a different way to evaluate you. From now on consider yourselves partners as well as competitors.”

THREE

David’s words echoed in the now silent room.

“Partners?” Becky squeaked.

David looked at her, a frown working its way between his piercing blue eyes. “That’s what I said.”

The whole idea was insane. How could they possibly get anything done when they were both focused on winning the competition? Plus, it meant spending a lot of time alone together. Too much time.

“This is a lot of work,” she said. “How are Mark and I supposed to get it done without the help of our teams?”

“Well, Becky,” David said, looking at her with more than a little disdain, “if you want to be a creative director at this agency you’re going to have to learn to be resourceful. Figure it out.”

Mark cleared his throat.

“I don’t see any reason why the teams can’t help us blow the campaign out after we’ve finalized the concept,” he said.