Sam Cable: Cutwater, San Francisco Diary #3

Sam Cable is a copywriting student at Miami Ad School Sydney, currently interning at top US creative ad agency Cutwater, San Francisco as part of her portfolio course.

I have almost reached the halfway point of my internship with Cutwater. Being in a bustling agency full of ideas and oozing with strategy has been an extraordinary experience; especially when the agency is led by copywriters, Simone Nobili (creative director) and Chuck McBride (chief creative officer).

I had the opportunity this week to interview David Zandman, senior copywriter at Cutwater. David has been at the agency since November 2014.

“Chuck McBride is an advertising savant and it’s intimidating to see how quickly he nails executions that marry strategy with creativity”.

Originally a linguistics major, David’s love of language led him to copywriting. He completed a bachelor in advertising and attended portfolio school to polish his copywriting skills.

He explained there is an array of avenues a copywriter can take working in the industry. From content strategist, community manager, to bloggers and editorial; what is important is creating content that matters.

David’s favourite campaign in his portfolio was ‘Rule The Air’ for Verizon. He described his pride as a young writer being part of a massive rebrand, and having responsibility for its new tone. David also commented, when asked, about the love/hate relationship of utilising puns in the industry.

“I am a fan. Any writer who claims they hate puns is a liar”.

On that note, let me leave you with this week’s haiku:

The fine art of puns,

Should only be practiced when,

You are eating cheese.