There’s no denying the job market is tough at the moment, all around the globe. Delaney, the 23-year-old British advertising graduate, knows this better than most.
She struggled to secure a placement once done with her studies at the University of Gloucestershire, so decided to take matters into her own hands and create a golden opportunity.
And who better than McCann New York’s plucky ‘Fearless Girl’ Wall Street installation for State Street Global Advisors as inspiration?
After a few months of planning, Delaney used three layers of gold acrylic paint painstakingly applied to her shoes, clothes and skin, with finishing touches by a professional makeup artist so she resembled the iconic Wall Street statue’ Fearless Girl’.
Then she created a plaque reading ‘Know the power of women in advertising’ to be placed at her ‘statued’ feet.
Next, she messaged McCann Bristol’s MD Andy Reid and creative director Jon Elsom to let them know she would be outside the building over lunchtime to show them her take on Fearless Girl.
Her text wording?
…I’m turning into a statue for the day, to emulate one of McCann’s most iconic campaigns. Just like the Fearless Girl on Wall Street, I’ll be standing outside McCann Bristol today. I’m advertising myself as a determined young creative looking for a placement. Know the power of women in advertising. I can make a difference.Then, Delaney took on the Fearless Girl confident stance while friend, Daniel Brooks, posted images to social media as she stood outside the doors of McCann Bristol for two hours.
That was back in May. Daily Mail confirms that Delaney landed a month-long internship with the agency after the bosses were so impressed with her stunt they called it the ‘best job application’.
Campaign adds that McCann Bristol, the UK counterpart to the agency behind the New York sculpture, extended the internship by a month, then offered Delaney a full-time position as junior conceptual creative.
After her initial placement, Delaney wrote in Campaign: “Some doors don’t open unless you kick them down.”
According to AdWeek, her advice to others looking to make the same sort of splash is:
Think outside the box. It’s hard to be original, but if you have a good idea, it’s worth going for it. Don’t worry much about negative comments. Take a risk. Nothing worth having comes without risk. If you have determination and grit, you can get what you want. Take your ideas and run with them—fearlessly.That’s what I call a truly Fearless Girl, going after her dreams.
The social media set agrees…
YES! Love this story, what a brilliant bit of news >> congrats Jade Delaney and @McCann_Bristol >> 'Fearless Girl' lands permanent job at McCann Bristol https://t.co/wOuxLvknuD via @campaignmag
— Nicola Kemp (@nickykc) July 24, 2018
Great to see this story gaining more and more momentum globally to celebrate Jade's clever stunt to get a placement with @McCann_Bristol @EleanorK8J @Andy_J_Reid @MetroUK #FearlessBristolGirl https://t.co/zajOddsZY0
— Sylvie Pender (@sylvie_pender) May 11, 2018
Is this the best job application ever? Adorned in gold, fearless advertising graduate Jade Delaney recreates #FearlessGirl outside our offices #FearlessBristolGirl @McCann_WW @Campaignmag pic.twitter.com/11HW5lCFGl
— McCann Bristol (@McCann_Bristol) May 9, 2018
AdWeek: Fearless Girl Talks Breaking Into Advertising
Campaign: A day in the life of a Fearless Girl
Daily Mail: Fearless Girl graduate scores dream job
Metro News: How did I get golden ad job? I was Fearless
