I just had the most hilarious experience at work. It is now a seasoned journalistic lore that editorial and sales have no love lost between them. Sometimes, they'd even put Yudhisthir and Duryodhan to shame, in fact. In the aforementioned analogy, it's needless to say that editorial= Yudhishthir. Especially, in the Times group scenario, (thank God, I'm no longer there, so needn't fear a kick in the ass!) where only the sales guys get the best deals, and hence, the best hikes and, subsequently, the most swank apartments and cars. (may they rot in hell). Well, after all, they are the ones who make TOI(let paper) the world's largest english shit rag! However, I've never really heard a sales guy pitching for an ad either over the phone or otherwise.
To go back to my experience, in this little-known niche magazine for global custodians(My friends say my email sounds like I'm some CID agent!!), I was just privy to a sales pitch by the firang sales director! Excerpts:
Sales director (SD): A very good afternoon Mr. so-and-so (S&S). I understand Miss T....SOrry but I'm slightly jetlagged at the moment (jetlagged?? Read "autolagged", F***er lives right here in B'lore!!) Oh dear, u are going away on a holiday are u? Oh great.. may be u could get me some great white wine from there...I know I know...it's wonderful...The children are out there tucked away in a french villa and don't want daddy anywhere around..." (french villa?? 13 and 15 yr olds..sitting put in a London suburb!!). Ok so before you leave, how about just finalising this deal for a blah blah blah...
Freaking hellllll...I'd no clue this is what sales is about...I mean, I'm used to N telling me about the ad industry: "You need to know how to Pfaf your way through to stick around here, not slog your ass off to get thru' CAT, or MICA!"
But I laughed my gut out at this one...it's no doubt an art. No wonder, we, the so-called nerdy antel lot don't see eye to eye with them!