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 洋海龟闯荡神州系列：爱琳在上海的新起点 (ZT) |
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wanderer
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头衔: 海归准将
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加入时间: 2004/02/20
文章: 1232
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作者：wanderer 在 海归商务 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
洋妞爱琳在杭州下岗后幸运的在上海一个美国公司找到一份COPYWRITER的职位https://www.haiguinet.com/ShowTopic.asp?ID=402805。她在那里开始了新的工作和生活。结识了新的同事
、朋友、邻居和客户。
March 22, 2003
Happy work, happy home
With every passing day, Shanghai becomes as warm and inviting as my new coworkers and neighbors.
My work...I never thought a job could be so fabulous! Not only can I spend my days manipulating the English language to make better ads, but I my coworkers all believe in the professionalism that I always longed for in my old job.
The company really respects its employees. That's what one of the sales reps I ran into on the bus told me yesterday. Though, honestly, it echoes loud and clear throughout the office - from the immaculate restrooms to desks actually absent of that usual layer of dirt and dust you normally find in China. They provide us with regular training, and all of our projects go through intensive QC. I swear, if it weren't for the fact that people spoke Chinese there and used simplified Chinese characters, I'd believe I was back in the US.
Perhaps that's what my Chinese friends have said all along: Shanghai has the finest work opportunities in mainland China.
Still, it's not all paradise. After all, my friend Zhang Bin tells me his office is rather dismal and dirty...and he works in architecture. And I've visited a few offices here in Shanghai that seemed continents away from the comfort of my workplace.
Even so, I enjoy this company immensely, and only fear that I may become a workaholic for my ardent dedication... 
And if my work was excellent, well, my home life is becoming blissful with every passing week.
I owe much of it to my neighbor, Zhang Xianghui, a garrulous woman from Shaoxing who speaks rather unintelligible Mandarin. Thankfully her speech is rather similar to the Tonglu dialect (where John is from) and I can actually figure out what she's saying...not to mention she usually repeats her statements several times, perhaps for clarity?
I met her not long after I moved in...she saw John and I going down the stairs, and we kindly said "hello". At that time, she even tried coaxing us to stay for a little chatter! Conversation is her life-blood, and I'm certain that if she ever became mute or lost her voice, she would surely wither away.
But, not long after that, she "saved" me, in a way.
It was my first day of work, and I had "dressed to the nines" in my newly bought black suit. I gathered all of my things and went to open the door...but open it wouldn't. John had left me the evening before, locking the door without realizing it couldn't be unlocked from the inside. I panicked, calling John. But he was at school, and hardly could have made it in time. I imagined the nightmare of showing up late on the first day...what a first impression!
Desperate, I opened the window facing the stairwell, and yelled for help in Mandarin. Sure enough, after five minutes, a curious Zhang came over to my window...and in no time opened the door. I visited her later that evening, where we chatted for a half an hour...and thus we became friends.
Later on, when I was looking for a good Ayi (to clean my apartment and prepare dinner for me), she immediately introduced me to her kindly friend, Qian Ayi, who lived in the building behind me. Qian Ayi cooks deliciously, and has the innocence of a young girl about her...sometimes I even forget she's much older than me!
And when Qian Ayi is at my apartment, Zhang often comes and chortles about in Shanghai dialect with her, almost like she's the manager. Honestly, Zhang is like the Chinese version of that Jewish Aunt I never had...she's brusque, talkative, and always wants me to eat more. In her heart, Zhang cares so deeply for me, and her thoughtfulness has made this once strange, empty apartment become a friendly, boisterous home.
April 06, 2003
Our clients at work
My dad remarked on the phone the other day that he NEVER would have thought I'd be writing advertisements, much less in China and about Chinese manufacturers.
My sentiments EXACTLY.
Oddly enough, I enjoy it. It's all about telling stories, isn't it? It's just that we have to tell a quick story, and give it a positive spin, regardless of its plot.
Though, the most curious aspect of the job is our clients.
Our clients are China manufacturers. You know, the ones that produce all the stuff you find in North America, Europe and everywhere else proudly branded with that "Made in China" label somewhere.
And, believe me, there's a LOT of stuff over here...some of it makes you wonder who buys it.
I had one ad to do, and I had NO idea what their products were. The chinglishy translation didn't give me any clues either. When I finally looked at the picture, it appeared to be some steel Kleenex box for the army...
I later discovered they produced "sanitary footwear dispensers"...put your foot in, and it neatly covers it with a little bootie. Better hygiene has taken a step forward, even if a curious one at that.
All of our ads must receive client approval...that's where it gets interesting.
Once a client asked us to remove his postal code. I was dumbfounded by it. One of our managers said that, perhaps, the client didn't really know what their postal code was. Maybe they were afraid we would get it wrong, or just embarrassed that they didn't know.
Another client, after looking at one of my headlines, asked to remove the word "premium". He said the word was "too complicated" and "few people would understand it". Our staff spoke with him, and he agreed not to change.
I recently did this ad, and was instructed to "write whatever you want about us". The company didn't even care what we wrote about them in the ad, nor did they feel like spending any of their "valuable time" to provide useful information to us.
We often have to write ads for trading companies, which is a challenging task. Some of these companies have only 1 or 2 people. No R&D, QC or other departments, just making a good buck being the middle-man to sell goods abroad. Usually just end up talking about their latest product...which, of course, will be COMPLETELY different in about 3 months or so.
Most clients want to litter the ad with product photos. It's a tough job persuading them to focus on a few products.
And it's even tougher to get them to leave out factory shots. They LOVE factory shots. We had one client who insisted on sticking in a poorly reproduced computer image of their new factory.
But if they want poor copy, that's the worst. I recently had to turn in an ad and put my name on it, knowing the copy was completely ineffective. The upper management might be displeased later on...but I'm careful to document the case in emails, lest there be any conflict on how the case was handled.
Actually, it's all of these oddities that make the work, well...interesting.
We DO have plenty of clients that actually let us do our job to craft effective ads. I appreciate their cooperation...but somehow I never remember them nearly as much as these odd requests. So it goes.
作者：wanderer 在 海归商务 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
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 洋海龟闯荡神州系列：爱琳在上海的新起点 (ZT) -- wanderer - (7156 Byte) 2004-3-04 周四, 16:55 (1911 reads)
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