You know how the conversation goes – you meet new people, and the inevitable question crops up ‘What do you do for a living?’ As soon as you reply that you work for a huge, multinational corporate, whatever the company (with the poss exception of Apple), their eyes glaze over, and the conversation is quickly moved on.
Well, I think it is time to redress the balance. – I could trot out the usual platitudes of ‘no two days are the same’, ‘working with people from different countries/cultures’ – but have you ever spent the afternoon, trying to get your dog to use Webex, to talk to other doggies across the country? No, well I did today – and boring it was not!
Baz, who has already had minor fame on the internet, thanks a previous blog I posted (http://gblogs.cisco.com/uki/how-cisco-changed-a-dogs-life/), was asked to add his bit of stardust to a video for Cisco UKI marking National Dog’s Day.
So there we were at 2pm on a Friday afternoon, Webex running, recording on, digital team and agency poised – now all we needed were for the stars to perform! I doubt if a Hollywood prima donna from the 1930s could have been more trouble!
To get all of 15 seconds film, we had to have all three of the dogs, each at a different location, sitting looking at the camera for 5 seconds each? Sounds simple?
So the first dog comes on screen, Lucas’ Humphrey, looking super-smart in a tie. A true professional, he sits still, happily looking at the camera. Sure the BBC headhunters will be in touch soon! So far, so good! Then Sophie shouts, the camera swings on to Denman, looking dashing in specs. Only Lucas and I could see the struggle she had to make him sit up, as he was more interested in a belly rub. Then it is Baz’s turn. I am lying to the side trying to stay out of shot, dangling a dog chew above the camera, and shouting at the laptop! Totally unimpressed, Baz firstly lies down, then tries to walk away, and then tries to stand on the laptop to grab the dog chew. But finally we have it – 5 seconds of him looking straight at the camera (sort of). Never has a 15 second been so exhausting. Baz heads off to sleep off the 6 months’ worth of dog chews I used as bribes, and I go make a cup of tea.
So next time you are arranging a Webex, and not everything goes as planned, spare a thought for me, Sophie and Lucas! And never again tell me it’s boring to work for a corporate. At least not for UKI marketing at Cisco! Hope you enjoy the video – please like and share loads!
Our canine division jumped on a WebEx to discuss #NationalDogDay… pic.twitter.com/HOJ0pRi1Wn
— Cisco UK & Ireland (@CiscoUKI) August 26, 2015
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