THE PITCH

Judy and I have enjoyed watching recent episodes of THE PITCH on AMC. Based on the enormous popularity of MAD MEN (a program which I have yet to see an episode of), AMC began running this hour-long reality series last year. I was unaware of it during the first season but we've seen several of the second season episodes that are currently being aired.

The premise is simple. A company engages two advertising agencies. The companies and agencies are located in such diverse locales as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Nashville. They all meet at the beginning of the episode and the company presents its brand, product, needs and desires to the agencies. The agencies then have one week to come up with a "pitch" for an ad campaign. At the end of the week, each agency makes their pitch to the company and the company decides which agency will get the contract.

The show provides a fascinating peek behind-the-scenes at what goes on in a 21st century advertising agency. Many of the agencies featured on the show are small. Some have been in the business for years while others are new-kids-on-the-block. Judy and I almost immediately choose the agency we want to see win and keep our fingers crossed throughout the episode. We almost never like some of the younger, hipper agencies presented on the show as they seem to be pompous, arrogant, and oh-so-full of themselves. They think it's all about them and not about the company whose business they're trying to win. Unfortunately, many of these hipster agencies are the ones that do win the accounts, due primarily to their grasp of all things social media and digital.

The episodes we've seen thus far have featured the following companies: Bliss, SquareTrade, Tommy Bahama, Little Caesars Pizza, Gibson Brands, 1-800-Flowers and The Fuller Brush Company. We've enjoyed watching all of these episodes and look forward to seeing more.

 THE PITCH. Check it out.