They say it's your birthday

It seemed like there were a disproportionate number of birthdays at the agency last month. And with birthdays, come birthday cards.

For those of you who don’t live in an office, this is how it works. Someone will inform you that there is a card at Ted’s desk that you need to sign. So you stroll over to Ted’s desk, and he hands you a card and a pen. Then the trouble begins. As a copywriter, everyone expects you to come up with some incredibly clever message.

There are three problems with this. First, you probably don’t know the birthday person very well. Two, this card is for public consumption, so no penis jokes. And three, high up on the list of things copywriters hate is coming up with clever ideas on the spot.

Usually I will just jot down some generic message, And Ted will give me a look that says, “Wow, you’d think a professional writer could come up with something better than, ‘Have a great day!’”

So to make birthdays easier for all of us, I am making up some new rules about cards.

1) Copywriters get at least a day to come up with their greeting.
2) Copywriters will receive a brief bio of the birthday person, so that we can construct a personalized message.
3) Art directors have to design their own cards. (If we have to write, they have to design.)
4) On my birthday, skip the card.

Extra Credit: Fill up the comments section with witty things to write in a birthday card. Then when one of us needs to sign a card, we can refer to this post.