HOLD MY SKATEBOARD WHILE I KISS YOUR GIRLFRIEND
J. Walter Thompson as JWT
[J. Walter Thompson as JWT]: HOLD MY SKATEBOARD WHILE I KISS YOUR GIRLFRIEND. New York: J. Walter Thompson, n.d. [2005]. First edition. A3 Folio. Clothbound with gilt titling. Decorated endpapers. Unpaginated. Color reproductions. One fold-out with 10 stickers. Photographs by numerous artists. Uncredited text. Elaborate graphic design throughout. Spine crown bumped and snagged. All four corners bumped. Small cloth snag to top board edge. Black cloth lightly marked. A very good copy of this oversized exercise of self-aggrandizement.
12.25 x 15.25 privately printed hardcover book distributed to employees of the famed J. Walter Thompson advertising agency (now rechristened JWT). It offers a brilliant snapshot of cutting-edge photography and contemporary graphic design: uncanny familiarity is juxtaposed with wildly surreal dreamscape and totally unexpected typography. Includes work by Massimo Vitali, Jack Pierson, Philip Lorca diCorcia, Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chararin, Jeff Mermelstein, Sasha Bezzubor, Marcy Robinson, David Graham, Larry Bercou, Jean-Pierre Khazen, and Christopher Riggert.
Orchestrated by Creative Director Craig Davis, the book was part of the agency's comprehensive 2005 rebranding, that was as grand a gesture as the advertising world has ever seen. As described in The Independent, "Today in 87 countries, JWT employees will mark their brand change in a range of bizarre rituals. In Egypt, staff have built a model 'fourth Pyramid of Giza', where they will apparently 'bury everything they want to take with them to JWT's new life - passion, commitment and creativity'. In Paris, there will be 'corporate finger-painting' in the new colours. In Mexico, the workforce will be treated to a performance by circus clowns, jesters, jugglers and elephants. Those based in London, meanwhile, will gather at the Royal Court Theatre to observe one minute's silence for the founder 'Commodore' Thompson, before being given a small 'christening cake.’”
From some Advertising Website: “As you've no doubt heard, JWT — the megashop formerly known as J. Walter Thompson — has refashioned itself into something "new," and if such a revitalizing notion seems like standard ad fare these days, one need only peruse the oversized promo book the agency has concocted, bizarrely titled "Hold My Skateboard While I Kiss Your Girlfriend," to give this rebirthing idea the benefit of the doubt.
“Of particular note is the latter portion of the book, which features a potentially ho-hum idea-rating scale that's taken to another dimension by the use of the personal photography of fashion shooter Jean-Pierre Khazen, who's noted for his imaginative use of prosthetics, masks and the like.
“Indeed, in "Hold My Skateboard," masked figures, some in various states of undress and others wearing silly animal heads, add big time borrowed interest to JWT and its creative gauge. Each photo has a mildly relevant line slapped on it, like, "I'd rather spend time shagging like a rabbit than with this idea," over a shot of two cartoon rabbit-headed figures in bed. The choice of the Khazen work is as simple as "they're extremely cool images, therefore memorable and more fun," says Therese Curran, creative project manager at JWT/London, the office that produced the book, which we're told is a pet project of JWT's Craig Davis, who was recently promoted to worldwide CCO.”