I Could Be Next

Always lowest on the totem pole, the position of intern can be a nerve-wracking one. Witness this: Crispin, Porter + Bogusky is selling the services of their interns on eBay! Advertising Age gives more details to satisfy your morbid curiosity:

It seems a bit counterintuitive to farm out your own talent, but Mr. Bogusky said he doesn't really see it that way. Each year, the interns work for Crispin clients, but a portion of their time is carved out to work on special assignments that are typically pro bono. Now they'll just work on this instead. "It would be great if the high bidder is a cause-related thing," Mr. Bogusky said. Who isn't welcome? The likes of Pizza Hut and Philip Morris. The fine print on the online auction page states that Crispin, which works for Domino's, "reserves the right to decline services in the event of a conflict with any of our existing clients or for any other reason (like if you sell cigarettes) in our sole discretion."

On second thought, I really like the idea. Publicity for CP+B, potentially interesting work for the interns and an interesting experiment that will show what interns should be paid (Although if the $5,400 is going to be divided between the 28 interns, I'm getting paid more than they are at the moment!).