Freeze dried food again?

The gimmick. Everyone has at least once, tried to use a gimmick. I'm not talking about dancing penguins in beer ads, but the way you put together, or in your portfolio. Will it explode when opened? (I'm guilty of that gimmick) Does it have a mirror cover? Does it contain framed artwork? A statue? Freeze dried foods? Adweek reports that freeze dried foods is on top of the list of strange things found in portfolios - according to a survey conducted by CreativeGroup. So kids, that gimmick has been done.

As always (and as said here before in "pounding the pavement") - if you dress yourself or your portfolio up with gimmicks, you better have the great work to back it up.

Who has had a gimmick actually work for them? Did yours?

Pete Cain - now at BBH in London - once strutted his portfolio through the London Underground, with a stack of dynamite attached to it. He got arrested - and luckily, a Campaign photographer was there to capture the Kodak moment. He did get noticed, though the perfect job was still a few pavements away.

He says: "The stunt did work though because the creative directors secretaries thought it was funny to put a bomb (sticks of dynamite a flashing light and a ticking clock) on their bosses desk. It had a sign on it that read "To be seen by (creative director's name) Before ( a date which was two days or so away) Or ELSE..

"That way we overcame the age old problem of your portfolio disappearing into an agency for weeks on end and not even being looked at."

What are you guilty of? C'mon, admit your gimmick.