Agency takes a ‘van do’ approach to hiring

When marketing agency Iris decided to expand its London office it found itself in need of 20 extra staff.

Bosses decided that the job of finding that many workers required something a bit more dramatic than the usual ads in the marketing press and Monday’s Guardian.

So Iris hired a van, daubed messages on the side extolling the virtues of the company and parked it outside rivals’ offices to tempt bright young things working there who might be looking for a bit of a change.

After coughing up for the congestion charge, the van driver went into battle with central London’s army of fanatical traffic wardens, cruising the streets of adland and loitering outside the offices of agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, WWAV and Joshua.

It is unclear whether the agencies dispatched armies of loyal workers to chase the lorry away or whether they have been hit by a wave of resignations, but it opens up a range of possibilities for advertisers, and the Diary has been peeking out of its office window like Rapunzel waiting for a gallant prince to pull up in a Ford Transit  with an offer it can’t refuse plastered on the side.