You don't know me

In our ad class, we were required to write at least 400 words of body copy in an ad for Corporate Express paper clips in less than an hour. This is what I came up with and was told by the class to put it on here.

"What do you see when you look at me? Am I just thin metal, twisted to a shape that fulfills your basic needs? Do you look right past my full potential, and use me without gratitude, simply to improve your quality of life? You care nothing for my history, my opinions, or my needs.

You don’t know me. You don’t know where I came from, or where I’ve been, or whom I have helped. But I have done great things that you can only dream of achieving, and worked with people you will never have the privilege of meeting. My life has been so much more than holding your tax receipts together or preventing your daughter from losing her homework assignments. You treat me as if this is all I am and all I am good for. But you don’t know who I am or what I have done.

Do you know who held together the pages of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or The Silver Chair while Clive Staples Lewis was crafting these masterpieces? Do you know who stayed up well through the night with him while he toiled over setting descriptions and plot advancements? It was I. Without my assistance, the writings of C.S. Lewis would be scattered and in a state of utter chaos.

It was also I who became a key component in the writing and directing of Titanic. Where would James Cameron be without me? His scripts, lists of cuts, and record of camera angles would be lost without my support. The audience would not be able to feel the same excitement, sadness, and passion for Jack and Kate if it hadn’t been for my organization.

I have had less glamorous, but still thrilling, experiences in my lifetime. I have pierced the ears of Candice, an adolescent girl whose parents refused to pay for the proper procedure. I have picked locks on doors that led to great adventures. I have even replaced zipper pulls on the jackets of Olympic skiers.

You may not believe my stories. If all I am to is a basic necessity, then why would you? But these are the things I have accomplished, and I won’t hide my pride in them. You may still see me only as the object to keep the letters sent from your mother-in-law together. But know that without me, your wife would not have the same admiration for you that she does because of this thoughtful gesture. I am valuable, whether you realize it or not."