Happy Friday, it’s time for Top Dogs of Marketing! Meet old-timer Aslan and Gunner, a relative youngster who is Chief Paw-fficer and Head of Office Morale at marketing and creative consultancy Art of the Possible.
Gunner the labrador has been at work – and hard at it – for all of her nine years. This is because the agency doesn’t run out of a traditional office, says her human and Art of the Possible director Adam Brami: “It’s a home-based office, which means Gunner has been a full-time ‘colleague’ from day one.”
Gunner is well supported by her older colleague and mentor Aslan. They’re a team, kind of like in a cartoon, says Brami.
Aslan is a 15-year-old dachshund who brings decades of “experience” to the office. At over 70 in human years, he’s seen it all and has plenty of stories to tell. Though he’s mostly resting on a beanbag somewhere nearby.
Being partially blind, Aslan has happily handed over proofreading responsibilities to his younger teammate, though his presence still adds gravitas to the workplace. And with Aslan on the team, we’re doing our bit to combat ageism in the industry. Aslan is happy to let the younger generation shine today, so let’s hear more about Gunner.
Say hello to Gunner
Job title: Chief Paw-fficer and Head of Office Morale
Time in paw-sition: Nine years.
About Gunner: She loves toast, tennis balls and claiming the best chair in the house. Outside of work she enjoys starting long walks (but stalls after 10 mins), sleeping in patches of sunlight and ensuring that no snack goes unnoticed.
Skills: Gunner is an excellent sounding board for half-baked ideas, always ready to lend an ear for office gossip, and provides instant feedback on whether a concept passes the sniff test.
She keeps morale up during long days with well-timed nudges for attention. But her mood swings are something to watch out for – the photo above says it all, says Brami.
He adds that it’s best to catch her after her morning treat if you want to stay on her good side. Perhaps this explains her ongoing refusal to take on tea-maing duties, her frequent requests to hijack the office playlist and uncanny ability to interrupt only the most important of Zoom calls – at the worst possible moment, of course.
Daily “team wellness walks” are compulsory under her watch, and every courier delivery is treated as a high-priority alert. She’s due a payrise and reminds her human of that fact every single day.
Top Dogs of Marketing is our regular Friday feature where we unleash our furry favourites and celebrate their contribution to office life. Last week, we met seven Greathounds who took to the runaway at NZ Fashion Week.
If you reckon your very good girl or boy deserves to feature in a future #TDOM, tell us all about them using the form below.
Come back next week for another Top Dog!
