Derrick Lin’s Tiny Advertisers

Derrick Lin, a senior advertising strategist from the Resource/Ammirati agency in Ohio, talks about the frustrations and difficulties of working in an advertising agency on his Instagram account. He shoots office scenes with miniature figurines and, as Lin himself says, hopes to discourage people from only posting pleasant moments on their social networks.

Lin told Bird In Flight that he did his first photo shoot during a corporate-sponsored Instagram contest, “With the help of an iPhone and a table lamp, I organized a photo series about the fact that every detail we work on takes a great deal of effort.” Lin took his figurines from kits for toy model trains.

Highlighting the idea that many things look and feel different if you simply change perspective, Lin named his Tumblr blog “1:87” for the scale of the figurines he uses. Lin is developing a project with his colleagues, “They’re acting as models, helping with props, and suggesting places to shoot in the office. And, now they share their frustrations at work with me.”

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys01.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«Our productivity is dropping like the leaves and the temperature».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys02.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«When hunger strikes».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys03.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«Some people are resistant to new ideas».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys04.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«Once in a while work takes us outside of our office».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys06.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«Fetching the best ideas from our memories can be challenging some days».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys07.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«Selfie».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys08.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«The awkward silence during the brainstorming session».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys09.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«Sometimes people need to be reminded that good work takes time». “}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys10.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«More brains doesn’t mean more efficiency».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys11.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«Sometimes feedbacks are tough to take».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys12.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«When a client promises to call us back, we are stranded at our desks».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys13.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«Can’t believe we still have to come to work when it’s this cold».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys14.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«Nail salon… Who has time for that?»”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys15.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«Mourning an idea that never got to see the light of day».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys16.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«No matter how much we rehearse, we still get nervous before a big presentation».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys17.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«We’re up in the air even before the sun comes up».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys18.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«We think permanent markers should be banned from meetings with white boards».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys19.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«Sometimes it pays to recycle good ideas».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys20.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«A day trip to see a client is practically a night trip when you have to get up at 4am».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys21.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«Panic ensues when our machine breaks down midway through the presentation».”}

{“img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/smallguys22.jpg”, “alt”: “”, “text”: “«It is extremely difficult to get a cab in New York».”}