If you’re anything like me, you’ve binge-watched the entire new season of Emily in Paris with no regrets.
(Okay maybe a few due to the loss of brain cells and a sudden urge to revamp my wardrobe, but hey, worth it.)
The thing that I find most fascinating about it is how I relate to it, or more so, how I don’t.
When the series first started, I had just finished uni, and was jusssst starting my first big girl job. Emily inspired the living f*k out of me. I was so beyond excited to get deep into the industry and start planning my extravagant campaigns on the Cannes seaside.
Oh, sweet naïve Sophie. If only you knew.
Listen, this is no shade intended. I know it’s just a show, and I love it. The outfits are insane, the scenery is gorgini, and there’s a different flavour of man for EVERYBODY'S taste. But if you're watching this show thinking "ah yes, this is what marketing is like," let me gently disabuse you of that notion before you quit your job to become a social media strategist. Here's what Emily's job actually looks like in the real world:
Let’s start with the pitch:
Emily's version: Scribbles idea on a napkin at a party, luxury brand CEO literally applauds, campaign greenlit before dessert arrives.
Reality: Spend three weeks crafting a 63-slide deck. Present to seven different stakeholders across four meetings. Idea gets approved with "minor tweaks" that completely gut the concept. Final execution looks nothing like what you pitched and honestly, you're not even sure what it's for anymore.
The budget, or lack thereof:
Emily's version: "Let's do a pop-up in the middle of the Seine! Let's rent a château! Let's project our logo onto the Arc de Triomphe!" Everything happens immediately with no discussion of cost.
Reality: Spend two weeks writing a business case to justify an extra £300 for Canva Pro. Get asked if you've "considered free alternatives." Explain for the fourteenth time that no, you cannot just "make it go viral" for free.
Client relationships:
Emily's version: Tells luxury perfume house their entire brand strategy is wrong at first meeting. Gets promoted and tangled in a love affair with client's suuper hot nephew.
Reality: Client's nephew who "does social media" undermines every suggestion you make. You smile through it because they're your second-biggest account and you need to make rent.
The approval process:
Emily's version: Idea conceived and fully executed within a single 28-minute episode, maybe two if there’s enough romantic drama in the way. This is also including international travel, by the way.
Reality: Idea → Stakeholder alignment workshop → Legal review → Compliance check → Budget committee → Back to you because "can we make the logo bigger?" → Revised concept → Another round of approvals → Launch delayed three months → Campaign goes live the same week your competitor does the exact same thing.
Measuring success:
Emily's version: Campaign successful if Emily gets Instagram likes or if a hot man looks at her approvingly.
Reality: "Can you break down the cost-per-acquisition by channel, demographic segment, and time of day, then explain why we're 0.02% below target despite outperforming every historical benchmark?" Yes, at 6pm on a Friday.
Crisis management:
Emily's version: Creates international incident involving Ukraine. Fixed with one apology and some champagne. Everyone friends again by next episode.
Reality: One person on Twitter with 47 followers says something mildly critical about your campaign. Cue emergency meeting, three-page response strategy document, CEO involvement, and you stress-eating an entire box of Celebrations at your desk while refreshing social media every four seconds.
The timeline:
Emily's version: Conceives, pitches, and executes elaborate multimedia campaign between breakfast and lunch.
Reality: Takes 4 weeks to get a single social media post approved because "Marketing Janice is on holiday" and no one else can sign off.
And probably the most unrealistic part, work-life balance:
Emily's version: Regularly swans off to galleries, parties, and romantic dinners mid-workday. Somehow always available for impromptu champagne or quick trip to Rome.
Reality: Eat lunch at your desk while on a Teams call. Cancel dinner plans because a "quick check" turned into rewriting an entire campaign brief at 8pm.
Is marketing a real job? Yes. Is it often creative and rewarding? Also yes. Is it anything like Emily in Paris? Absolutely f*cking not. But at least my boss doesn’t make me wear a beret, so there's that.
-Sophie Randell, Writer
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