The phrase “living the dream” is often used by people in advertising – and, I suspect, by those experiencing other cubicle-based existences – with a touch of sarcasm. Instead of being on location in Australia with Bryan Buckley shooting a 10-spot campaign/mini-movie for a top secret Nike/Apple/Coca-Cola joint product launch, you’re back at the home office in Paducah cranking out another sausage-based FSI. That, my friends, is living the dream.

But sometimes, someone somewhere breaks free of the value-pimping cycle to offer people in adholes everywhere a glimmer of hope. Today, my long-ago boss and long-time friend Diana Phillips is that someone. And in this case, she’s dusted that hope in 100% pure cacao powder.

But first, a (very) little bit of background. Diana was a GCD when I started at Bernstein-Rein back in 1997. Though I wasn’t in her group, I ended up working for her on a few things, including a radio campaign that’s still on my reel. We also worked on a TV spot for Planet Hollywood that was to air during the 1998 Super Bowl. Instead, it aired for a week in Memphis until, in His righteous wrath, God caused a freak tornado to strike the downtown area of that city. An event for which I continue to apologize.

About a year after I started at BR, Diana left. But not to move to a new shop across town or across country. No, she picked up her life and moved to Italy. First to Milan and eventually to Rome where she worked at Legas Delaney. As an art director, she could pull this off more readily than a writer like myself – it turns out all clients’ wives speak the universal language of “I hate purple.”

Eventually, she moved back to the States and headed to L.A., experiencing the joy of advertising working on Toyota at Saatchi.

Still, she wanted more. She wanted to escape the whims of marketing managers and chief creative officers and budgets and brand guidelines. She wanted chocolate.

So she quit her final ad gig, headed to France, smacked around a few mimes and learned how to make fine, European chocolate confections. Now she’s setting up shop in Laguna Beach and Diana Phillips Artisan Chocolates will go online on May 31. She’ll ship anywhere assuming you live in America, so no excuses for not supporting a fellow creative.

If I were a writer for the local rag, I’d end this blog with a pun involving the words “sweet” and “dreams.” But Diana taught me better than that.

Let’s eat.

Later,

Fox