Los Angeles 4/10

The word of the day is slow. "We did 57 jobs in four months but now it's dead," says one head of production. "We were so bored around the office that we got a colleague to call a rep and, speaking Farsi, pretend that she was from Chiat\Day Tehran looking to make a spot."

The ruse on the unsuspecting co-worker apparently carried on for hours - which says a lot about boredom, gullibility and wishful thinking.

"It's all cars on the West Coast and there aren't too many of them either," says another production wag, on his way to enjoying the last days of the snowboarding season. "It's down to a trickle." The silver lining is that some of the boards call for new moves and techniques so there will be some fun to be had for an enterprising director or two.

Others seem to have it a bit better. One head of production claimed that he had 13 potentials on the table (phones, computers, shoes) - one of which was so creative that "you'll want to take you pants off after seeing it", what ever that means.

There is optimism about the next few weeks: the usual sources cited things that are slowly making their way down the pipe that will apparently ensure a productive time following the madness that is Cannes. "Our reps are hopeful that Detroit will come through," says another HOP. "I'm less so; BBDO just laid off a hundred people there."

Thank god for the work for Japan, and Europe, and for the clothes and food gigs that are keeping some from killing the ennui with office pranks.

Toronto 4/10

Beer and cereal. The breakfast of champions and the current state of board flow in Toronto. Which isn't stellar on either the diet or business front, though things aren't all bad; a few bits of fruit have made it into the bowl in the form of Olympic stuff from Japan, boards for the upcoming film festival and a general optimism about the future.

Much of which might actually be due to an approaching federal election at the end of the month. Or not.

"I will be voting but it won't make a difference to the business - we're not Groupe Action," says one production head, referring to the government-hired PR firm linked to a federal funding scandal. "It could be worse, we could be living in Iraq," she says of the electoral system in Canada. "It could be worse but it could be better," she says of board flow.

"I'd like to do the Marijuana Party's commercials," says one honcho, noting that its slogan "Let's Roll!" coupled with its name has a lot of creative ad potential. Certainly more than the mostly domestic car, fast food and retail boards currently on his desk. "I'm voting conservative though, despite the bad casting," he says, referring to that party's stick-in-the-mud leader. "It could be worse, we could be living in Italy," he adds, citing that country's 50 governments since WWII.

"Silly season isn't here, but it's coming," says another executive, who wishes voting was mandatory like in Australia. His future plans include being "very busy in July" as tons of stuff comes out of research and playing "spot the Canadians" in Cannes. Apparently they're the ones standing around looking for the next party.

New York 4/10

The hesitant voices say it all. While most want to relay cheery news, the truth is a bit different. After a more active March and April it seems a slow May is providing a bumpy start to summer.

"Board flow sucks for us," says an animation company rep. "And the work isn't that great." The same can be heard from the production ranks. "It's extremely slow," says an exec with extra emphasis. "Oh good, you're hearing that other people are slow too? I was worried it was just us," chirps a prodco owner. Misery loves company.

But it's not all miserable news. As one producer says, "It's up, down and all over the place. We're getting used to this," and everyone called this month seems to have some work going - albeit a bit thin in the "something-to-get-excited-about" department. Anything decent has no money, and the rest, well, as one exec put it, "no one's throwing money at us".

Boards spotted this month include fast food, cars, packaged goods and "a lot of financial and corporate stuff".

While most would prefer a more robust workout for their fax machines ("We only got two scripts last week"), one optimistic soul puts things into perspective: "Dips are to be expected. You can't maintain a busy pace the whole year."

London 6/10

Coming off a healthy first quarter, London is on a bit of a downswing. Board flow has softened up from its heady winter pace, but there's no need to panic.

A flurry of new business pitches reported at agencies gives hope that a new wave work of will soon hit the streets, and rumblings that the music industry is beginning to recover means more promos.

"This industry goes in waves - things are definitely slower but we're still getting scripts in," says a sales head, though it goes without saying that budgets are still crap, "especially with the stronger scripts".

As for the not-so-strong scripts, one insider relayed a sense of apathy among the agency ranks. The sense of uncertainty and fear in London's creative shops remains, causing the continuation of mediocrity. "Over the last month everyone seems bored, almost like a resignation."

But still, there's action in London, though getting a piece of it remains the biggest challenge. A lack of trickle-down remains a problem, leaving many non-Budgen types with hands out.

"There's a long distance between the undercard and the main event," says a company head, describing the divide. Adds a producer with lighthearted frustration: "I wish all the top directors would fuck off and go do a movie."