LOS ANGELES: 6/10

We called it last month. Sort of. We predicted since there was a motherload of boards headed into production and a shortage of new flow coming through, that there would be a bit of a camel sag before the second hump came into sight. We can gleefully report that it turns out there are still enough production days booked to almost get through to June. And board flow is picking up again as of the third week in May.

"There was a slowdown in mid-April," says one EP, "and there's a bit of a lull before Cannes before it kicks up again and board flow gets crazy." As far as kind and content, for the moment there's no clear-cut favorite genre or commodity, with comedy, storytelling, visual, fashion, cars, fast food, you name it, either in the bidding stage or on the ground.

Hardcore cynics might say that they haven't seen anything in at least two years that would make them strip down and run free into the surf shouting "I love my life" to the Gods of Commercials, but one EP offers that "there are a few good creatives floating around," despite the fact that "less and less you see somebody walking out of a meeting with the client and their board 90% intact."

TORONTO: 5/10

Hockey's but a distant memory, our government's been toppled, the weather's been erratic, and our once-strong dollar has been dipping more than a fat guy at a snack table - is there anything left for Torontonians to count on?

Not if you work at a production company where good boards have been about as reliable as Toronto's streetcar system. "The last couple of weeks have been really sporadic," says one EP. "It starts and then it stops and then it starts and stops again..."

Even the heavy hitters haven't had all that much to write home about. Out of everyone we spoke to, this was the glowingest report: "It's been okay - not the greatest, not the worst." Our overwhelming sense was that people were content to get by on average creative and trim budgets until the summer picked up a little more. "I'm hearing it's gonna be busy," ventured one rep, with just enough energy that we almost believed them. Here's to a livelier (and more quotable) June. Oh, and would a stable government be too much to ask?

NEW YORK: 5/10

Who'd would've thought that too many drugs would ever be a problem in New York City? Alas, the serious dearth of exciting creative has left a lot of underwhelmed EPs saying exactly that. "The beginning of the month was really slow, there was nothing but pharmaceuticals everywhere," sighed one. Another concurred: "There's lotsa pharmaceutical stuff, but it's very, very dry creative."

Hopefully those jobs came with complimentary painkillers, because a few EPs sounded like the mere task of assessing May was headache-inducing enough. Part of that was down to how spotty board flow was; beyond even the lame-o creative and the picked-over boards, the biggest complaint we heard was that May had no rhythm. "We had tons of boards a month ago, and then it slowed down," was the familiar refrain. Even worse was that a lot of the genuinely great ideas were evidently too good for this world. Moaned one rep: "We got some really awesome ideas that were killed by clients last week."