Los Angeles
February is prime awards season in LA. Factor in the Super Bowl and you'd think prodcos would be bustling with big-budget setpiece boards this month, but alas, as a general rule, no such luck. Fortunately, that doesn't mean business wasn't brisk. "Things have been crazy busy, it's been kind of an insane start to the year," raved one EP.

Cars, beer, performance drinks and telecom accounted for most of the action, with assessments on the overall creative ranging from "really very good" to "pretty snoozeworthy". Another EP summed up the ideas thusly: "I've seen a couple things that have potential. But generally speaking, the quality is mediocre at best. I've passed on a lot of stuff."

While the ability to pass on work suggests a certain level of comfort, every EP we spoke to expressed some degree of concern over what lay ahead for 2007. In invoking user-generated content and TiVo, you could feel EPs anticipating clients' new budgetary outlays for the coming year with creeping dread. Nonetheless, we detected a bit of pluck in a few EPs' voices as well. Said one: "I'm over moaning about it because it's not going to change." Well said. Someone give that guy an award.

Toronto
Happy New Year indeed - the end of year flow frenzy that capped off '06 has kept its pace in '07, with most prodcos polled saying they're having a hard time meeting demand. "Things are off the charts," enthused one sales exec. "For one of the first times in my career, I've got no one available."

Opinions on creative were generally muted, ranging from "nothing spectacular" to "okay", while the span of product categories making the rounds was wide indeed - cars, beer, retail, packaged goods and that Canuck food staple, donuts, are all in the mix. And it also seems that after a long period of watching and waiting, Canadian clients and agencies are a little more interested in this wacky Internet thingy, with all prodcos polled saying they're seeing more boards for web spots (we hesitate to call them 'virals' until they actually become viral).

With local shoots being booked as well as jaunts to the typical hotspots - Argentina, Australia, and Brazil among them - the mood in the Big Smoke is cautious yet upbeat. "It's crazy, yes," summarized an EP. "But it's never enough."

New York
The holidays are over, but it seems that agencies are still in the giving mood, as boards continue to flow at a steady, if heavy, rate. "It's been absolutely insane," gushed one EP. "And I'm very grateful." Most NYC EPs contacted offered similar assessments, saying that January crept in all lamb-like but is going out like a lion, with the number of avails dwindling as the month counts down.

Automotive, pharmaceutical, retail, telecommunications and booze are among the boards being bid on, with some offering more creative cojones than others. One EP referred to pharma work on the table as typical "'walking Labradors on the beach' stuff", while another was a tad more diplomatic - "There's the occasional happy surprise that comes across your desk, but for the most part it's been...okay."

Still, with it being the season of the Big Television Event (the Golden Globes, the Super Bowl and the Oscars), there were some big ticket (and big money) items out there for the bidding. Most EPs said the Bowl buzz wasn't as loud as recent years, with only a couple reporting the possibility of having a spot or two in the game. "It doesn't seem like as big a deal," mused one EP. "But would I still want 'em? Damn right!"

London
January in London is living up to December's hype. Last month, a last-minute, year-end rush had many prodcos booking up January shoot days before the holiday break had begun and the scripts are continuing to fly in. "It's absolutely outrageous," said one exec. "I've never had so many scripts in so little time." Although everyone is bidding up a storm, some are booking more than others, but few execs were complaining.

Product categories and creative are all over the map. Some execs cautiously predicted comedy would return en vogue after a three-year hiatus, while others reported epic, visual spots are still the trend of the moment.

One EP speculated clients and agencies, newly-empowered by the onset of the fiscal year, are dusting off ideas relegated to the back-burner by (mostly recycled) Christmas retail crap: "The January-February media gaps are out there and there's a big rush to fill up those spots."