Sunday I corralled a bunch of girlfriends to run the Iron Girl 10k race with me. “Come for the swag!” I pleaded. “You get a stuffed duck!”

The duck was Iron Girl sponsor Aflac’s successful attempt to engage the 3000+ women who ran the race. Sure, I wanted the medal, the free breakfast, the t-shirt… but I really wanted the duck.

The duck is sitting here in an honored place on my desk. I keep pushing the “Squeeze Me” sticker to hear his soothing call… “Aflac. Aflac. Aflaaaaaaaccccc.” Just like the commercial.

As a freelance copywriter, I often help my clients create pieces that keep their company name in front of present and prospective customers. Most of the time we create tip sheets to make customers’ lives easier, or white papers with information they need to do their jobs. But I’ve yet to create a PDF file with as much personality as this silly little Aflac duck on my desk.

After my sister’s surprising emergency surgery for her gall bladder a couple of months ago, I began to wonder about what would happen if I couldn’t work for 6 weeks. I pondered supplemental insurance, and, honest to goodness… the only company name I could think of for supplemental insurance was Aflac. And that was before I even knew I could earn a duck of my own.

My goal for my company is to keep my name in front of people so that when they realize they need a freelance copywriter, I’m the one they think of first. And I want to do the same for my clients. But I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to live up to the marketers who gave me this dang duck.