It started with shrinking chicken and ended with a focus group nightmare.

Aaron Starkman, newly made partner at Rethink’s Toronto office, took the “prize” at last night’s inaugural Worst Day In Advertising party with this tale from his early days as a copywriter. We’d like to tell you more, but as the event was totally off-the-record, that’s all you’ll get from us.

Starkman, along with Mindshare staffer Melissa Cosentini and a handful of brave audience members, took to the stage at Marketing‘s inaugural reader appreciation event to share their pain with a roomful of the industry’s most sympathetic souls at the newly opened Miller’s Tavern in Toronto.

Each storyteller was evaluated by a judging panel: Ari Aronson, founder of Ari Agency; Barbara Smith, director, of brand engagement for The Globe and Mail; Jim Warrington, executive director of NABS; and Julie Gauvin, senior director of marketing and strategy for Quebecor.

For winning over the panel, Starkman was presented with the finest prize that could be assembled at a moment’s notice – a bottle of beer (courtesy of event sponsor Molson Coors), a copy of the latest issue of Marketing and the condolences of those in attendance for having endured the events he described.

Marketing editor-in-chief Tom Gierasimczuk said he hopes the event becomes a series of storytelling nights.

“Marketing’s currency in the advertising industry is the stories we tell. The fundamental skill in Canada’s media and advertising industry is storytelling,” Gierasimczuk said. “A good old-fashioned storytelling night – especially one titled ‘My Worst Day in Advertising’ – combined the two experiences for a raucous night of eating and drinking for our readers and partners.”