Will Smith said it best: parents just don’t understand.

Okay, maybe that’s not always true. But usually, when it comes to what you do every day at your job, there’s a bit of a generational gap.

The culture committee at advertising and PR agency Cramer-Krasselt is responsible for organizing enrichment events for employees throughout the year – like Take Your Child to Work Day. This year, they had a fun new idea.

"We work in an industry that’s had a lot of change – technology, digital. Many of the parents of the employees, they think they understand what their kids do, but they don’t fully understand," said Betsy Brown, executive vice president at C-K.

Enter C-K’s first-ever Bring Your Parents to Work Day, held last Friday afternoon.

"We wanted to have parents get a better understanding what their kids do in an advertising agency ad give them an opportunity to learn more about what CK does on a daily basis and how their child might be involved in the process," said Brown.

Around 40 parents visited the Cramer-Krasselt offices in the Third Ward on June 14 to learn more about what their sons and daughters do every day as an employee of Wisconsin’s largest ad agency.

Brown said that, for having around 160 employees, the turnout was impressive. Some parents traveled from out of state and even brought grandparents. There was a nice variety in age as well, she estimated, with the ‘rents falling anywhere from age 60 to 80. The group was treated to an introduction and overview of what the agency does, followed by breakout sessions that focused on topics ranging from digital and social media to strategic and creative development.

The parents got to shadow their kids as they went about the rest of their afternoon, wrapping things up with a cocktail hour in the cafe (something you probably don’t see at Take Your Child to Work Day).

"We also hosted Take Your Child to work day a couple months ago and I think we had an equal amount of kids turn out (as Parents’ Day)," said Brown. "They really enjoyed spending time with their son or daughter ... Some people were surprised that their parents wanted to come. It helped demystify what their kids actually did (professionally). I think that the parents might know of CK but not exactly understand what takes place all day long and how things get made."

In fact, said Brown, the event was such a big hit that they're planning to do it all again next year.