This course is a hands-on workshop that teaches the differences between ads that work and those that don’t and why. Each student will receive weekly assignments to work on and bring in for critiques each week in an effort to better understand what makes an ad memorable and unique. There are in-class exercises to help the creative process and also some class teamwork. By the end of this nine-week course, you will have an understanding of how the concepting process works and a good start towards ads that stand out from the rest, which will prepare you for the Intermediate level class.

The intermediate class takes it up a notch by introducing you to campaign work. You will be given your own individual products/services to work on for the whole semester. Again, each week you will bring in your ads and they will be discussed and critiqued. Because campaigns are an important part of building a portfolio, this class begins to really push and prepare you to do better advertising in an effort to start building your books.

By the time you reach the Advanced One workshop, you have been working hard on campaigns and have a full understanding of the concepting process and what makes an ad strong. In this course, you will continue to build your portfolios with more campaign work. The critiques in this class are designed to really push your thinking so that your ads really begin to cut through. From the Advanced One class, you will be ready for the second class in the Advanced series, Advanced Two Concept.

This course elevates your thinking further with the toughest critiques that are designed to give you a strong portfolio and ready you for the Teams level class. You will continue campaign work, gaining pieces for your portfolio along the way with more individualized assignments. (After the Advanced Two course, only select students who your instructor believes are really conceptually ready to be part of a team, will be moved directly into Teams Class. Being strong on your own is very important before becoming part of a team. Other students repeat Advanced Two to continue to build their books and get strong on their own. Students only repeat Advanced Two twice. Then they are automatically moved to Teams the following semester.)

Students are only moved into the Teams Class from the Advanced level classes when their work shows that they are ready to be partnered and work as a team the whole semester to continue to build the best portfolio. Writers are paired with Art Directors and vice versa. The entire semester, you work with your partner on the assignments given just to you as a team. This class is very intense and requires a lot of time outside of just class time. You and your partner will set up time to meet during the week to work on getting the best ads possible. (Some students choose to repeat this course in order to continue to have the weekly discipline they need to finish their books.)

This class is only offered once a year and takes writers from the Teams Class and teaches them how to focus in on body copy in their ads for their portfolios. Learning to write breakthrough radio commercials is also taught. At the end of the semester, students get to take their best radio scripts and record them in a real studio with real talent. This gives writers a start on a radio reel to show in their portfolios.