I'm excited and daunted all at the same time. (Many thanks to the glorious Nancy Rice for the opportunity, however.)
This Fall I'm scheduled to start teaching the Copywriting course at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, replacing Tom McElligott. I'm not sure it's even possible to replace Tom McElligott. Maybe "Be allowed to shine Tom McElligott's shoes," is more apt.
But someone has to teach the course because, Lord knows, we need more Copywriters.
This curriculum will be significantly different from the Future of Advertising course I've been teaching at MCAD. Clearly the learning must be in the doing. So, lots of creative briefs and frequent assignments. In other words, lots of writing.
Years ago I taught a Copywriting course at Emerson College in Boston. My favorite exercise (maybe not my students' favorite) centered around a billboard assignment. Ultimately, we needed three headlines for production. In order for the client to approve three, we presented at least eight headlines. In order to have eight headlines, the CD ought to see at least 16. In order to have 16 for the boss, you probably needed to write at least 50. But let's call it 100.
Go.
We'll definitely tackle long-form copy, direct response, website, out-of-home, brochures and social media/editorial/PR writing. I think it's essential to cover a range of different opportunities for advertising copy. That said, the core premise to all copy writing must be the big idea. As in, you better have one.
As my former co-worker Khari Streeter used to say, "Advertising is 80% conceptual thinking and 20% finish carpentry."
Books seem important, too. Or as Stephen King put it (and I'm paraphrasing), "If you're a writer, you're either reading or you're writing." Here's the book list thus far:
The Book of Gossage
by Howard Luck Gossage, and others
Published by The Copy Workshop
ISBN-13: 978-0962141539
How To Get Ideas, Second Edition
by Jack Foster
Published by Berrett-Koehler
ISBN-13: 978-1576754306
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
by Chip and Dan Heath
Published by Random Heath
ISBN-13: 978-1400064281
Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads, Second Edition
by Luke Sullivan
Published by Wiley
ISBN-13: 978-0471281399
On Writing: A Memoir To The Craft
by Stephen King
Published by Pocket
ISBN-13: 978-0743455961
What am I missing? Any Copywriting courses you've admired? What other resources should I consider?
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