Pay it forward. Generate a better next generation. Believe in the power of karma.
No, this isn’t a story about a motivational poster company. It’s a tale of why we teach.
Working in a creative department at an ad agency is perhaps one of the most exciting yet stressful, joyous yet depressing and rewarding yet soul-crushing careers around. One minute you’re on top of the world having sold an incredibly daring concept and the next you find out it got killed because the client’s insurance product you’re advertising doesn’t cover a self-inflicted penis wound caused by a vacuum cleaner. True story.
So why do we do what we do and why do we want to help others do it? Because it sure as hell beats a real job. The problem is, it’s hard as hell to actually get one of these jobs.
FRIEND: “How’d the interview go?”
YOU: “They said they needed to see samples of work.”
FRIEND: “Did you show ‘em your GPA? That took a lot of work.”
YOU: “They didn’t ask about grades.”
FRIEND: “Huh? Well, what about all those Instagram photos you take.”
YOU: “They’re looking for an art director, not a photographer.”
FRIEND: “Oh, art. Well, what about your illustrations?”
YOU: “Art director, not artist.”
FRIEND: “Well surely they were impressed by the college you went to.”
YOU: “Hmm, didn’t come up.”
This conversation happens far more than you think. Maybe you’ve had it yourself.
Look, the simple fact is that ad agencies want to see that you can create ads. They can be in the form of print, banners, billboards or even a stunt. But they’d better show that you know how to turn your wild creativity into a concrete sale. And here’s the other cool part, they don’t even have to have run.
The Milwaukee Portfolio School picks up where college leaves off and gives you the skills to create the types of campaigns creative directors are looking for. We use the following analogy to describe why we and other portfolio schools across the country are so helpful… Colleges are great at giving people the basics to work in this business, but the skills needed to be a successful art director or copywriter are so specific that they just don’t have the time to teach them. Or to put it another way, four years of college does not an oncologist make, they need to take post-graduate classes.*
As working creative directors that come from both the art and copy sides, we can teach you the tricks to create incredible concepts, know what it takes to build a job winning portfolio and have the connections to get you in front of the right people at the right time.
We had people do this for us. And we want to do it for you.
Karma, anyone?
*Don’t worry, you’re not looking at another four years. Our course is only six weeks.
Jeff and Scott