Here's the presentation deck from session #05 of the Copywriting class for Fall 09 at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. So today was focused on confronting the blank page—developing a practice and skills to be a consistent, vibrant creative person. MANY OF THE WORDS AND IMAGES in this deck are clickable, so you can learn more about that item or see the work in a larger size elsewhere. This presentation is ©2009 by Tim Brunelle.

1. Copywriting
Class #LS 3240 01 | Fall 2009
Thursdays 6:30pm–9:00pm | Room 434
Instructor: Tim Brunelle
Session #5 | September 24, 2009

2. Today’s agenda:
Review reading assignment
“Confronting the blank page”: games
and tips and tricks
Exercise: your Top Ten Ads
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3. Third reading assignment:
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p12-127 p71-101
&
p150-155
“Is There
Any Hope?”
p59-73
& 74-84
Text
COPYWRITING | FALL 2009 | SESSION 05, SEPTEMBER 25

4. Reading assignment questions:
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1) p.37 “I do not think that idea prone
people were born with some special
talent." Do you agree? Are certain people
inherently more artistic or able to get
ideas, or not?
2) Chapters 3-4: Mind over matter. When
push comes to shove, how do you actually
focus your mind on goals and believe you
are already there to make ideas flow?
3) Rejoicing in failure. But what does
“failure” mean?
4) Chapter 6: Get more inputs. What are
some simple ways to get in the habit of
getting out of habits?
5) Look to other fields for help: What do
you learn in design, history, etc. that
could transfer over to generating ideas?
p12-127

5. Reading assignment questions:
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COPYWRITING | FALL 2009 | SESSION 05, SEPTEMBER 25
1) “When baiting a trap with cheese,
always leave room for a mouse.” How can
we write simply, but engagingly? Is it
hard to cut down your writing to the bare
essentials?
2) Don’t follow trends. What trends are we
seeing in advertising/design right now?
Why are they successful, or aren’t they?
3) Sullivan argues that if you have to
write 100 headlines, make them all decent.
After having written your first 100, how
does that settle with you? Is it possible?
Is it daunting? Worthwhile? Exhausting?
p71-101
&
p150-155

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7. Confronting the blank page:
Tip #1 (from Pat Burnham, second CD
at Fallon after Tom McElligott):
“Never start with a blank page.”
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8. Confronting the blank page:
Being creative is a learned skill.
“Learn all you can, then forget it
and play what you feel.”
Let’s practice.
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9. Confronting the blank page:
Get something to chew on, to riff
off.
WHO are we talking to? How do they
dress? What music do they listen to?
Where do they hang out online? What
frightens them? What habits do they
have that annoy others?
What else can we learn about the
people we’re trying to influence?
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10. Confronting the blank page:
WHAT is the thing we’re advertising?
What isn’t it? What’s it most like?
What are its enemies? What might
make the thing irrelevant and why?
What art forms best represents it?
How else can we think about the thing
we’re advertising as an object,
institution, cause or solution?
(e.g. What is half of 13?)
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11. Confronting the blank page:
WHERE might our ideas come to life?
Under what conditions? In what
context? What’s the optimal situation
for a message, and why? When is the
worst time for us to convey an idea?
When and where are the moments we
might best exploit?
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12. Confronting the blank page:
What unnecessary assumptions can we
drop from the assignment? -vonOech
“Business people ask the wrong
questions all the time. Many times
these questions are based on
assumptions so deep-seated, they
don’t even know they’re making those
assumptions.” -Jack Foster
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13. Confronting the blank page:
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14. Assignment: Your Top Ten ads
1. Check out a variety of Communication
Arts ad annuals or One Show or ADC or
D&AD annuals; or go online:
Ads of The World
One Show
Cannes Lions
Creativity/AdCritic
Communication Arts Annuals
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15. Assignment: Your Top Ten ads
2. You be the judge. Use PostIt Notes
or print them out. Make a collection of
all the ads you think are the best from
a few years of different competitions.
Then—narrow down your top ten.
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Assignment: Your Top Ten ads
3. Print each of your ten ads on an
individual piece of paper. B&W is fine.
Bring all ten ads to class.
x10

17. Thursday, Oct. 1
Review your Top Ten ads
Discuss the evolution of “brand voice”
Guest Speaker
Harley-Davidson brand magazine
assignment: discuss and prepare
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18. Thank you
Office hours: Thursdays, 5:30-6:30pm,
2nd floor cafe
Email: tim_brunelle@mcad.edu
Blog: usefullunacy.typepad.com
Twitter: @tbrunelle
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