Specialization in Strategic Creativity for Advertising

Influences | Jayshree Viswanathan

In this lesson, I’ll discuss the concepts and people who’ve influenced my thinking and my approach to my creative work.

Influences | Paul Anglin

We all have people and things that influence us. In this lesson, I will share a few of mine.

Now I will talk about my influences, both from my personal life and in the cultural and artistic fields. I will also share my past and present influences and their importance as they contribute to and help define my creative identity. I will show tangible examples of how these impacted and influenced my work.

Influences | Laura Visco

Influences | Andre Matarrazo

My influences were squarely in the best advertising geniuses of the past and present. Of course, I was in awe when looking at the great Cannes Lions winners - the most prestigious advertising festival in the world. But when I started focusing on creative methods, all of these superstars did it the wrong way. So I went looking beyond, into the world of design, innovation, startups, and even pop culture.

Module 2

Ideas don't just appear—they're uncovered, shaped, and stretched. Nick Eagleton shows you how to train your mind to do exactly that. Through playful prompts and practical frameworks, you’ll explore where ideas come from, how to push past the obvious, and what it takes to turn a spark into something brilliant. Because creativity isn’t magic—it’s a practice. And it starts here.

12 lessons (2h 11m)

Gathering Inspiration

Now we will introduce the final project by looking at the importance of references, inspiration, and ideas. We will understand how varied they can be and how important it is to always be gathering them from the world around you.

Getting Prepared

In this lesson, we’re going to talk about the materials we need to gather ideas as quick and easy as possible. We're then going to get in the right frame of mind with a fun warm-up exercise for our minds, inspired by the world of improvisation. We’ll use this to shake off our self-consciousness and to get in a mindset where, quite literally, anything is possible.

Now we’ll get to the brief that will take us through the rest of the course, but before we launch into our ideas, we’re going to ask ourselves what the brief is really asking us to do. We’re going to take the time to know it better. We’ll do this by distilling the brief down into a single line―the all-important, very useful one-liner.

The Brief

18m

First Thoughts

Now we’re going to get all of our first ideas out of our heads and down onto paper. It will be a short but intense burst of activity. We’re going to use all our senses as part of this so that things feel as real as possible. We’re not looking for the right answer, we’re just looking for as many possibilities as we can. So we won’t edit or filter. It’s a headlong rush to get down as much as we can.

In this lesson, we’re going to see how important connecting things is to the creative process. It’s where '1 + 1 = 3' comes from. It's where the surprises and breakthroughs happen. We’re going to do two kinds of connections to create a whole set of new ideas you wouldn’t have come up with otherwise. The first one uses a well-known brand as inspiration. It’s a quick and very effective way to see your ideas in a new light. The second one uses the inspiration you brought at the start. Here is where you put some of yourself and what you love into the ideas.

Making Connections 1

Making connections is a great way to get fresh ideas. Let's repeat the exercise we just did, this time making it personal.

Making Connections 2

Now we’re going to edit the ideas right back to just the best ones. It sounds easy but in practise, it can be quite tricky because we don’t always like to let go. We’ll use some tools to make the process a little bit easier.

Choosing the Best Ideas

Shaping and Refining Your Ideas

In this lesson, we’re going to look at how to take our best ideas and push them even further. We’ll be using three techniques that can be very effective at this crucial stage in the process where we try to turn good ideas into great ideas.

Now we’re going to look at what to do when you find yourself getting stuck. It’s a totally normal part of the process, and everyone will get stuck at some point. You only need some useful tools for when this happens. Let's try them out now!

Getting Unstuck

Refining Your Ingredients

Now we’ll make sure you have the right ingredients ready for the pitch.

Preparing Your Story

In this lesson, we’ll structure your pitch using some storytelling principles to make it as engaging and compelling as possible.

Making Your Pitch

Let's finally pitch our idea for this revolutionary new product. It could change the world. And all we need is two minutes, tops!

Module 3

What makes an idea impossible to ignore? For Keenon Daniels, it’s all about breaking patterns and thinking beyond the obvious. Dive into the mindset of a conceptual thinker and explore how bold, strategic ideas can transform any campaign. You’ll learn to challenge convention, sharpen your creative instincts, and turn brave concepts into breakthrough moments.

13 lessons (2h 35m)

The Basics of Advertising

To start with, I'll tell you about conceptual advertising and explain how it compares and differs from other types of advertisement. Then, I'll introduce you to a very important part of the process: the creative brief.

What we’ll cover in this next lesson is how to interrogate the brief. This means asking more questions in order to fully understand the task at hand. But first, let’s go through the dos and don’ts (mostly don’ts) of advertising alcohol. We’ll also deep-dive into who our target audience is and talk about the importance of being culturally in-tune.

Rules and Brief 1

To provide good advertisements, brands must try to stay on top of what is happening in the world. Showing wit can be good, but you should always be careful with what you say and how you frame it. After looking at some examples of copywriting mistakes, we'll move on to talking about tone of voice and see why it's important that a brand should define one early on.

Rules and Brief 2

Let’s see how to get a clearer picture of the product landscape. We’ll analyse our main competition and see the kind of messaging they put out. We'll also take a look at what our own client has done previously.

Research

Brainstorming and Mind Maps

We'll now move on to the brainstorming section of this course. Everyone has different methods of coming up with ideas and stimulating one’s thinking, so only view my methods as one example. It’s important to remember not to limit yourself or self-edit at this point – that comes later. Let ideas and thought flow as they naturally do.

17m

New Ideas and Opposite Thinking

Here, we’ll take a look at a couple of techniques you could use to come up with creative ideas. Try not to look at examples of award-winning ad campaigns either online or in books. This might blunt your thinking or it could lead to plagiarism. You must rely on your own original thinking.

Crafting Your Concept 1

In this lesson, I'll teach you some additional techniques for creating work and you’ll also learn how to write scripts. We'll start by putting an idea onto a piece of paper and work backwards from that. I'll also show you a good example of why it's important not to spoon-feed the audience.

Crafting Your Concept 2

We'll see here other ways of approaching creative work, such as adding tension for effective results. We’ll also talk about what to do when you have a creative block and why simplicity is key.

It's time to start the selection process! At this point, you'll need to go over all the ideas you came up with and narrow it down to the best ones. Culling your not-so-strong ideas is no easy task, but I'll guide you through it.

Editing Yourself

The last step in this unit is to draw up and visualise your ideas. This can be done in whichever format you intend: film script, scamp, etc. The purpose of this is to help others see a clear picture of your ideas. Let's work on this together!

Your Proposal

Convincing the Audience

Here, we will discuss the best ways of presenting your work and how to go about convincing your clients to approve it. And, if the first few presentations don’t go as planned, we’ll discuss how to deal with the setbacks of rejection.

16m

How to Keep Going

In this next lesson, we’ll learn how to overcome setbacks such as bad creative reviews or when the client doesn’t agree with your creative presentation. I'll also explain how to save ideas you love for later use and what you need to do in order to rally and keep going in the face of adversity.

Final Outcome

We’ve made it! In this lesson, we’ll go through the final outcome of our journey into conceptual advertising. We’ll take a look at the finished artwork of our ideas and how they all connect to form a campaign with several touchpoints.

Module 4

Words have the power to stop someone in their tracks—and Jayshree Viswanathan shows you how to make every one count. Step into the world of advertising copywriting and learn how to shape ideas into messages that truly connect. From crafting compelling propositions to writing headlines that hit home, you'll explore how to turn language into your most persuasive tool.

12 lessons (2h 8m)

What Is Advertising Copywriting?

In this lesson, you will define what advertising copywriting is, what makes it different from other types of copywriting, and how it has changed over the last few decades.

What Makes Copywriting Influential?

I will teach you how to consider the wider system of language that copywriting is a part of and the influence that it can have as a result. Then, I will expliain the role of the modern copywriter and the importance of staying truthful.

The Thinking before the Writing

Here, you will learn my three-step framework for developing creative propositions and getting the thinking right before I start any writing. The Thinker’s Triangle makes sure that my propositions are rooted in a product or brand truth and gives me a solid place to begin writing ads.

Developing Headlines and Art Direction

To finish this unit, you will learn how to use free association to develop a creative proposition into creative headlines. Next, you will see how it can be used to develop visual ideas that can inform the art direction of an advert.

18m

Translating the Creative Brief

First, I will teach you how to translate a creative brief before you start writing and what questions to ask to ensure you fully understand what the client wants.

Feeding Your Creative Mind 1

In this lesson, you will look at my process for gathering raw material for your ideas so you can start to feed your creative mind and help it generate associations you can use in your ads.

17m

Feeding Your Creative Mind 2

During this second part of the lesson, I will continue to explain how to feed your creative mind, offering a deeper exploration and further insight. Stay engaged as we build on the groundwork we've established!

Shaping Your Thinking

Now, I will reveal my creative process when writing ads for a client campaign. You will look at how I turn my insights into creative propositions using The Thinker’s Triangle and then how I develop them into more solid ideas ready to start executing.

Developing Your Thinking

During this lesson, you will see my creative process for developing my creative propositions into more solid ideas ready to start executing.

10m

Polishing and Presenting Your Work

Last but not least, I will show you how to craft and refine the final ideas so they are polished and ready to present to clients. I will also share my tips for presenting creative work as a copywriter.

Using Visuals to Enhance Copy

First, I will teach you how to use visual elements to enhance your copy once you’re out of the concept stage and into the crafting and design stage.

The Writing behind the Thinking

Lastly, you will be introduced to five of my trusted rhetorical devices, which will help you level up your copywriting craft and make your words feel polished and considered.

So, what exactly is tone of voice? Let's explore together what it even means for brands.

Module 5

Tone isn’t just how you speak—it’s how your brand feels. Paul Anglin guides you through the process of finding the voice that fits your message, your values, and your audience. Learn how to shape language with intention, create a complete tone of voice guide, and bring clarity, warmth, or boldness to everything you write. Because the right words—spoken the right way—can change everything.

11 lessons (2h 14m)

What Is Tone of Voice?

Now you know what a tone of voice is, it's time to identify their purpose. It's a lot of work to create, so why bother? In this lesson, I will explain why developing a strong TOV is necessary.

Why Do Brands Need It? 1

Here, I will continue to illustrate the importance of TOV by exploring more examples. You will see some brands and their tone of voice. Many are quite original!

Why Do Brands Need It? 2

So, what are you going to create in this course? Let's take a look!

What Are You Creating?

A tone of voice is built on your brand values, personality, or traits. These are the building blocks that we're going to develop together. Let's jump in.

Who Are You?

Who you're talking to will have an impact on how you talk. So, spend some time thinking about your audience. Then, you can shape your tone of voice accordingly.

Who Are You Talking To?

Persona, Brand Identity, and Philosophy

There are several different tools to represent your tone of voice. Let's look at them.

Now, it's time to make these intangible brand values into something more concrete. Get ready to start writing!

How Does That Sound?

Tools at Your Disposal

What are the concrete things you’re working with when developing a tone of voice? In this lesson, we will cover the tools of your tone.

Modulate Your Tone of Voice

In this lesson, you will learn how to tweak your tone of voice based on the subject you're writing about. I will show you how the compilation of different brand values forms your unique mix, all while staying consistent with the overall tone.

Typographic Poster: Short Version of the Guide

Next, I will demonstrate how to frame a summarised version of your guide.

Module 6

Great campaigns don’t just sell—they move people. Laura Visco shares her approach to shaping ideas with impact, turning a simple brief into a meaningful, attention-grabbing campaign. Explore how to build creative strategies with heart, develop your own perspective, and craft a presentation deck that tells the full story. When purpose and creativity meet, powerful things happen.

9 lessons (1h 6m)

Creativity Is Personal

Creativity is personal, and now I will explain to you why. I will talk about how to understand your own creative identity by getting more and more in touch with who you really are because "we are what we create."

What Is Creative Strategy?

Here I will cover my personal approach to creative strategy based on my beliefs and values. Also, I will talk about the "what," "why," and "how" and their interaction. Next, I will explain what a brief is and the importance of connecting with the task that is in front of you on a personal level, using the case study as a reference.

After getting very introspective and understanding why I do this job from a very personal point of view, in this lesson, I will talk about gaining perspective and being able to put yourself in other people’s shoes. I will continue analyzing my case study by mapping out the same thought but from many points of view: the refugee, the government, the media, the society, etc.

Gaining Perspective

Finding an Insight

Now that I have already thought about the "why" part o the project, in this lesson, I will focus on the "what." I will discuss what an "insight" is and the difference between advertising insights and human truths. I will also think about a truth that resonates with people instead of advertising conceits.

What is a tension? Why is it important to find one? In this lesson, I will define what a tension is, and I will explore different ways to find one that will make your idea immediately stand out from the clutter.

Finding a Tension

Putting It All Together

Are you ready to start putting together all the elements you went through until now? In this lesson, I will consolidate everything I did until this point by choosing one insight and one tension. I will map out possibilities and think about which one will have more impact, which makes more sense for the task ahead, and which excites me more.

Defining a Tone of Voice

In this lesson, I will focus on understanding the right tone and emotion the brand should evoke, choice of words, and look and feel.

Defining the Creative Strategy

Here I will help you understand how to define different creative territories, break them down and pick one. Next, I will teach you how to write the creative strategy and the importance of adding creative watch-outs, inspiration, and "what-ifs."

Practical Advice for the Creative Process

To end this unit, I will advise you on making the most of the creative process: always know what you are looking for and keep the creative work's guiding principles in mind. Next, I will give tips on presenting your project to the client.

Module 7

Creativity thrives when the process works with you—not against you. Andre Matarazzo shows you how to rethink the way you create by applying sprint methodologies that are fast, focused, and actually fun. Discover how to unlock ideas, align teams, and solve creative problems without losing momentum—or your spark. It’s time to fall in love with the journey again.

20 lessons (5h 17m)

What Is a Sprint, Why You Need It and What Is Our Project

Pretty much everything can be sprinted and solved in a short time if you gather the necessary conditions. In this lesson, you will learn what makes for a perfect sprint start and get acquainted with your project, the Sprint Book.

Remote or in-Person: The Difference

There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages in running sprints remotely or in-person. Here we will tackle what they are and how to make a decision for your next sprint.

Decisions: Brief, Prototype, Testing and Duration 1

Writing a great brief is an art form and clients seldom do it well. If there are any wobbly areas in the brief, you will not have the chance to stop the sprint halfway through to reassess and restart. So you need to throw yourself into the nitty-gritty and question everything until there are no doubts in your mind regarding what the group is gathering to accomplish, what exactly will be accomplished, and the time you can dedicate to it.

Decisions: Brief, Prototype, Testing and Duration 2

Let's finish our brief and start working on the prototype and the following steps.

Structuring the Content You Need

One of the hardest things in a sprint is to be sure to bring all the information the team needs to not only get acquainted with the challenge at hand but also understand the context around it and be inspired to start generating solutions. Here you will learn how to structure that content effectively from a variety of resources.

Inviting the Right Participants 1

There are a number of participants you can invite to the sprint. But who are the people that will be the most effective in this exact format? What is the perfect number of participants? What if the key people can’t participate? In this lesson, we will explore some of these details.

Inviting the Right Participants 2

Let's end our list of participants by including the last two groups of people: the creatives and the leaders.

Developing the Full Experience 1

The sprint experience is much more than the right challenge and the right people coming together. Location is a key component of this formula, as well as how you keep people energized and performing at their best with the right balance between focused delivery and relaxing downtime.

Developing the Full Experience 2

It's now time to finish our agenda and get ready for the next big step: the actual sprint.

Day 1: Content Maelstrom 1

The goal of day 1 is to give the whole team as much context as possible. That context exists in the content you helped surface, but also inside people's brains. Think of it as a brief on steroids. You will learn how to set up the day so that the team can absorb as much information as possible in an exciting way.

Day 1: Content Maelstrom 2

It is now time to define the timeline for day 1 of our sprint. Let's see how to do it!

17m

Day 2: Ideation 1

The goal of day 2 is to generate a great number of idea seeds. In this early stage, we are interested in the volume of ideas, not too detailed. It's my firm belief that a well-structured brainstorm session can open a lot of new and exciting creative avenues that normally don't get explored. Your mission is to help push the team to the maximum of their abilities. Everyone is creative and you will bring that out of them today!

Let's see how we can help people enhance other people's ideas in order to come up with the best one. In this lesson, we will also define some general rules to apply in this phase.

Day 2: Ideation 2

In this lesson, we will mainly focus on grading the different ideas the team came up with during the previous phase. Then, we will see how to pick the best ones in order to take them to the next stage.

Day 2: Ideation 3

As we did for day 1, we have to fill out the agenda for day 2! We will also try to find solutions to some common problems that might arise during the sprint.

Day 2: Ideation 4

This is the day when the group will make a decision on which creative path to follow and start developing it further. At this early stage, the idea is still fragile, but the team will start bulking it up and giving it the right structure so that it can work properly across channels and is fit for the timeline and budget available.

Day 3: Expansion 1

It's now time to finish defining the last part of the expansion phase to create a strong prototype. I will also give you some tips on how to help your team start their job in the right way!

Day 3: Expansion 2

16m

Day 4 & 5: Prototype, Asset Testing and Delivering

These are the last few days of the sprint. At this stage, the main idea has been selected and the team has a very solid idea of how it operates. The goal of the next two days is to push the team to create the main assets of the campaign, constituting your "prototype". It's all about giving the teams all they need to produce effectively, moving across groups to make information flow, and securing approvals to keep them moving forward with no delay.

The sprint is over! By this time you’re probably happy it is. All of the tears of joy and stress have already been shed and you’re ready to move on to the next challenge! Not so fast! You need to organize your deliverables in a way that makes the transfer into production easy and successful.

Organizing

Keep Learning

It’s good practice to rigorously check yourself and your process after everything is said and done and ponder about where the process could be enhanced. This lesson serves as a guideline, so I hope you’ll be able to keep adjusting the process for your own needs and the needs of your clients.