Miami Ad School

“You cannot do epic stuff with basic people”

DESIGN THINKERS THINK. Pum Lefebure excitedly takes a stage, and her unique point of view becomes obvious… you’ll quickly see she’s not only one of the country’s leading designers but thinkers as well. Her exciting razor-edge truisms are inspiring, “You cannot do epic stuff with basic people.” She continues,“You are only as good as your client allows,”… and, “Beautiful ideas and beautiful craft!”

You’re invited to an evening with Pum Lefebure
When: Tuesday October 30th from 6:00 – 8:00
Where:  Miami Ad School @ Portfolio Center, 125 Bennett Street, Atlanta 
Cosponsored by the Atlanta AIGA

Whether designing a high-fashion magazine or an experiential project for the Smithsonian Institution’s Traveling Service exhibit with Lucas Films: Rebel, Jedi, Princess, Queen: Star Wars and the Power of the Costume; or, designing a new swimwear collection: Swim At Your Own Risk, with Karla Colletto, Pum Lefebure, the Chief Creative Officer of Design Army brings passion and excitement to share.

Pum Lefebure is also the co-founder of DESIGN ARMY in Washington, D.C. With an entrepreneurial edge, the Thailand native brings a global sensibility to American design.

Through distinctive creative direction, she dreams up high-profile campaigns for clients such as the Academy Awards, Bloomingdale’s, The Ritz Carlton and Pepsi. Her creative brilliance sets DESIGN ARMY apart, driving their reputation as one of leading industry trendsetters in the world.

From Copenhagen to Beijing, Pum speaks and judges design competitions internationally. She uses her entrepreneurial voice to represent women in global campaigns, such as H M’s She’s A Lady. She’s also been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, Elle and recently named Adweek’s Creative100.

Pum sums up the fire inside her, “Be a creative thinker, have a passion, and never stop learning. This is a hard industry, not just for women, but for everyone! It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it well!”

Learn more about a career in Graphic Design.

Pum Lefebure, ADWEEK's top 100 creative thinkers

Pum Lefebure, Cofounder, Design Army
Photo credits: by Wenjun Liang

Tips to make your interview epic

What you say and do on an interview is what leads to a second interview or job offer. We’re going to share with you the tips we give our graduating students. Since the school has a near perfect graduate placement rate we know these tips work. This advice has helped thousands of our graduates get placed in creative jobs all over the world.

If you’re interviewing at a large agency, design firm or brand, your first interview will be with the creative manager or creative recruiter. This person acts as a gate keeper. A recruiter’s job is to look for art directors, designers and copywriters who have an outstanding portfolio of creative projects, passion and personality that fits the culture of the agency. If they feel you are a good fit for the company you will be invited to a second interview to meet with a creative director who is looking for creative talent for his/her group.

If you are interviewing at a smaller company you will meet with the creative director or owner of the company. If the interview goes well you will be invited to meet other creatives in the company. They want to get to know you to see if you are a good match for the company. At the same time, they want you to see if the culture of the agency feels right for you.

Before You Interview, Do Your Homework.

Learn as much as you can about the agency where you will interview.

1. Spend a lot of time on their website and reading articles about the company.

2. Learn about the company’s specialty. Do they focus on digital advertising? Social media? Design? Fashion?

3. Be able to discuss some of your favorite work the company has created.

4. Research the person you will interview with and key staff. Review their LinkedIn profiles and on-line portfolios.

Miami Ad School graduates have to be ready for a dozen interviews in a single day. The school holds multiple Portfolio Reviews – interview days for graduates. It is common for 50 companies to come to meet with the graduates. Before the interview we provide the graduates with a list of the companies who will be attending so they can do their research. They never know which interview will lead to their dream job.
“The marathon portfolio review was an excellent test against two-years of work in school. I was able to have an open dialogue with recruiters. Discussing my projects and aspirations was both affirming and inspiring.” 
— Danner Washburn, Graduate Miami Ad School @ Portfolio Center
At the last portfolio review in New York company presidents, principles, top creative directors, and recruiters all came to see our graduates’ work. It is a competitive world out there and being in it means having a portfolio that demonstrates your skills.

Here’s a look into our last Portfolio Review in New York. Reviews are a chance to meet recruiters, gather information about agencies, design firms, network for jobs, and even meet alumni who are now creative leaders in the industry.

Five things to do in your interview.

They are simple tips that will make a big  difference.

1. Relax, be yourself and be positive.
2. Listen closely to the interviewer’s questions.
3. Be aware of your posture, eye contact and body language.
4. Have a one page resume, both digital and paper (creative directors and recruiters love to carry something tangible back to the agency with them).
5. Have your portfolio ready with a story developed for each project.

What questions will the interviewer ask you?

The most common question that recruiters and creative directors ask is:

“Will you please walk me through your favorite project in your portfolio?”

A creative and innovative portfolio is the PhD of the creative world.

Your portfolio needs to demonstrate you have mastered the skills needed to build a brand: strategic thinking, innovation, concepting and craft.

Check this link to see the GRADUATE PORTFOLIOS
“Finding talent that truly understands the ins and outs of the industry is tough. I loved seeing such a wide range of exceptional creativity growing out of one place.  — Michael Phelan, Director of Strategy, DMA United

Portfolio Review

Portfolio Review in New York

Grads often ask us “What should I say?”

It’s natural to get nervous and not know what to talk about during your interview.

Let’s start with what not to say. Don’t ask about a job. Do talk about creativity — yours. Talk about your innovative work. Where you think your ideas might lead. Talk about where no one in the agency, design firm or consultancy has thought about going. Talk about your inspiration. Remember — creativity is your silver bullet.
“Portfolio Review was a beautiful day. Good Vibes, surrounded with talent.”
  —Domingo Angelini, Graduate, Miami Ad School New York

One Last Important Thing

After your interview quickly send a follow-up Thank You. Be sure to spell the recipient’s name correctly and make the note personal. The note shouldn’t be a generic note you send to everyone you interview with. In your note reference advice the reviewer gave you or comment on something discussed in the interview. An email sent as soon as you get home is perfect or a hand-written note mailed the same or next day. Be sure to include your phone number. If you had a great portfolio and follow this interview advice you are sure to get a call back!

Interested in developing the skills, portfolio and network for a creative career? Learn How to Apply.

Graduates at portfolio review

Writing is Just Talking to Paper

People speak in short sentences. That’s the same way we should write. Short, simple words. No long paragraphs. No long sentences. Many young writing students write in long sentences. One after the other. If we talked that way we would bore the hell out of anyone trying to follow what we were saying. Too many words. Too little time.

Helayne Spivak, the only woman to be the Creative Director of two agency networks, says, “Writing is just talking to paper.”

Often student writers use words they never use in conversation. No one is going to whip out their smart phone and Google a strange word. Here’s a test to prove this point. Imagine you are walking down a Manhattan sidewalk and you see a person coming directly towards you. You just know instinctively that this is the person you have been waiting for your entire life. What do you say?

Or this. Hospital intensive care room. You are sitting beside the bed of someone very dear to you. What would you say? How?

The obvious point is that in every important situation in our lives, we speak simply. We should write the same way.

Ernest Hemingway said, “Writers should write the way people talk.”

How do people talk? Well, what people?

Hemingway and Gellhorn, the American novelist he later married, first met in a bar in Key West. Martha Gellhorn told Hemingway she was a writer. Hemingway asked to see her critic’s review, if she had one. She showed him a newspaper clipping that she kept tucked away in her purse. The critic who had reviewed her book said Gellhorn “captured the language of the Appalachian region”. Gelhorn brushed off the compliment and said, “It’s not my dialogue, it’s just their speech. Hemingway told her “The trick is to write how people talk. We just don’t listen.”

In the mountain region of Appalachia the people have their own dialect. Directly from the Ulster region of North Ireland, a mixture of Scots and Irish. Along with their dialect they brought their fiddle music, love of clogging dance, as well as their hot temper and moonshine. Their language is equally colorful. If they say night, the word comes out ‘niiiiite’. And right comes out ‘riiiite’. ‘Clever’ means neighborly or accommodating. ’ Several’ doesn’t mean two or three, but 20 to 100 people. ‘Very well’ means ‘so-so’. Sour milk is called ‘blink-back’.  A reference to witches and the power of the ‘evil-eye’.

It is important to note that the “bad English” used by Appalachia was once the language of the nobility of England and Scotland. Isolated by their mountains, the Appalachian language remained intact with old speech forms.

Yet a few miles east or south of Appalachia out of the mountains we have a gumbo of accents and words. From one part of town to another.  So many cultures. A hundred miles north or south and you’ll find dozens of new words and different ways of putting them together.

All that’s interesting but as a copywriter, how do we write to so many differences? We were taught to write in midwestern English. That’s seems sensible. Practical. Practicable.

Is it smart?

As a copywriter, what we write is usually to sell a product or a service. So do we use midwestern English if we’re selling car insurance to second generation Cubans in south Florida? Even if we could jazz up our copy with a few Cubanisms, should we? Of course that question is ridiculous.

Or is it?

Has the time come, because of the versatility of the web, that we can write in one dialectal style and that style be converted to appeal to multiple linguistic variations? No. Not yet. But soon. Will the smart phone be so smart that instantaneous translation will allow us to converse in a language we don’t speak? Will all our ads be multi-lingual? Or even multi-dialectal? Of course they will.

In the meantime, what should a aspiring creative writer do?

Three suggestions for young writers:

1. Listen to people talk. How is the language different based on where they are; a hospital waiting room, auto repair shop, long line at a concert.

2. Have conversations with people far outside of your “group”.

3. Use your brain or your smart phone to record everything, everybody.

Learn more about our Copywriting Program.

We have the minority talent needed to diversity the industry’s creative departments

Our country’s advertising agencies are filled with white men (and some women). At the same time, our country is more diverse than ever. But creative departments are still drastically under-represented by men and women of color. Diversity is now a business imperative. To connect with customers, brands and agencies need to reflect and understand the different cultures they market to. Our country is 39% minority. Are agencies 39% minority?

To address this crisis many agencies started diversity inclusion programs. This is part of the solution but doesn’t address the REAL problem; there is a shortage of minority, creative talent. Miami Ad School decided to be part of the solution.

“We knew if we graduated more diverse, creative talent there would be more talent for agencies to hire”, said Pippa Seichrist, cofounder of Miami Ad School.

Minority Advertising Scholarship program

As an industry leader in specialized education for the creative community, Miami Ad School committed to do its part to help close the diversity gap. “We heard first-hand from our students about the obstacles and barriers they experience because of their race or because they are different. We realized, as a school, we have the power to help change the narrative for this young group and help shape the future diverse makeup of our industry.”

In 2016 Miami Ad School launched a Diversity Initiative, including a Mentorship and Minority Scholarship program, with the mission to educate, support and provide opportunity to minorities wanting a creative career in advertising. Since the launch of the diversity program, the school has enrolled 243 minority students and awarded 80 scholarships, increasing diverse student makeup to 45%. The majority of the school funded on our own. Miami Ad School has the minority talent that agencies need to diversify their creative departments.

The Diversity Initiative also helps connect the students to industry leaders by providing mentorship and training opportunities. This is a great way to highlight the industry as attractive and accessible. The first of the scholarship recipients are graduating. The school is connecting them with agencies and brands looking to recruit fresh, innovative and diverse talent.

While the program is still in its infancy, the founders of the school are intent on seeing it grow. Seichrist explains, “Our goal is to expand the program. To enlist partners (agencies and brands) who believe in what we are trying to do and want to help.”

Help us help you. Make us part of your company’s Diversity Inclusion program.

Find out how to partner.

On Monday, October 1st during the “Make Yourself Uncomfortable” panel, at Advertising Week, Pippa will pose a challenge to the industry to make tax-deductible contributions to the minority scholarship program. The first three companies to accept this challenge will also be announced. These companies endorse Miami Ad School’s end-to-end approach to growing talent and are taking advantage of the full program. In addition to contributing to the minority scholarship fund, they are hosting Miami Ad School Experience Labs. They are hiring the school’s grads. Everybody wins

UPDATE:  Thank you to R/GA, VaynerMedia, IPG, Facebook and Saturday Morning for partnering with us and supporting the minority scholarship program. 
design minority scholarship Minority design scholarship fund

(Above) How To Be Black is a satirical narrative depicting the unwritten rules of “Blackness.” Design graduate, Sarai Wingate, depicts her struggles of having to prove her Blackness in Black circles, and conceal it in White circles. As the narrative progresses, she starts to reject the so-called rules, strip the labels, and embrace the freedom to just be.

Joining Pippa for the announcement are two graduates, Kien Quan, Sarai Wingate, and a current student, Sheba Lee, who will tell their stories. Check out Quan and Sarai’s portfolios. Our industry needs these voices and perspectives.

Looking for more info on Minority Scholarships?

Level-up your creative skills and get the career of your dreams.

ATL APBC group portrait kumars Full Width

This night could possibly change your life.

Join us at 6:00 PM on Monday, September 17th for our Open House Reception and Exhibit.

Come and learn about your creative career options and what you’ll need to get the job of your dreams. Tour the school where many of the country’s creative innovators got their start.

You’ll also be able to take advantage of a unique networking opportunity. Much of Atlanta’s creative community will be gathering right here to see a first-time-in-Atlanta poster exhibition by design and advertising publishing house Graphis.

Miami Ad School @ Portfolio Center will provide you with the training, environment, network and the internship opportunities you need. You’ll graduate with real-word experience and a professional portfolio. Then, you’ll get hired and start on your new, crazy, creative professional life.

Miami Ad School was founded in 1993. A small advertising portfolio school on South Beach with six students, Miami Ad School has, over the past 25 years, become the “Harvard of Brand Creativity” with 16 locations in 10 countries around the world—including right here in the ATL.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE OPEN HOUSE
RECEPTION AND  EXHIBITION VIA EVENTBRITE

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miami ad school portfolio center open house design gallery
miami ad school portfolio center open house top dog stumps
miami ad school portfolio center open house unicorn awards
Student work and exhibition spaces at Miami Ad School @ Portfolio Center.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE OPEN HOUSE
RECEPTION AND  EXHIBITION VIA EVENTBRITE

Showcasing the Platinum and Gold award-winning posters of over 100 artists, from past to present, in Atlanta for the first time.

graphis poster exhibition hp neenah paper atlanta AIGA miami ad school portfolio center

In a first-ever poster exhibition in Atlanta, The Graphis Exhibition showcases Platinum and Gold award-winning work of over 100 artists from past to present.

The Exhibition, hosted by Atlanta AIGA, will be held at the Spare Time Gallery at Miami ad School @ Portfolio Center on Monday, September 17th from 7 to 10 PM. More information and directions at the Eventbrite link below.

Graphis Magazine started in 1944 and originally presented fine arts, and then documented the evolution of graphic design and advertising as we know it today, making it an invaluable resource of the history of our professions. Graphis is still committed to discovering, presenting, and promoting the exceptional talents in design, advertising, photography and art/illustration. In their hardcover annuals, Platinum and Gold winners receive full-page exposure, and Silver and Merit winners are also visually presented. Though having ceased publishing Graphis Magazine in 2005 with issue 355, they have now resumed with periodical publication with issue 356 of the new Graphis Journal.

B. Martin Pedersen is the owner, publisher, and creative director of Graphis, which remains arguably the design profession’s most beloved publishing house. Of the role of Graphis today, he says, “I am continuously surprised at the extraordinary creative achievements in graphic design, advertising, illustration, and photography. Graphis is here to make sure that these individuals are published and that their work will become an inspiration to both the professional and business communities.”

graphis poster exhibition post hp neenah paper atlanta AIGA miami ad school portfolio center spare time gallery two
graphis poster exhibition post hp neenah paper atlanta AIGA miami ad school portfolio center spare time gallery one
Miami Ad School @ Portfolio Center’s Spare Time Gallery during its last exhibition, The Art of Architecture.

The Exhibition is free to Members and Non-Members
Sponsored by HP, Miami Ad School @ Portfolio Center, Neenah Paper, and Atlanta AIGA

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE GRAPHIS EXHIBITION VIA EVENTBRITE

How art direction graduate Belén Márquez fell in love with Miami Ad School and followed her heart to a creative job and a Refugee Nation.

Belén Márquez

Belén Márquez

When people try to tell you to “get practical” with your career,
that you can’t follow your heart and make a good living, don’t believe it.

Over 8,000 Miami Ad School grads have done exactly that. They all found the creative job of their dreams. Art direction graduate Belén Márquezis only one of them.

Carlos Vázquez: So, what were you up to before you came to Miami Ad School?

 Belén Márquez: Before Miami Ad School, I studied advertising and PR at the University of Sevilla in Spain and participated in a design program in Madrid. When I was in my third year of university, I traveled to San Francisco that summer, primarily to improve my English. It was there that I discovered Miami Ad School. I was invited to sit in on some classes and I absolutely fell in love with it.

CV: How did you land your first job after graduation?

BM: I got my first job [at Ogilvy Mather] thanks to the Miami Ad School portfolio review that I attended in New York. The review was such an amazing yet tiring experience. After talking with so many agency recruiters about your work, over and over, you learn a lot about your work as well as yourself.

CV: What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever worked on? 

BM: My favorite project has been The Refugee Nation, which I worked on while at Ogilvy Mather. We collaborated with refugees from all over to create a flag and an anthem to represent the 65 million displaced people around the world. It started as a proactive project with Amnesty International after seeing in the news that there were a group of refugee athletes competing at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio without a flag or anthem. We decided it was time for that to change. Proactive ideas—seeing a need and doing something about

The Refugee Nation case study. Belén worked on this Cannes Grand Prix for Good-winning project with fellow Miami Ad School grads Rodrigo Moran (Creative Director) and Eduardo Lunardi (Art Director) and Miami Ad School student copywriting intern Imen Soltani and art direction interns Arthur Amiune and Renato Tagliari. The fact that a total of six Miami Ad School grads and students were able to work together on this assignment is not unusual. Ogilvy Mather has hired more Miami Ad School graduates than any other agency, over 800 graduates and counting.
CV: What advice would you give to someone who wants to be an art director?

BM: The eye is the art director’s muscle. It’s really important to exercise it every day and keep it curious and open to new things.

One of Belén’s award-winning student projects, “See the Rainbow” for Skittles with copywriter Chamsseddine Abdelhafidh.
CV: What were your favorite things about your Miami Ad School experience?

BM: My favorite thing about the school is, without a doubt, the chance to travel and work around the world. Being able to get to know different cultures and their way of making advertising makes you more open-minded.

CV: Have you worked for or with another Miami Ad School alum?

BM: Yes, most definitely—they’re everywhere! In fact, I was fortunate enough to work with an entirely-Miami Ad School creative team on Refugee Nation at Ogilvy. I love how, once you graduate and get out into the field, you keep bumping into more and more grads. It feels like we’re all a big family that gets along really well.

Check out Belén’s work at her portfolio site.

Follow your heart to a career job you’ll love. Learn How to Apply.

It’s a big decision. So, having questions is only natural. Here are the top 10 questions we get asked about the school.
Insert drum roll here…
10. Do I need a degree to attend Miami Ad School?

No. While our “typical” student—in as far as we have a typical student—does come to us with an undergraduate degree (88% of them do), a high school diploma is the only educational achievement required for our program.

9. How are the schools different from each other?

The programs offered in each location follow the same curriculum. But, as you might expect, every school reflects the character of their city, and draws upon the local advertising and creative communities, so each offers its own unique opportunities. For example, Airbnb partnered with our San Francisco location on a project that will possibly be produced. Students in Miami have a special class taught by Anselmo Ramos, Founder and Chief Creative Officer at DAVID where they’re working on live projects for Burger King. But, with 16 locations around the world, the question isn’t where you want to go to school, but where you want to start your Miami Ad School journey. Where you go is up to you. (Not all programs are offered in every city, please check our website or contact your admissions coordinator for more details.)

8. What program do you think I should apply for?

You know you’re creative, but don’t know which program to choose? That’s okay. Once we see your creative samples and see how you think, we’ll be able to advise you. With over 8,000 graduates working in a variety of roles at agencies and design firms around the planet, we’re well-equipped to provide you with the guidance you need so can you choose the program that best suits you. Some students know exactly what they want to be and never deviate from that one bit. Other students are sure they want to be, say, an art director, but show outstanding talent as a copywriter and end up switching programs. Some people know they want to be designers but end up falling in love with photography. It’s a process, and it’s perfectly okay to change your mind about which program you choose.

7. Can I enroll in two majors at once?

There’s no need to enroll in two majors at once. The creative fields we teach are all interconnected and you’ll be exposed to multiple disciplines over the course of your studies. Copywriters will learn about art direction, art directors will learn about design. Designers will learn about photography and photographers will learn about copy. The process continues until everyone, despite their area of concentration and expertise, has a working knowledge of the other pieces of the creative puzzle and how they all fit together.

6. What is your acceptance rate?

Miami Ad School doesn’t run ads during the Super Bowl, or even during late-night reruns of “I Dream of Jeanie.” As a result, potential students like you have to seek us out. In fact, most are recommended to us by a friend or family member in the industry. Because of that, most our applicants are, in effect, self-selected before they apply. In most cases, creative submissions show ample aptitude and potential, so our admissions rate is high as a result. Our goal is making sure that an applicant has the maturity and work ethic to not only complete the program, but to land a job and thrive in the industry after graduation.

5. Can I arrange my own schedule so I can work while attending Miami Ad School?

Classes are scheduled when our teachers—all working professionals—are available. That means that most classes are in the evening. Their current experience in the field makes them such good teachers, but also limits their availability. As for working, we hope you don’t plan on working more than 20 hours a week. Your brain needs time off from the mundane so you can explore new ideas and your teacher can praise you with a, “BRILLIANT!”

4. Does Miami Ad School offer scholarships?

Miami Ad School currently offers annual Minority Advertising and Design Scholarships. Many more scholarship opportunities can be found here.

3. Does Miami Ad School offer Financial Aid?

Miami Ad School’s U.S. locations are approved for Federal Student Loans: Atlanta, Miami, New York and San Francisco. The following international locations offer financial aid as well: Berlin, Hamburg and Mexico City. Please check with the admissions coordinators in those cities for more information.

2. What is your placement rate?

Very high. Nosebleed high—94% placement within six months of graduation as of our last U.S. Department of Education reporting period, averaged across all of our programs and locations in the United States. Our placement team diligently works to bring our grads job opportunities. Many graduates meet their future employers at one of Miami Ad School’s Portfolio Reviews—where grads can expect to have up to 12 interviews in a single day. Some are hired as a result of impressive internship performances, some by teachers who spot a student they know is a “keeper.” The school receives hundreds of job opportunities every year—at all levels of experience—from agencies and firms looking to hire our graduates. These we pass along to our grads as part our Job Leads for Life program.

And the number one most frequently asked question is…

1. What is the average starting salary for graduates?

Based on the most recent graduate survey data, the starting salary for the overwhelming majority of Miami Ad School graduates in the U.S. is between $50,000 and $60,000 annually. We’re now seeing starting salaries of over $70,000 in certain parts of the country.

Did we answer all your questions? We didn’t think so. We know you’ve got lots more. Reach out to our admissions coordinators and they will be sure to answer any and all questions you may have. In the meantime, check our FAQ page for additional questions and answers.

Learn How to Apply.

Miami Ad School’s Boot Camp for Strategic Planning prepares you for how strategy is done in the real world.

Kendra Hatcher King • VP, Strategy and Consulting Lead for South Region @ SapientRazorfish; Instructor, Boot Camp for Strategic Planning @ Miami Ad School

Whether they’re known as  creative strategists, marketing strategists, brand strategists or any one of many wacky, out-there titles like “truth ninja,” strategic planners are all about the consumer insight. As a result, they by and large have insatiable curiosities and are fascinated by obscure facts and the intricacies of human behavior. They have to be in the know at all times and love talking to people and learning about how they live and what they care about. They take their fascination with the world and their natural inquisitiveness and distill pertinent facts and observations into the “what” and the “how” of a communication problem. Then they brief the creative teams and inspire them to create relevant, compelling and effective work.

If this sounds like you—especially if you’re grinning ear to ear at the prospect of all this—we can tell you you’d be a great asset to any strategy department. As the Magic 8-Ball says, “Signs point to yes!”

But where to get ready for your new career? Miami Ad School’s Boot Camp for Strategy Planning has been taking eager, talented hopefuls like you and transforming them into strategic aces in just 12 weeks. We’ve been doing it since before the turn of the century—longer than any school in the world.
“If you have the opportunity, attend a school … like the Miami Ad School where you can take a boot camp that can actually prepare you for how you do strategy in the real world. It’s great because we’re looking for people with tangible skills.” 

—Kendra Hatcher King • Instructor Boot Camp for Strategic Planning @ Miami Ad School

Vanessa Toro • Instructor, Boot Camp for Strategic Planning @ Miami Ad School

“Planning is the place where you can be most eclectic—outside of being a professional artist. You’re hired specifically for your point of view in the world.”

—Vanessa Toro • Instructor, Boot Camp for Strategic Planning @ Miami Ad School

Kelly Slater • Graduate, Boot Camp for Strategic Planning @ Miami Ad School

 “I learned how to listen to tough feedback and, instead of making excuses, think about it for a while and wonder if the evaluator was right. You can only get better if you realize that you don’t have it all figured out yet, and I learned that very quickly at the boot camp. Nobody likes excuses.” 

—Kelly Slater • Graduate, Boot Camp for Strategic Planning @ Miami Ad School

Esty Gorman • Graduate, Boot Camp for Strategic Planning @ Miami Ad School

“After college I wanted to get into planning and consumer insights but spent my first few years as a media buyer. A friend told me about Miami Ad School’s Boot Camp for Strategic Planning. Within 3 months I was back on the career path I had hoped for. Upon graduation, during the agency tours the school arranges, I met the head of planning at BBDO and I started there the following Monday!”

—Esty Gorman • Graduate, Boot Camp for Strategic Planning @ Miami Ad School

So many of today’s best strategists started their careers at Miami Ad School. Classes start in Atlanta October 1st. Learn how to apply.

Copywriting Can Be A Little Confusing to the Uninitiated. Here’s What You Need to Know.

Dominique Curtis, Miami Ad School Graduate and R/GA, Austin Senior Copywriter

“Every day, there really is something new going on. Every day, you don’t know what brief you’re going to get.”

—Dominique Curtis • Senior Copywriter @ R/GA, Austin
It’s happened to every copywriter at least once. Someone—most likely an uncle you see but once a year or a third cousin—asks, “Copywriting, huh? Is that like when lawyers charge you money to protect music and stuff?” (or words to that effect). Most copywriters will turn, take a sip of beer, and earnestly respond, “[INSERT NAME OF DISTANT RELATIVE HERE], that’s exactly what we do, you betcha,” and then casually saunter away in the opposite direction.

Writers know better. They’re like, “Why try to explain? It’s not like I have an idea where to start.”

On the face of it, once you understand that copywriters (as opposed to “copyrighters”) come up with the copy in ads, you might rightly assume that a CW had a lot to do with an ad like this one, and you’d be right.

Part of Droga5's Newcastle No Bollocks campaign. Miami Ad School grad and Group Creative Director, Scott Bell, worked on this campaign.

Part of Droga5’s Newcastle “No Bollocks” campaign. Miami Ad School grad and Group Creative Director, Scott Bell, worked on this campaign.

It’s just words and a picture of beer, so, uh, yeah. But copywriters also work on things like this:

The Refugee Nation case study. The team on this Cannes Grand Prix for Good-winning project  featured six Miami Ad School alums including Rodrigo Moran (Creative Director) and Eduardo Lunardi (Art Director) and Miami Ad School student copywriting intern Imen Soltani (Imen now works at TBWA\Media Arts Lab) and art direction interns Bélen Márquez, Arthur Amiune and Renato Tagliari.

Copywriters come up with ideas. Sometimes they’re expressed by copy and voiceovers. However, sometimes the ideas are so big, you don’t need words at all. At Miami Ad School, writers are teamed with art directors, just like you would be at an agency. It’s a partnership about ideas, but the roles sometimes differ in how those ideas show up. It’s not complicated—say you wanted to make someone laugh. If you’re a writer, you’d probably tell a joke. An art director? They might draw a funny picture. In both cases, the goal is get a laugh. But, sometimes, if you put the joke and the drawing together, some magic happens and you get an even bigger laugh. The AD and the CW each bring something different to the table. But sometimes it’s the art director that tells the joke and the writer is drawing silly pictures.

Every assignment brings with it a different problem, and when finding ways to get the right message across, two (or three, or seven) heads are better than one. It’s also much better if those heads don’t think in quite the same way.

So, what does a writer do everyday? There’s no easy answer to that except to say this: writers are always coming up with ideas. Or executing ideas. Or presenting to clients. Or maybe deciding whether they want a mechanical bear or to cast a real live grizzly for a shoot. The ever-changing variety is part of the fun.

“As a copywriter, you get to take on more than a single role. You are a writer, poet, songwriter, storyteller, screenwriter, inventor, scientist, researcher, carpenter, soldering specialist, sommelier … and anything else you can think of. It’s never the “same-old, same-old.”

—Soham Chatterjee • Senior Copywriter @ Leo Burnett, Chicago   Creative Director @ Human Rights Foundation

Dominique Curtis with one of the best descriptions of what being a copywriter is really like.
These three Miami Ad School grads started a new creative shop, Felipa. Here’s how they did it.

L to R: Gerardo Saavedra (MAS Copywriting Graduate) • Creative Concept Director; Fabrizio Flores (MAS Art Direction Graduate) • Creative Business Director; Emiliano Salmón (MAS Art Direction Graduate) • Creative Visual Director

L to R: Gerardo Saavedra (MAS Copywriting Graduate) • Creative Concept Director; Fabrizio Flores (MAS Art Direction Graduate) • Creative Business Director; Emiliano Salmón (MAS Art Direction Graduate) • Creative Visual Director
The three founders of the creative shop Felipa are all graduates of Miami Ad School. Find out how the internships and connections they made in school helped them launch their award-winning company.

Pippa: How did the ad agency get started? Why did you name your creative shop Felipa?
Felipa: The agency was founded three years ago by three graduates from the first generation of Miami Ad School Mexico City: Gerardo Saavedra, Emiliano Salmón, and Fabrizio Flores. Our name (Felipa) is actually related with a Miami Ad School experience. During our quarter away process Emiliano and I (Gerardo) did an internship at Jung Von Matt Hamburg, while Fabrizio was at Le Bureau Stockholm. One day Fabrizio invited both of us to visit him one weekend; the three of us went to a party and met a really beautiful Swedish girl: blonde, tall, and with heterochromia (one blue eye and another one green). The three of us spoke with her for a few hours, the only info we got from her was her name: Felipa.

PS: What are your backgrounds?
F: Emiliano is the Creative Visual Director at Felipa, he studied art direction at Miami Ad School. Before that he studied two years of visual communication at Centro, one of the most prestigious design schools in Mexico. Gerardo is the Creative Conceptual Director, he studied copywriting at MAS. He has a BA in advertising and had experience as a copywriter at agencies such as: Publicis, Euro RSCG (now HAVAS) and TBWA. Fabrizio is the Creative Business Director; he also studied art direction at MAS. Before that he was an entrepreneur and during Miami Ad School he did a couple of agency labs at Le Bureau Stockholm and JWT New York.
“… the three of us went to a party and met a really beautiful Swedish girl: blonde, tall … The three of us spoke with her for a few hours, the only info we got from her was her name: Felipa.”

–Gerardo Saavedra

PS: How did you get to Miami Ad School?
F: Each of us got here in our own way: Gerardo won the first 100% scholarship made by Miami Ad School Mexico City in collaboration with sopitas.com. Emiliano saw an ad on Facebook and Fabrizio got a recommendation from a close friend.

PS: How do you get your ideas?
F: We have different processes. From brainstorming together to thinking on our own. It depends on each project. The most important thing is for us is to have full awareness about our skills, team capacities, responsibilities, and to collaborate with the right strategic partners. A lot of stuff we learned at Miami Ad School helps us during our day-by-day. For that reason we always try to fill our team with Miami Ad School talent.

PS: What are some of your favorite projects that you’ve worked on?
F: Gerardo and Emiliano developed an idea to participate at the 2018 Cannes Young Lions Health Award. The project, #MeToon, was chosen as the undisputed winner of the category. The brief by UNICEF and UN Women was to create a fictional idea to solve a problem. Our differentiator was to carry it out in real life, detonating the project locally, so that, in case of being the winners (which is what actually happened), we could use the festival exposure as a showcase to invite all media outlets around the would to join the project.

#MeToon: The first social movement for cartoons. instead of inviting people to take part, it is the cartoons who participate in the movement. All this with the aim of raising awareness among the new generations about gender equity, where we get cartoons to commit to generate content that educate about the topic. Today several Mexican cartoons, studios and illustrators are part of the movement, and big companies like Cartoon Network are already evaluating being part of it.

Google Remind: The project was created in 2014 by our creative directors Gerardo Saavedra and Emiliano Salmón, in collaboration with Antonio Fragoso, during their last quarter at Miami Ad School. It won many awards: Young Guns Gold, FIAP Young Talent Gold Award, Young Wave Silver Award, Graphis New Talent Silver Award, New York Festivals Finalist, Cannes Future Lions Finalist and—most important all— the Global Art Directors Club Gold Award, where people from the Google Creative Lab in New York invited the team to their offices to evaluate the viability of the project, almost making it happen for real. Alzheimer’s is an incurable disease. However, today there are technologies that with a creative input could help people to endure it. That is what Google reMind is all about, a project that sought to take advantage of Google Glasses, (one of Google’s most disruptive technologies) to help people suffering from this disease. When they put on the glasses, users would receive all kind of information: whom they are talking to, how to get somewhere, reminders and alarms to take their medications. Everything they need to enjoy a better life.

made-by-felipa-YO-TAQUERO

Yo Taquero: As a Mexican studio, having a “taquería” as a client is something we’re quite proud of. That is why we decided to make “Yo Taquero” (yes, this is the name of the client, which is indeed a pun between “I’m a taco vendor” and “I love you”) the absolute best taco stand… well, at least in terms of expression. To do so we developed a whole new brand identity with a new color palette, illustration style, photographic structure, and most important of all, a central creative communication concept. Mexicans love tacos, and for that reason a “taquería” should have lovable communication. We started with a central creative concept: “Por amor al taco”; which means: “For the love of the taco”. Then we created a new visual style for the brand, from redesigning their oficial “taco vendor” illustration, to creating a new visual concept in a way that has never been done before in the Mexican taco category. Saturated but attractive, colorful but with selected colors. Insightful but easy to understand. The result: After making the perfect combination of ingredients between conceptual and visual development, the order was ready to go.

made-by-felipa-MIAMI-AD-SCHOOL

Miami Ad School: Felipa was selected to develop the digital and social media content for Miami Ad School Mexico City. As graduates of the school, we are not just proud to be part of this project, but we also feel responsible to maintain the quality and reputation of the client, who has and needs really high standards related with communication. Every month a pool of creative content filled with illustrations, photographs, designs and lettering compositions are delivered to the school to be part of their constant digital feed. The work developed in this project has not only been part of the Mexican school, since it is constantly published and used by other schools in the network, such as New York, Wynwood, São Paulo and Madrid, just to name a few.

ARVN: Not everything in Felipa is visual, our conceptual delivery is also part of what differentiates us. A perfect example is this radio campaign that has been constantly awarded by different creative and advertising festivals such as: Caracol de Plata, World Independent Advertising Awards and of course, the campaign’s reason for being, “El Ángel de la Radio”, the Radio Association of the Valley of Mexico advertising award show. Two of the three spots were chosen to be part of the official campaign that aired in all the radio stations that are part of the association. Every year the Radio Association of the Valley of Mexico invites all the Mexican agencies to create a radio spot related with some kind of social brief. Every year Felipa: Creative Studio participates with a spot that solves a different social problem, using just audio to connect with the people in a shocking but creative way. The ideas are related with insights that specially connect with the people that live in Mexico City. From promoting green areas in a city where everything is gray by making an analogy with death, to promoting a healthy citizenship coexistence by using a devastating earthquake that changed the city as a communication resource.

PS: With what kind of clients do you work?
F: Most of our clients are located in Mexico, from big companies Coca-Cola, Riot Games and LEGO, to small local business like San Jocho (a hot dog stand) and YoTaquero. We also have a couple of clients based on Miami, such as: Yazbek USA, InBest Miami and a kids clothes brand called Eckabear.

PS: Can you tell us a bit about how you get clients?
F: At the beginning it was all about friends, family and close contacts. Then, those initial clients started to recommend us with new possible clients. Today, a lot of new business come searching for us because of the awards, exposure and good work we have done. You can contact fabrizio@madebyfelipa.com for any business inquires.

made-by-felipa-felipafiesta

The Felipa gang.

PS: What makes you happy?
F: To win awards, to work with new clients, and to make money because of our ideas. We also like to have puppies at the office, watch kitten videos on YouTube and to have a lot of fun during our creative process.

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Here to Help You Land the Job Of Your Dreams
Through Miami Ad School’s internship program Kadeem Roper interned at agencies in Prague, Toronto and New York. When he graduated Leo Burnett hired him as a copywriter.
Here are the most recent Miami Ad School graduates and where they work.

Many of these new hires met their future employers at one of Miami Ad School’s Portfolio Reviews. Some were hired as a result of impressive internship performances and some by teachers who knew they had spotted someone they wanted to work with. Still others found their opportunities via the Job Leads for Life program that provides graduates with hundreds of job leads every year—at all industry levels—throughout their careers.

Megan Plevy • Junior Copywriter
R/GA, New York

Anastasia Lara • Junior Account Planner
DAVID The Agency, Miami

Jorge Valdez • Art Director
Marca, Miami

Lauren Solberg • Art Director
YR, Miami

Wonsik Cho • Junior Account Planner
GUT, Miami

Matthew Ta • Junior Art Director
ARGONAUT, San Francisco

Hampus Elfström • Creative
Uncle Grey, Copenhagen

Oscar Gierup • Creative
McCann, New York

Diana Freidman • Art Director
Wieden+Kennedy, New York

George Loftus • Copywriter
Michael Patrick Partners, San Francisco

Brent Flentje • Content Strategist
WONGDOODY, Seattle

Vicky David • Art Director
Cutwater, San Francisco

Belén Márquez • Art Director
Droga5, New York

Gabriella Cappelin • Junior Art Director
Alma, Miami

Kristina Samsonova • Junior Art Director
McCann, New York

Kadeem Roper • Copywriter
Leo Burnett, Chicago

Charlie Fuentes • Art Director
The CSI Group, Montvale, NJ

Victor De Jesus • Junior Copywriter
Heat, New York

Danielle “Ama” McKinley • Brand Planner
The Richards Group, Dallas

Carolina Skarupa • Designer
Garden and Gun Magazine, Charleston

Nellie Santee • Copywriter
DAVID The Agency, Miami

Rebecca McAfee • Senior Strategist
mcgarrybowen, New York

Max Anderson-Goldstein • Copywriter
Grey Group, New York

There are three ingredients in Miami Ad School’s job-placement secret sauce. First is the environment: 16 locations around the globe that draw together the most creative students around to collaborate in the pursuit of creative careers.

The second is experience Miami Ad School’s internships are unparalleled. 852 internship opportunities per year as of the date of this post. Copywriter Kadeem Roper, who was just hired by Leo Burnett in Chicago, is a great example. He took full advantage and is graduating with a year’s worth of experience at YR in Prague, Toronto’s john st., DDB in Berlin and Ogilvy Mather in New York.

The third is your network. You’ll graduate with a LinkedIn profile chock-full of valuable industry contacts—faculty, guest speakers and your intern colleagues and supervisors among them.

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