Is Your Advertising Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader?

Recently, I was asked to do a presentation to some grade 5 students on the subject of Advertising. They did not come uneducated - some things they had been learning in their  Advertising Unit included: Online Marketing Strategies, How to Plan an Advertisement, Target Markets, How to Sell, and Truth in Advertising. My own grade school experience in Advertising? 

Yep, I was meant for this.

I sat in front of Keynote and deliberated about what I could say that was great about my job as a Creative Director. In typical fashion, when I have to explain to people what I do for a living, I start remembering how lucky I am to work in a field as dynamic, creative and driven as advertising.

I showed some commercials, outlined the impact of visual communications with a guessing game, listed some jobs in advertising, and what happens in my typical day - all the while remembering my own path where the artist in me, and the problem solver in me, had come together for this career. Introspection is a great thing.

What are some of the cool things I’ve learned in Advertising?

There is a thing called rattle-snake guards.

Great actors can cry all day long if you need them to.

Drones are cool.

Small town hotels ‘sometimes’ give you keys to your room.

First-time toboganners are genuine and amazing.

Cheerios are rather aerodynamic.

Using biological bugs to clean water is fascinating.

“Waiting for a cloud” is a common production phrase.

Making -30 winter look like a hot summer day is possible.

The feeling that you are the first to set foot on a particular hillside, like ever.

Mosquitoes don’t show up on film.

Broken hearts can make a difference.

Shore lunch is one of my favourite things.

Schools do not use blackboards anymore, but they may be underneath the whiteboards.

Various cars and car parts can be readily available for smashing.

Float planes are a little scary. And kinda smelly.

Tattoo artists are great freelance illustrators.

 “Tablescape that.” is a thing.

Wildlife is elusive and undirectable.

The stars. Period.

I did manage to hold their attention for most of the hour (thanks to a Doritos commercial break here and there). Their main question? “How can I be in a commercial?”