Over eight months ago, I enrolled myself in school and moved to ‘Murica. Much has happened in the United States since – more on that later – but one of the things I was most excited about, was getting back to academics.
Among many experiences that made coming here worth it was a class I took last Fall. Titled ‘Branding through Motion Picture’ and taught by a three-time Emmy nominated write-producer-director – it was the most brilliant class I have ever been in.
After spending six years working in public relations firms, writing up “strategic communication campaigns” – I came to realise how we skim over the basics, while trying to get everyday tasks – making something that could be interesting, rather mundane. In this class, we talked about stories. Every single week.
How a story transforms brands. How we never forget a good story. How a story can seldom feature the product. And how to write a good story! The first class started with the professor playing us this video extract from Mad Men. I had not watched the series and was quite overwhelmed by what I saw – and how it was spun into what the brand stood for. Here, Don Draper – head of creative at a top Madison Ave. ad firm is pitching to Kodak about a new slideshow wheel that they created. While I’m aware this is fiction, I am certainly going to find it difficult to forget this story anytime soon. Take a look here.
Needless to say, I began watching Mad Men immediately afterwards.