UNIT OUTLINE

Course unit: IF95, IF96

Unit title: Advertising Creative: Copywriting and Art Direction
Unit Code: KCP362
Discipline Code: CKC
Credit Points: 12
Semester(s) of Offer: Semester 1
Year(s) of Offer: 2004
Prerequisite(s): Enrolment in IF95 or IF96
Corequisite(s): Nil
Coordinator: Dr Judy Gregory
Ph: 3864 5231
Fax: 3864 1810
Email: j.gregory@qut.edu.au

1. Rationale

Copywriting and art direction are fundamental to creative advertising practice. Both tasks exist at the
front end of advertising: copywriters and art directors help to bring advertising campaigns to life
through creative concept development, writing, and liaising with both clients and artists. This unit
builds on the introductory creative advertising units. It examines contemporary advertising theory and
practice and develops practical skills in writing and art directing. Case studies examine a wide range
of advertising campaigns, including campaigns to sell products, corporate reputations, and not-for-
profit organisations.

2. Aims

This unit aims to provide you with:

1. An understanding of the creative advertising copywriting role
2. An understanding of the creative advertising art directing role
3. An understanding and appreciation of advertising management, including advertising in
different organisational and cultural contexts – particularly advertising for corporate
reputations, community relations, and community education
4. Increased awareness of the processes involved in planning and evaluating advertising
campaigns
5. Sensitivity to the relationships between text and design in advertising
6. An understanding of techniques for interpreting advertisements

3. Objectives

On completion of this unit, you will have developed:

1. Copywriting skills – including skills in planning a message strategy, writing creatively, writing
to meet a client brief, and writing to suit an audience
2. Art directing skills – including skills in planning and managing a creative campaign, and
working with and briefing artists
3. Management skills to plan and direct advertising in different contexts

Unit Outline prepared by: Judy Gregory Last updated:

Unit Outline reviewed by: Terry Flew Approved:
 4. Management skills required to research audiences, project manage an advertising campaign,
and test advertisements with audiences
5. Skills in understanding and manipulating the relationship between text and design
6. Skills required to critique advertisements, drawing on audience responses and contemporary
advertising theory

4. Content

Topics to be covered in this unit include:

• The role of copywriting and art direction in creative advertising
• A rhetorical perspective on creative advertising
• A cultural and psychological perspective on creative advertising
• Managing the ad campaign
• Issues in developing a project brief
• Planning the campaign: Initial audience and client research
• Understanding and measuring audience involvement
• Developing and implementing the message strategy
• Developing advertising copy
• Design issues for art directors
• Getting to know the audience: testing ads prior to release
• Evaluating ad campaigns
• Advertising in non-product environments

5. Teaching and Learning Approaches

The unit will combine lectures, seminars, and workshops to develop practical skills in creative
advertising. Guest lecturers from industry will discuss current case studies and work experiences.
Students will participate in critiques of contemporary advertising and peer review of creative work.

6. Assessment

1. Workshop discussion exercises

Part A: Select a current advertising campaign that is targeting you as a consumer. Analyse the
campaign and its potential success in persuading you to take up its message. Use secondary
research to support your analysis. Present your analysis to the class during a seminar and lead a
class discussion of the advertisement you have chosen.
Length: 2 page handout + 20 minute presentation
Weighting: 15%
Due date: Scheduled throughout semester
Type of assessment: Formative and summative
Refers to unit objectives: 5, 6

Part B: Develop advertising concepts and copy for discussion in seminars.

Length: approx 1000 words
Weighting: 25%
Due date: throughout semester
Type of assessment: Formative and summative
Refers to unit objectives: 1, 2, 5

2. Ad campaign and rationale

Select any product, company, or not-for-profit organisation (either real or fictional) and develop a
multi-media advertising campaign. Print ads and support materials should be developed to mock-up
stage; electronic ads should be developed as scripts. Develop an implementation plan for the
advertising campaign (approx 1200 words) and write a rationale to explain how and why your
campaign will work (approx 1800 words).
Length: 3000 words plus mock-up advertisements or scripts
Weighting: 60%

Unit Outline prepared by: Judy Gregory Last updated:

Unit Outline reviewed by: Terry Flew Approved:
 Due date: End of semester
Type of assessment: Summative
Refers to unit objectives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

7. Resource Materials

Required text:

Ward Burton, Philip (1999). Advertising copywriting. McGraw Hill/Irwin.

Recommended reading:

Atchison, J. (1999) Cutting edge advertising: How to create the world’s best print for brands in the 21st
century. Singapore: Prentice Hall.

Felton, G. (1994). Advertising concept and copy. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Moriarty, S. (1991). Creative advertising: Theory & practice. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Schudson, M. (1993). Advertising, the uneasy persuasion (3rd ed.). London: Routledge.

8. Risk Management

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.
No responsibility will be taken for absence incurred in other QUT course units as a result of this
program.

9. Academic Integrity

Students are expected to display complete integrity in all their academic work. In particular, activities
such as plagiarism and cheating or any activity designed to defeat the purposes of assessment are
breaches of academic integrity. QUT's policy on academic dishonesty is at Student Rule 29
(http://www.qut.edu.au/admin/mopp/Appendix/append01cst.html). Details of University definitions of
cheating and plagiarism and range of penalties will be provided in the documentation students receive
in week 1.

Unit Outline prepared by: Judy Gregory Last updated:

Unit Outline reviewed by: Terry Flew Approved: