Advertising

Mood of the day Ok, so I've been saying I was going to post about this for quite a while, but here it finally is. So, for those of you who I haven't bored to death with stories about the classes, I'm... ....Taking an advertising course!... If you're asking yourselves what does that have to do with science, the answer is nothing and you should see the look of puzzlement of my classmates in the course when I tell them that I'm doing a PhD in science. Sort of 'what is a nerdy science freak doing in a cool thing like advertising' kinda look. Accompanied by a 'and how can she be not half-bad at it either' look as well (hey!advertising doesn't equate with modesty). Much, much better than the usual comment I get of 'Ohhh, you must be so intelligent!'. So the course is 3h a week, it's called Copywriting and Art Direction, it's subsidised so it's cheap and near both my work and my house. I still had to take a deep breath and plunge in quickly to register after reading the ad, otherwise serious guilt twinges about taking time away from my PhD in this last lap would start setting in.. Oh, the reason? I've always been fascinated with advertising, especially after being in the UK where it's so good. And I still haven't decided what I'm going to do when I finish my PhD. And I'm loving it! Three hours a week discussing ads is my idea of bliss. Right in the first class, I had to put myself in the shoes (or skin) of a 30-year old van-driver whose hobbies are pubbing, clubbing and football. And then choose an ad that he would like.. That was almost too easy - thanks, Struan! Plus we have had to come up with ads for Tabasco Sauce and for a long-lasting light bulb. Both of which were fun and quite easy to do! Still, if you're thinking you'll soon hear about these cool ads created by moi not a chance, as apparently the only way to get into the industry is by having good connections inside. So back to my Materials and Methods section. Grooaaan....