In 'Ad Passion' Slovenian student Kaja describes what it means to work in advertising. Her enthusiasm reminds us all why we got into the business.

2. Do you know that feeling, when you
bite into your favorite dessert… it’s
delicious, exciting, sweet, rewarding, it
makes you feel better and you just want
more of it?
Well, that’s how I feel when I think, talk
or write about advertising…
Who am I and why am I telling this to
you? For starters, I’m a
Communication Studies graduate,
studying for a master’s degree in
Strategic Marketing Communications. I
come from a small European country,
Slovenia, which is set between Austria,
Italy, Croatia and Hungary. I’m really
passionate about many things, such
as music, tourism, medicine, writing, psychology, nature, ecology, volunteer work and entrepreneurship but my heart
belongs to advertising.
Kaja
Kaja comes from Slovenia and is
a Communication Studies graduate
currently studying for a master’s
degree in Strategic Marketing
Communications. Here she shares her
passion for advertising and reminds us
all why we love doing this fantastic job.
I haven’t had a chance to work in an advertising
agency yet but I have managed to get a fair bit of
experience through student jobs including writing,
public relations, event organization, customer
services and so on. I also try to take part in
marketing competitions which involve coming up
with campaign ideas. Little by little, I’m paving my
path to where I want to be and what I want to do for
a living.
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3. BITTER SWEET MOMENTS
Now think about the first time you realized what you are good at
and what you wanted to do with your life. That’s a special feeling
and a memory that stays with you forever. But it’s not always a
peachy moment, that’s for sure. When you tell it to the world, well,
then things start to change. Maybe your family don’t approve of it,
maybe your friends laugh at you or they think it’s just a phase
you’re going through. In most cases, when a family realizes that its
precious child won’t become a lawyer, a doctor, a pharmacist or an
economist their world collapses. When you mention you want to
work in advertising, they’re finished. “What’s wrong with you? Why us? What did we do wrong? You want to be a what? An
advertiser? What will you do? Walk door to door and sell things? You don’t need an education for that.”
On the other hand, if you’re lucky, you can get a more positive response, for instance, “I really admire your courage to take
this path”, “I think you’re really going to be good at it” or “Wow, that’s an awesome occupation” (not a really common
response as you can imagine). When I tell people my field of study, they just make some weird grimace, a mixture of
judgment, pity, amazement, fear, disgust, worry and bafflement. And then they’re left speechless. You can imagine what an
encouraging reaction that was for me.
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4. WHAT IS CREATIVITY?
Advertising can be a very touchy subject – most people just can’t stand it or don’t care about it, others tolerate it and
some adore it (probably because they work in advertising). Well, I’m definitely one of the latter. I love it . Love. Love.
Love. Not because of advertising’s role in the greater economy or anything like that but thanks to its essence –
creativity. Creativity is such a magical thing. It’s so simple, yet so complicated. No one can really pin it down, what it is
or isn’t, can it be instantly activated or not, and whether you inherit it or can learn it.
As kids we used it all the time but as we
grow up we become pretty much
unaware of it. We just get into a routine,
day after day and put our creativity on a
leash or, worse still, lock it down
completely. Observing the world, being
curious, generating new ideas, thinking
about new ways of problem solving,
doing a chore, testing your latest recipe
inspiration and hoping everyone will
survive it, taking a different road to work
or school,
designing your own
accessories, trying out new hobbies: the
list is endless. That’s what being creative
means. To constantly evolve and look for
new things, views, ways and solutions.
For me, creating means living.
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5. ADVERTISING: A JOB LIKE NO OTHER
Advertising amazes me because it works for creativity. There are so many jobs that could be done by a robot but
advertising isn’t one of them. And that’s one of the reasons why I love it. I see advertising as a magical world. It’s
where all the forces unite. Where creative energy, writing, ideas, hopes, wishes and needs come together and
create something completely new, until then unknown and unseen. Advertising is one of those rare industries that
really let you express yourself, your thoughts, ideas and wishes. It lets you be curious, to research, observe and
walk around with open eyes and ears. That’s what makes it so unique, mystical and so appealing.
Knowing you can make your craziest idea
come true is really exciting. When I’m writing,
creating and imagining new ideas I feel fresh
and alive, energetic, like everything is
possible and the world lies in my hands.
Limitless, like the sky. I’m aware that the
reality isn’t quite like that: crazy schedules,
constant pressure, deadlines, always hunting
for new ideas, second guessing clients… but
I still want to be a part of this AD WORLD.
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6. DRIVING AMBITION
I wanted that since I was 13 years old. Back
then my neighbor was this great ad producer
and director. He made one of the best TV
commercials in the history of our country. It
was for the state’s sport lottery and it was
really advanced for its time. It was so fresh
and humorous that everyone talked about it.
This commercial was a stroke of brilliance and
I still remember all the words by heart. I even
used to act out the commercial over and over again with some other kids outside of our building. When we noticed
this producer going past we made sure to enact the commercial as well and as loud as we could. We thought he would
laugh, say “You did a great job guys” and we hoped he would choose us for a role in one of his upcoming commercials.
Of course, none of our hopes came true. He didn’t even notice our effort; he was always busy in his own creative world.
But it was his commercial that changed my life. It hit me then and hasn’t let me go all these years : I want to write ads,
therefore I will be a copywriter. And not just a regular one but a great one.
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7. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
I want to be able to produce works which will change things,
perspectives, feelings, relationships and the world even. It’s
important to know what to say, how to say it and when to say it.
It’s not about selling that new deodorant or Snickers but it’s the
feelings you get to arouse, exchange or portray with the
add. Isn’t it wonderful to know you make someone laugh or
wonder every time they see your ad? That you made someone
realize something new? Or simply just made someone’s jaw drop
over a genius idea?
I believe that advertising can and should be used as a tool to
make a positive change. That’s where social advertising plays a
crucial role. It’s so underestimated most of the time because it
doesn’t make money and many agencies aren’t happy to do it.
It’s good for their image and that’s about it from their point of
view. In my opinion, the biggest impact you can have is that a
person changes something because of you. That’s what good
copy makes possible.
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8. MAKE A SPLASH
Getting a job in advertising isn’t really that easy, because so many
people want to do it and you have to stand out. But that’s not
FOLLOW YOUR PASSION
If you can’t do that, there’s always the option to
find a mentor who will guide you and share his
or her advertising experience with you. Passion,
enthusiasm, curiosity, good writing skills and the
ability to see inspiration in everything around
you are essential for a good advertiser – or a
great employee in general. But there is always
a catch with wanting something really bad.
When it happens, it may not be the way you
imagined it to be because your expectations
were too high.
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enough. You have to be noticed by the right person at the right
moment who will see that special spark or potential in you.
Experience and personal characteristics play a big part too. Agencies
like to hire people who are not only talented but also tough (ruthless
even), self-confident to the point of being self-centered. If you don’t
have these personal characteristics then you have to really really
really impress the agency people with something special, like juggling
during a triple somersault from the highest skyscraper into a pool.
Okay, maybe not so dramatic, but you see my point.
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9. That must be a very troubling and disappointing
moment, a sort of personal test, but the key is to
realize that you experienced what you wanted
and can move on to another thing you love to do.
But you can’t know until you try it. That’s of utter
importance. Maybe I’ll be disappointed when I
finally experience the day to day life of a
copywriter but either way I will know I tried and
followed my passion.
BELIEVE
It’s tough to pursue your dreams, to innovate, to think
positively, to be inspired or to wish for something better
in today’s world, because we’re constantly worried
about our future due to showers of bad news and the
world-wide economic crisis. Different authorities remind
us that young people should take whatever job they can and stop daydreaming. But let’s be honest. If you do something you
don’t want to, you won’t be good at it because you’ll be forced to do it. Insist with your passion, you can and MUST achieve
what you wish for. It may be harder than a few years ago, but it’s still possible. And the world needs these fresh thinking
people, their energy and ideas ASAP! Inspiration, an open mind, effort, goal, focus, are the key components of
success, so remember: If it’s important to you, you will find a way. If it’s not, you will find an excuse.
Best of luck,
Kaja
Do you share Kaja’s passion for advertising? Tell us what you think! Leave a quick note below. Oh, and we’re
always happy to feature GUEST WRITERS like Kaja on the site. So if you fancy doing an article for us just go to the
‘Contact’ section and tell us what you have in mind.
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10. www.beacopywriter.org