54/54 Review: “Scott and Will”
I assumed for the directive of review that most of my classmates would be looking back on Project 54 as a whole and reflecting on their own past posts and experiences throughout the project. I believe that many people would be critiquing themselves and their work. That was my first thought given review, especially since it was the final post and final directive but knowing that would be a common idea I thought that would not be as creative as I wanted. Instead, I thought it would be creative to review my teachers Scott and Will. I will review them and their class, not specifically project 54, but a review of whether or not I believe the class did for students what Scott and Will intended for it to do. This post connects to the directive of review because it is a review of my professors and it connects to the brand of kleenex because of the focus on kleenex in this course and the idea of taking a brand and realizing your creativity.
in this course we hope you learn…
1) how to solve problems and generate ideas in multiple media.
2) more about the advertising industry.
3) how to evaluate ideas and select the best.
4) what goes on in the VCU Advertising program.
5) more about yourself and your creativity.
#1-5 above is an exerpt taken straight out of our syllabus. Coming into this class I had no idea what to expect, and had no idea what a class called “curiousness” may entail. The first day of each semester is generally very boring and repetative but in the case of curiousness, Scott and Will were far from the norm. In a packed classroom of 200+ people I found myself sitting in the very back. Scott and Will both seemed very interesting and upbeat. Looking over the syllabus in class I still did not know what exactly Project 54 was and how someone could do so much with kleenex. Scott and Will both quickly made me realize how the class was not about Kleenex, but it was about creativity, and getting your mind going, helping us achieve and go far past what we believed our creative capacities were on day 1. If this class were taught by some of my other teachers I believe I would have given up on it very easily and maybe wanted to switch away from the advertising major. The class is a long process in which there is a lot of work every single week. The idea of Project 54, 3 exams, and pop quizes was very intimidating which I believe caused about half of the class to drop (juding by class attendance and blog posts). I think most people were sitting in class confused about why they would be forced to do something like create a blog, but the enthusiasm of Scott and Will kept me personally motivated. I knew this class would be a lot of work but after the first few weeks I also realized through my own posts and creative growth how much this class could really teach me. I know many people thought Scott and Will were possibly trying to hard to be stand up comics in class, but I believe that effort is what kept me connected to the class. The jokes Scott made in particular brought light to such a tedious class and kept my class attendance very high. I think some people did not like all the jokes but if the class was taken in to seroius of a manner I believe more than half of the class may have dropped due to how boring and more difficult the class would be with more mild mannered proffesors. I think it is a nice change to hear a couple of proffesors drop a few F bombs during class. It shows me how these teachers are real people who are not sugar coating anything, Scott and Will particuarly told us how we would fail if we did not want to work hard and if we did not push ourselves. In class Scott and Will put emphasis on interaction with classmates and the entire class. I usually hate that kind of stuff and I refrained from help from friends with my posts but in class interactions helped the class stay interesting and helped me realize how important it is to interact with others in the advertising field. You can build off eachotehrs ideas and make your own ideas much better than they originally were. The goals 1-5 above were all covered by Scott and Will. Along the line in the class some may think it is pointless but going back and looking in the syllabus at the class goals I realized how much I truly did learn. I learned a lot about the advertising field at VCU and have since succesfully chagned to a strategic advertising major, and have planned out all of my classes for the next 2 years here at VCU. Most importantly in this class I learned a significant amount about myself and my creativity which is goal #5. I was so intimidated at first and even after the first 3 weeks when I only had about 15 posts, 15/54 seems like so little compared to the amount of work still ahead of me. As time went on I believe I was more and more creative and got better and better at the project. Scott and Will kept me motivated thoughout the process so that I did not give up. I was not working for a C in this class I was working for an A. With every post I thought about impressing my teachers and thought about how I would be proud to show this blog to future employers or my friends and parents. Im sure the people who know me best would be shocked to see how creative I became and how much hard work I put in, but I would always insist to them that it would not have been possible with teachers who did not truly care about me and my work. I learned a lot about the advertising industry as Scott and Will showed us both great and poor ads. We learned how money could be made in the industry and how a simple slogan can make you a fortune. We not only saw the best ads but we learned about what motivated those ads and how they were created. I think this is a great teaching technique and the seriousness of the subject along with the amount of fun my teachers made this class created the perfect balance and extended my ability to learn. Overall I hated the idea of a blog as a class, but Scott and Will truly taught me to be creative and this class was much more than a stupid blog thanks to them. Their friendliness, bluntness, and intelligence all helped me grow in creativity.
marottamm27 
I can tell you definitely went over and beyond with most of your posts. great job.