The course aims to encourage concrete experimentation and, through individual and group exercises, to teach a set of creative and basic copywriting techniques. Without forgetting the lesson of the "founding fathers" of contemporary advertising, these techniques, applied to advertising and brand communication in various media, follow the most up to date trends in communication.

The course also aims to make people aware that creativity in communication must respect the strategy of the brand to be advertised and be consistent with the flow of the brand's narrative.

Teaching focuses on the development of creative concepts and on the techniques of drafting advertising text (copywriting).

The program systematically alternates between the examination of basic theoretical principals and consequential experimentation in practical workshops, including group projects (from the analysis of a brief and the development of ideas and creative concepts, to the creation of one or more messages in the context of an integrated communication campaign) and individual activities.

Theoretical work: creative advertising and copywriting in the diverse media: the importance of the "idea" and the relationship between the micro-narrative and the more general narrative of the brand. Changes taking place in advertising communication.

Project work: brand strategy is the starting point for the creative development of a communication campaign.

The general theme is creativity and the logic that supports it, with particular focus on copywriting. There will therefore be no technical insights into graphics, packaging, typography, and so on.

1.    Knowledge and understanding: basic concept of copywriting and attitude to the creative thinking. The indissoluble link between the values of a brand and its advertising message.

1.1  Students attain basic knowledge through lessons, bibliography, exercises.

2.    Applying knowledge and understanding: ability to face an advertising brief.

2.1  Skills acquired through exercises in the classroom.

3.    Making judgements: critical reflections on international trends in communication, in advertising and industry standards. Evolution of scenarios and forms of the advertising message.

3.1  These judgment skills will have to be applied in the classroom, in exercises with the teacher and fellow students, and during the preparation of the final exam.

4.    Communication skills: students will have to interact with the professor and colleagues asking questions and exchanging opinions, in order to prepare little presentations regarding their own exercises.

4.1  This ability is taught through a series of discussions with the students and practice in the classroom.

5.    Learning skills: students are requested to learn a method of learning that include critical skills and ability to connect theoretical competence with empirical analysis, in order to acquire an indipendent point of view.

5.1  Skills to be enhanced through discussion with the teacher and with the classmates.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Get into blended.uniurb.it

The teaching material and specific communications from the lecturer can be found, together with other supporting activities, inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

Frontal lectures and practical workshop exercises.

Attendance

It will be a compulsory attendance ¾ of the lesson time.

Course books

Handouts and other study materials will be posted on the Moodle platform > blended.uniurb.it

Optional study texts:
Fontana D., Digital Copywriter. Pensa come un copy, agisci nel digitale, Franco Angeli, 2017 

Zurlo D., Con le parole si fanno i miracoli. Note sulla scrittura pubblicitaria e sul linguaggio, Franco Cesati Editore, 2023

Suggested further reading:

Barry P., Advertising Concept Book, Thames & Hudson, 2016 (3rd edition)

Felton G., Advertising Concept and Copy, W. W. Norton & Company, 2013 (3rd edition)

Fontana A., Storie che incantano. Il lato narrativo dei brand, ROI Edizioni, 2018

Lombardi M. - We Are Social, Creatività in pubblicità. Dalla logica alle emozioni, Franco Angeli, 2021 (3rd edition)

Testa A., Le vie del senso, Garzanti, 2021

Assessment

Oral interview and evaluation of the project work produced by the student within his/her work group.

This evaluation will take the form of an individual oral interview. The exam is aimed at evaluating both the student’s ability to learn and his/her ability to re-elaborate and argue a case.

The assessment of skills (applied knowledge and understanding at a higher level: “knowing how” and “knowing why”) will also take place through the verification and evaluation of the student's forum activity inside the Moodle platform and the evaluation of the exercises and activities set during lessons.

An evaluation of “Excellent” will be given to students in possession of in-depth critical skills, the knowledge of how to connect the main issues addressed in the course and the use of appropriate language with respect to a specific discipline.

An evaluation of “Good” will be given to students with a mnemonic knowledge of the course contents, a relatively good critical capacity, a grasp of the connection between the topics covered and the use of appropriate language.

An evaluation of “Sufficient” will be given to students who retain a minimal amount of knowledge on the topics covered by the course, despite some gaps in learning and the use of inappropriate language.

An evaluation of “Insufficient” will be given to students with difficulty in grasping the topics addressed in the exam reference texts, gaps in learning and the use of inappropriate language.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Attendance is obligatory for a minimum of 3/4s of the lessons. It is not possible to take the exam as a non-attending student.