There are very few advertisements that have been so powerful as to leave people completely dumbfounded. If you can’t think of one right away, go watch Apple’s “The Crazy Ones.” After the commercial is finished, there is this lingering feeling and emotion that can only be caused by strong words. That’s the reaction I strive for with everything I write.
I’m John Marc Roberson, Agency Entourage’s newest copywriting intern. I’m attending the University of North Texas as an advertising major and sociology minor. I will be graduating this December, making my grand entrance into the real world of advertising.
I’ve always been interested in words, even when I was young. When I was 5 I asked my mother what the word ‘superfluous’ meant. I immediately started saying the word, but not just to say it. I was using it in the proper context.
At first, I was dead-set on becoming a marine biologist. Then during my sophomore year of high school I took an intro to photography class. Immediately, I fell in love with photography and started saving up to buy my own camera. I also used my love of words to start writing short stories and poetry. After these experiences, all I wanted to do was take pictures and write.
I began college as a photojournalism major, but I knew that it wasn’t for me after my first class. I also had to take an intro to advertising class. Just as I did with photography, I immediately fell in love with advertising. From then on I started writing mock advertisements for everything. Even if it was just a quick-witted tagline, I was constantly trying to find a story to tell.
I’m a firm believer in the concept of ‘word vomiting’. I will often write multiple versions of a piece, even if it’s just the slightest difference. The more you write, the more you flesh out your ideas, and the more creative you have to get. Anyone could write words on a piece of paper, but it takes a true writer to give the words a voice, a tone and a personality.
I’m extremely excited about starting my internship because I know that it will get me going in the direction that I want to go. It’s great because I’m having the opportunity to work on a wide variety of clients and styles of writing. I love the office space because it’s open and you don’t feel like you’re being closed off to work in a little box. There’s room to breathe and be creative, and I like doing both of those things a lot.
