Writing Assignment for Advertising

Writing Assignment 1—Voice (60 pts)

The goal of Writing Assignment 1 is to develop writing skills centered around a client.

Writing Assignment 1 has five parts

(1) Write a mission statement or manifesto

(2) Write a slogan

(3) Pick five adjectives

(4) Write a profile, or brand persona

(5) Talk like that “person” talks

GUIDELINES

Write a mission statement: A mission statement involves writing a short pithy paragraph, or a few sentences that express the core values of the brand in complete thoughts (pp. 95-96).

Write a slogan: A slogan establishes the tone, or voice of the brand. Think of a slogan as a mission statement distilled into one sentence or phrase (pp. 96-97).

Write five adjectives: Picking five adjectives requires you to be precise, clear, and articulate in the way select words to describe your brand (pp. 97-98).

Write a profile: A profile requires that you think about your brand as a person. Write a description of your brand using clear and distinct characteristics that allow you to picture your brand as a person (pp. 98-99).

Write how your brand talks about being cool: Does your brand say, “hot,” “lit,” “cool,” “sick,” “stoked,” or something else? Is there a movie quotation or joke that captures the way your brand communicates? (pp. 99-100).

Step One:

Read pages 95-100 to get a full description of the above writing tips and techniques.

Step two:

Select a client, or brand that you will use to complete this assignment from this list: Wells Fargo, Patagonia, National Park Service, San Francisco 49ers, Verizon, University of Oregon, New York City, or Sonic.

CRITERIA

Your assignment will be graded on a 60-point scale.

The assignment will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

(1) Write a mission statement or manifesto (12 pts)

(2) Write a slogan (12 pts)

(3) Pick five adjectives (12 pts)

(4) Write a profile (12 pts)

(5) Talk like that person talks (12 pts)