Advertising Campaigns
Building the strategic spine of a campaign from brief to jury; constructing the single-minded proposition (SMP) and defending it before a panel.
Okan University · Lecturer
Academia
The room where I slow production down to see what actually works; with students I discuss how an advertising idea is born and defended.
On set I make the decision;
in class I answer for it.
At Okan University I teach advertising campaigns and creative idea development. But my aim isn't to explain "how to make an ad." Together with students we uncover how an idea is born, which pain of the consumer it touches, and how a single sentence on the table turns into an image on set.
For me, academia isn't a place outside of production. It's where I find the logic behind the decisions I make on set by reflex. When a student defends an idea in front of a jury, we're actually debating the essence of the whole profession: a good idea isn't enough, it has to be defended.
What we discuss
· Advertising Campaigns
· Creative Idea Development
· Treatment
· Brand Story
· Visual Language
· Consumer Psychology
· History of Advertising
What I insist on in class
Finding the idea is half the job.
The other half is defending it in front of a jury already inclined not to believe you. Presentation is taught as much as creativity.
Insight is limbic.
A good ad speaks not to the consumer's mind but to their fear, inadequacy or desire. Find that pain first, then move to the camera.
SMP · single-minded proposition: one razor-sharp sentence.
The single claim the whole thirty seconds leans on. If you can't say it in one sentence, you don't have an idea yet.
"It turned out really sweet" is banned.
The right version is: "We targeted the fear of inadequacy and positioned the brand as a sword." Decisions speak, not feelings.
You don't go to set without a plan.
A storyboard is a construction plan, even with stick figures. Sound, packshot, the visibility of the benefit, all solved on the table, not on set.
Academic Programme
The classroom: where an idea is defended
The courses I lead at Okan University on advertising creativity and campaign development, a laboratory where, with students, we take apart the concept behind the reflex I use on set.
Courses Taught
Creative Idea Development
The path from insight to the big idea; the discipline of generating, filtering and justifying ideas.
Treatment & Screenwriting
Turning a one-line idea into text, and text into image; structuring narrative through a director's eye.
Brand Story
Framing the brand not as a product but as a narrative subject; translating the value proposition into story.
Visual Language
How framing, light, colour and rhythm produce meaning; what form says before content does.
Consumer Psychology
The limbic basis of insight; reading consumer behaviour along the axis of pain, inadequacy and desire.
History of Advertising
The historical evolution of persuasion and creative strategy; the roots of today's language.
Assessment & Jury System
Assessment is by defence
An idea is graded as much for its justification as for itself. A good idea is not enough; it must be defended.
The SMP requirement
If a campaign cannot be said in a single sentence, it does not yet exist. We seek the one proposition the film rests on.
The jury simulation
The student presents and argues the idea within a jury setup that mimics real-world conditions.
Research Interests
Advertising creativity · Insight & consumer psychology · Visual narrative · Brand storytelling · Pedagogy of the creative process
Creative Lab
New ideas
Beyond advertising and film production, I think about digital platforms, content systems, character universes, music structures, AI-assisted production tools and media formats.
For me this space is less about exhibiting unpublished ideas and more a room that shows how my mind works. I treat an idea not just as content but as a creative asset that can become a product, a format, a community, a brand and a structure that grows over time.
Digital media platforms
AI-assisted content systems
Film / series / documentary development
Brand and campaign formats
Music and catalogue structures
Character and IP universes
Community-driven creative ventures