Building a Copywriting Portfolio II: Advice from Jennifer Solow
Another person I asked for advice on how copywriters can build the best portfolios possible is Jennifer Solow, former managing partner and creative director of Kirshenbaum Bond and author of the book The Booster. “The best way I know how (and the only way actually) is to team up with a like-minded art director (or more than one if you want) and create spec ads or do real ads for small, creatively inspiring clients.
Years ago (while at Ogilvy & Mather) one of my good friends and his partner (fresh out of Art Center) did home-made commercials for a little unknown gym in the village called Crunch. Those ads shot for a few bucks made them famous, the ads famous, and put the gym on the path to glory.
I also know a now-famous and successful copywriter who created a HYSTERICALLY FUNNY pencil-drawn writer’s portfolio complete with stick figures and all. The portfolio became a cult classic-everyone wanted to see the guy who had the balls to do it. Needless to say he was snapped up by Wieden & Kennedy. He worked for a radio production company. He got coffee for people. His writing was brilliant. He needed nothing more than this.
I went about it in a stupid, expensive, sanity-busting way that lead to misery, job change and divorce: As a career art director (closet copywriter) no one EVER believed I could write (like even on my very last day in advertising my boss said, “it wasn’t like you were a real writer.”) The way I did it was to claw my way up the ranks until I could give myself the writing assignments. I also married a great art director—so I had a built-in partner for all my writer-ly ideas (thus the eventual divorce). I also spent every penny I had publishing a magazine and did all the writing. Then I quit after 20 years and wrote a novel…I think there are easier-slash-more-efficient ways of going about it.
The great copywriter is usually one of a great two-person team. Bosses LOVE strong teams who can stay up late together and get the job done. Pick an art director you could share a bottle of scotch with and forge a loyal team. Stay up late. Play haunting Indie music or possibly the Circle Jerks and eke out a fine portfolio. Send it to W & K and move to Amsterdam. And don’t marry them.”
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