Examples of Outdoor Advertising

Last week Lincoln's Creative Advertising third years were lucky enough to attend a workshop by advertising education guru, Dave Morris (pictured above). Here's third year student Mike Barber to tell you more:-

‘We didn’t know what to expect but after Dave’s visit last year we knew it would be incredibly useful. We learnt so much throughout the day, it would be hard to cover it all in one review. The overall theme of the workshop was creating convincing arguments, something that is important in all decent advertising. Dave set us a brief before the workshop, that involved making some very strange or difficult arguments. We presented our persuasive arguments in front of everyone and the feedback we received was very helpful. The arguments that we made in our presentations were continued throughout the day in a range of fascinating and entertaining ways.

Here's a post from Annie Richardson, Senior Lecturer in Design History and Cultural Contexts at the University of Lincoln, that provides some true food for thought:-


Food is good to think with. Of course, all humans have to eat to survive but food is also a key indicator of cultural differences and cultural change. Everyone eats, but cultures vary widely in what and how. So food becomes ritualised, a bonding mechanism, a way of expressing cultural hierarchies, in short, a symbol. Food enables us to think about what cultures value, and how they are changing. If Creative Advertisers need an exemplary topic to chew on (sorry!), this is it.

Our second-year Creative Advertising students went to some lengths to experience food rituals for themselves and engage in some primary research. One of the most arresting topics was competitive eating. Students Jade Andrews, Emily Collins and Christina Wornum for their Women v. Food project braved a local restaurant’s offer: ‘Eat your way through a giant pile of burgers and chips and you get your photo in their hall of fame!’ Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the girls failed the challenge.

What they did succeed in, however, was generating plenty of ideas. Does this hark back to earlier times? The earliest times when there was competition for food? Competitive eating contests in America – where the current popular sport appears to have originated – itself had its roots in pie-eating competitions in county fairs. But why is competitive eating popular now? In terms of TV entertainment we can see how food has become associated with the competitive elements in reality TV programming, not just Man v Food, the popular US show, but a range of other programmes such as those featuring celebrity chefs.

It’s easier to think about the more strictly commercial reasons for competitive eating than the cultural ones. Competitions attract custom to restaurants, branded sponsorship deals, groups of increasingly well-known eating champions, and high entertainment value. That part is not so hard to understand. It’s  developed commercial and media momentum.

But what if we try to explain it from a cultural angle? After all we live in ‘foodie times’ ever questing after the exotic, authentic and adventurous in our cuisine. We disparage waste. We have diet-awareness thrust upon us. On the other hand, as Jade, Emily and Christine pointed out, actually tasting and savouring real food is on the decline through grazing habits in contemporary family life and a continuous supply, no longer seasonally-based, of any type of food from all over the world.

Perhaps competitive eating is a symptom of that decline. Perhaps competitors appeal to us because they are ordinary people who just have this rather odd but special talent. Potentially anyone could do it and become a ‘sports’ champion without all the training needed for athletic prowess– and many are encouraged to try. Journalists examining the issue emphasise the sheer sickening horror and pain of the binge experience. And there seems to be an assumption that competitive eating won’t take off here in the UK, at least not to the same extent as in the US, that somehow British culture with its traditions of restraint will prove resistant. Of course, from the restaurants’ point of view, there are obvious advantages (at least, restaurants with a certain type of clientele in mind presumably.) So watch this space!

Whether you fancy your chances of winning a competition or not, you might enjoy watching this short film of the girls’ heroic efforts. Bon appetit!

One of the hardest things to do as a creative, but busy, individual is keep a strong momentum. You constantly need ways to stay creatively busy by changing the type of activities you do.

Doodling, for example, is lots of fun but also very stimulating and, when that doodle is with a large group can be a great way of connecting people who do not necessarily know each other that well.

The Creative Advertising Society are always coming up with ways they can bring every year group closer together and recently they held a GIANT DOODLE event.



Everybody took their shoes off, gathered round some huge sheets of paper and let all their worries slip away as they responded, pen in hand, to the various DOODLE INSTRUCTIONS they were given by the Society team on hand.



What resulted was somewhere between an explosion in a Sharpie factory and Banksy's first graffiti lesson but it was nevertheless energetic, momentum building and very, very social.

On a wet October afternoon the Creative Advertising 2nd and 3rd years took over the studio to run a session designed to help new 1st years feel at home on the course.

The session, organised by Emma Thomas (2nd Year) paired new 1st years with their elders in the years above so they could have a students perspective on what it's like to be a student in Lincoln and particularly on this course.

Who knows? This could be the start of a (few) beautiful friendship(s) and the people our 1st years connected with in this session could be the contact the one to bring them in on placement when they leave.

Thanks so Emma and her team for such a rewarding afternoon.

If you haven't sen the new St John Ambulance ad, Helpless, then we strongly recommend that do so now!

'We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths'. Walt Disney.


The most recent subject for the course's Cabinet of Curiosities is 'plastic', or more specifically, assorted plastic toys.

Creative team Philippa Beaumont and Artur Faria graduated from the programme last year and are currently on placement at some of the best ad agencies in London. They were recently shortlisted to be finalists in CREAM 2012 – the annual competition organised by creative recruitment agency The Talent Business and judged by Creative Directors from some of the World's best advertising agencies.

The Young Creative Network recently held their annual awards ceremony in London to honour the winners of this years YCN Student Competition. Amongst the successful entrants were University of Lincoln Creative Advertising's  Liam Nicholson and Vicki Thompsom. Liam and Vicki collected a gong for the work they submitted for the Triumph Bra's brief. They were second year students when they entered this national competition and it is very satisfying for the staff team to see them compete and win against students more experienced than themselves. I'll let Vicki explain how the night went in her own words.

"On September 4th, Liam and I ventured down to London to Shoreditch Town Hall for the YCN awards 2012. We were both thrilled that our work for the Industry Trust brief was commended, and even found ourselves sitting with their representatives for the ceremony. Going into the entrance area we were greeted with strange cocktails and steel drummers, and on moving into the main hall found plenty more decoration along a tropical theme. The ceremony itself was exciting and entertaining with guest speakers and clever animation shorts about their work, each speakers presenting a few different briefs' awards. After dinner our group was next up. We were presented on stage with our 'A's, our group being congratulated by guest speaker Toby Triumph. Following on from the ceremony we were directed downstairs for something 'special', which was in fact being showered with bits of jelly as it was blown up in the centre of the room... (yes, really).

Overall an amazing evening to celebrate everyone's success, and a reminder that hard work, taking risks and enjoying your work can pay off. Thank you to everyone that congratulated us and thanks to YCN for putting on such a great evening".