Learn from the Legends.

Chuck Porter joined Sam Crispin’s Miami agency in 1988 and became chairman in 1990. As Crispin Porter + Bogusky it made truth, the MINI launch, Burger King’s Subservient Chicken and Domino’s Pizza Turnaround, and Ad Age named it Agency of the Decade.

Every campaign in his class was made on his watch, by an agency that earned attention instead of buying it. He’s in the AAF Advertising Hall of Fame.

“I believe that a brand is a story.”

Is It Interesting? Chuck Porter's Masterclass in Legendary Advertising

The one question to ask of every idea: is it interesting? Plus the hiring code and culture behind CP+B’s best work.

Jimmy Smith got his first break at Burrell in Chicago, wrote Nike’s “Freestyle” at Wieden+Kennedy and led creative on Gatorade at TBWA\Chiat\Day. Since 2011 he has run Amusement Park Entertainment, whose live skydive “Heaven Sent” set a Guinness World Record.

His work rarely looks like an ad: a photo book, a Nike documentary for MTV, video games, a TV show, a live broadcast. That range is the class.

“Anything can be an ad. It doesn’t have to be, nor should it only be, a 30‑second spot.”

Beyond the Brief: Jimmy Smith's Masterclass in Creative Thinking

How to go beyond the brief: build your soup of influences and turn it into books, games, shows and live events.

Paul Lavoie co-founded TAXI in Montreal in 1992 with Jane Hope and built it on one mantra: doubt the conventional, create the exceptional. He sold it to WPP in 2010, and was the first Canadian to lead a jury at Cannes.

Doubt is his method, not a mood. He and TAXI put it in a book, Doubt: twelve insights on using doubt as a catalyst for change.

“Our mantra was doubt, and doubt was our soul.”

Constructive Doubt: Paul Lavoie on Critical Thinking in Advertising

How to use doubt as a creative tool: find the real problem inside the brief, see what others walk past and keep it simple.

Tom Burrell started in the mailroom at Wade Advertising in Chicago and talked his way into writing copy. In 1971 he co-founded Burrell-McBain with Emmett McBain, and went on to win McDonald’s and Coca-Cola with advertising made for Black consumers.

He changed who advertising speaks to. He’s in the AAF Advertising Hall of Fame and was the first African American in The One Club Creative Hall of Fame.

“Our mantra was Black people are not dark-skinned white people.”

Squeeze the Juice: Tom Burrell's Masterclass in Creative Courage

The psychology of persuasion, turning “can’t” into fuel, and showing people in a positive, realistic way.

Donna Weinheim teamed with Cliff Freeman on Wendy’s at Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, including “Where’s the Beef?” She became the only female partner at Cliff Freeman & Partners, then led Pepsi work at BBDO, where her “boy in the bottle” topped the 1995 Super Bowl Ad Meter.

She made comedy sell, for Wendy’s, Little Caesars and Pepsi. In 2024 she was inducted into both the AAF Advertising Hall of Fame and The One Club Creative Hall of Fame.

“Creativity means doing something that no one has ever done before.”

Think Outside Every Box: The Donna Weinheim Masterclass on Fearless Creativity

Comic timing, the unexpected angle and thinking like the camera, taught through “Where’s the Beef?” and her own career.

Lee Clow joined Chiat/Day in 1973 and was Apple’s creative partner for more than 30 years, from “1984” to “Think Different” and the iPod silhouettes. He founded TBWA\Media Arts Lab in 2006 and retired as its Chairman Emeritus in 2019.

He’s in the One Club, Art Directors Club and AAF Halls of Fame, and Cannes gave him its Lion of St. Mark. The class is his own telling of how the work got made.

“Everything you do, you have to, you have to view as part of your education.”

Think Different: Advertising Wisdom from Lee Clow

Why everything a brand does is advertising, what he learned from Jay Chiat and Steve Jobs, and the weekend behind “Think Different.”

Susan Credle joined BBDO in 1985 in an entry-level job and rose to lead creative on the M&M’s characters. She was chief creative officer of Leo Burnett USA, then Global CCO of FCB from 2016 to 2024.

She helped build two of advertising’s longest-running character campaigns, the M&M’s and Allstate’s Mayhem, and in 2018 became the first woman to chair The One Club.

“I believe what we do in the advertising industry makes a difference.”

Never Finished: Susan Credle's Masterclass in Creative Courage

How big ideas become characters and campaigns that last, and why creativity multiplies what a business is worth.

Tim McClure is the M in GSD&M, the Austin agency he co-founded in 1971. With Mike Blair he created “Don’t Mess with Texas” for the state’s highways in 1986, and litter fell 72% by 1990.

He helped build a nationally awarded agency in Austin rather than New York, and co-wrote the book on his most famous line, Don’t Mess with Texas: The Story Behind the Legend.

“Most people call Don’t Mess with Texas a slogan. I call it a battle cry.”

Don't Mess With Ordinary: Tim McClure & the GSD&M School of Creative Courage

The difference between a slogan and a battle cry, and how to write one for your own brief.