Faculty Member’s One Club Connection Brings Opportunity for ComArtSci Students

Ross Chowles, ComArtSci professor of practice in the Department of Advertising + PR and One Club board member, began his relationship with Michigan State University when he led workshops at a One Club event in China, where he met assistant professor Henry Brimmer. Brimmer brought students to the event and later ran a workshop at MSU for Minds Wide Open, which Chowles attended.

The One Club is a non-profit organization that serves to recognize and promote exceptional work in advertising. It honors and celebrates the legacies of creative advertising to inspire future generations.

​“In the industry, especially in the creative side, there are those that stand out. People who’ve changed the industry, produced amazing work, written fantastic copy – the best of the best,” said Chowles. “The One Club has honored those people by inducting them into their hall of fame.”

The One Show, an annual award ceremony hosted by The One Club, showcases the best work from agencies around the world. It isn’t profit oriented, it’s owned by the creative community.

​“It’s our thing, it belongs to us – the creatives,” Chowles said.

​The amount of clutter and noise in the advertising industry, not to mention agencies budget pressure, has led Chowles to seek out a solution.​

​The solution? An association strategy.

​To execute this, Chowles, with other ComArtSci faculty, handpicked around 20 senior student copywriters and designers. Once their holding concept – the idea that ties it all together – is approved, they will start developing and designing.

​“What we want to do is take all of these great hall of famers and start linking the One Show so when you think of the One Show, you don’t just think of awards, you’re thinking of Steve Jobs or Andy Warhol,” Chowles said. “These people are the rock stars in our business.”

​​Students were chosen after determining the skills needed to tackle this project - keen copywriters and skilled designers with attention to detail. Their primary task is to research The One Club “Hall of Famers” by contacting agencies, finding their advertising work and more.

​​The end goal of this project is to produce a digital book that highlights the Hall of Famers, and is easily accessible to copywriters located anywhere in the world.

​“Once it’s finished, it’ll go to every art director and copywriter – the most cynical people in the world. So, it has to be of a quality that is superior,” Chowles said.

​One Show’s creative week happens in May in New York, which is where ComArtSci’s work will be launched.

By Lily Clark