17159: On The ABCs Of AI For Portfolio School Students.

 

Adweek reported portfolio schools—including Miami Ad School—are developing curricula incorporating AI coursework.

 

Last week, Adweek reported Adland was dumping younger workers, opining the employment situation was fueled by the rise of AI. So, it’s odd to train advertising wannabes on the technology that diminishes their employment opportunities.

 

Can’t help but wonder how long before portfolio school instructors are replaced by AI.

 

Additionally, as previously noted, Miami Ad School has been pruning its portfolio, creating another cold reality impacting students.

 

It all reflects the school of hard knocks presented by Adland.

 

Ad Schools Race to Equip Grads for the AI Age 

 

As portfolio schools add AI training, is it enough to keep their model relevant?

 

By Brittaney Kiefer & Audrey Kemp

 

For decades, ad school graduates have entered agencies armed with classic creative skills like copywriting, art direction, and design. The next wave will bring something new to the table: fluency in artificial intelligence. 

 

When a new term begins this fall, ad schools including Miami Ad School, Brandcenter at Virginia Commonwealth University, and London’s School of Communication Arts (SCA) are rolling out curricula that incorporate AI education.

 

They’re doing so to prepare students for a workforce being reshaped by AI. The tech is already affecting the general job market for entry-level workers, The Wall Street Journal reported. While the national unemployment rate is about 4%, for new college graduates it was 6.6% over the past 12 months ending in May. 

 

The ad industry specifically appears to be shedding younger workers as AI use becomes routine at agencies, as ADWEEK reported last week.

 

Even before AI’s rise, the traditional ad school model was under pressure from economic factors and digital disruption. Since 2023, Miami Ad School has closed campuses in San Francisco, Toronto, and most recently Atlanta. The Chicago Portfolio School, Atlanta’s Creative Circus, and the U.K.’s Watford Course have also shut down in recent years.

 

Many ad schools are now racing to keep up with the pace of change and convince both prospective students and industry employers that their education is fit for the future.

 

As Vann Graves, executive director of Brandcenter, put it: “The industry is moving at a pace so much faster than it has ever moved. Education needs to move even faster than that.”

 

Cracks in the Ad School Model

 

Modern portfolio schools emerged in the 1990s, when agencies scaled back on-the-job training. Programs like Miami Ad School, founded in 1993, and Creative Circus, established in 1995, offered intensive instruction in advertising fundamentals and portfolio building to help graduates stand out in hiring rounds. 

 

But the model has drawbacks. Cost is a major barrier: Miami Ad School’s two year portfolio program costs $38,000, while SCA’s three-semester course is about $24,640.

 

Ad schools can also focus too narrowly on portfolio development meant to catch the eye of advertising creatives at the expense of broader business training, said Alex Grieve, global chief creative officer of BBH.

 

“I didn’t go to ad school, and I’ve always felt it’s given me an advantage, because I did think differently [when I entered the workforce],” Grieve said. “At ad schools, there’s this kind of obsession with building a portfolio of work that will get you noticed, and not enough on genuine problem solving for clients.”

 

Linda Carte, a former Miami Ad School instructor and longtime agency creative director, agreed the business side of advertising is sometimes overlooked in ad school training. 

 

“In an ad school or for a student, it might seem unsexy,” she said. “But the business side of it is almost 50%: knowing your client’s business, knowing their concerns, knowing their landscape.”

 

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, which temporarily halted in-person education, cracks in the ad school model have begun to appear. 

 

“The pandemic was really hard for [Miami Ad School Toronto] because they had a really great, vibrant culture at their physical location,” said Steve Miller, a former instructor. “[The school] lost some of that vibe… that was just the start.”

 

AI Education

 

The recent acceleration of AI has made it even more imperative for ad schools to evolve.

 

Starting with the current cohort scheduled to graduate in September, Miami Ad School introduced a 10-week boot camp called “AI for Creatives.” The course teaches students how to create with AI tools, culminating with a final project of an AI-powered campaign.

 

Miami Ad School launched the program after hearing from agencies that want to “bring on more juniors if they know how to use AI tools,” said Rebecca Rovirosa, its chief creative officer and academic director.

 

Meanwhile, just as some agencies have appointed chief AI officers, Brandcenter recently hired its first director of technical training, Micah Berry from Arts & Letters. Berry will help students and faculty keep abreast of developments in AI and emerging tech, Graves said.

 

“Young ad folks can’t just be an art director or copywriter now. They have to be polymaths,” he added.

 

SCA’s changes are more extensive. Starting with the 2025-2026 cohort, the school will conduct a series of 10 two-hour workshops teaching students how to creatively think and problem solve using AI. 

 

The goal is for students to leave with “AI as your personal creative partner,” said Marc Lewis, head of SCA. That’s a change from the previous system of students teaming up with peers, which will now be optional. With AI training, the cohort will also be able to create portfolios and pitch decks much faster, he added.

 

“They’re going to need to be able to operate like a one-person agency. They now need to think as a creative director, working with AI as your junior and giving it feedback and direction,” Lewis said. “AI should be like an exoskeleton, helping people think further and faster.”

 

The Future

 

Many educators agree that ad schools need to quickly adapt. “A school that gets it right is one that knows they need to be nimble,” Carte said. 

 

For Miller, that means having leadership committed to constant curriculum updates, especially as new tools emerge. “Schools need a leader who’s staying on top of the curriculum and making sure that it’s as current as possible,” he said. “With AI, art directors need to have a glimpse into Midjourney… writers [need to] learn how to use ChatGPT.”

 

One alternative may be agencies taking the reins of education again, giving talent real-world experience. For instance, BBH runs an eight-month program called the Barn, led by the agency’s former executive creative director Nick Gill. The Barn pays participants about $39,000 per year, and many grads get jobs at BBH or other agencies, Grieve said.

 

But despite the pressures on traditional talent training models, the idea of AI completely replacing entry-level talent is unrealistic, Graves said. 

 

“You still need juniors to train up and implement new ideas,” he said. “There’s going to be a great awakening on what junior roles look like and the expectations of students coming into the field.”

 

While AI is changing the industry, “it doesn’t remove you,” said Vasti Marcelo, managing director of Miami Ad School.

 

“This could be a very scary time for students, but please understand that AI is just a tool to help your creativity work faster,” Marcelo said.

17146: Miami Ad School Of Hard Knocks.

 

Adweek reported Miami Ad School is shuttering its Atlanta campus in six months, following the elimination of its Toronto satellite in March.

 

The closings inadvertently provide relevant, real-life lessons for those seeking a career in Adland.

 

That is, White advertising agencies—as well as White advertising schools—are fraught with uncertainty, routinely vanishing with no warning.

 

One day, you’re a diligent, hard-working staffer or student. Then you suddenly find yourself cast off, as your company or campus is entirely erased.

 

Atlanta will be the third casualty since Miami Ad School was acquired in 2023 by a French higher education group. Sound familiar?

 

Oh, and things are even worse—in terms of obstacles impeding acceptance and advancement—if you’re a person of color.

 

Welcome to the rat race, where race matters.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Miami Ad School to Close Atlanta Campus Amid Enrollment Decline 

 

Following closure of its Toronto franchise, the school will shut down Atlanta in six months

 

By Brittaney Kiefer

 

Miami Ad School, considered one of the world’s top advertising and design schools, is closing one of its campuses. 

 

The Atlanta campus will shut down in six months due to declining enrollment in the region, Rebecca Rovirosa, chief creative officer and academic director of Miami Ad School, told ADWEEK. 

 

The current students in Atlanta will continue their Miami Ad School studies in Miami, New York, or online, Rovirosa said.

 

Miami Ad School has more than 150 students enrolled across its campuses with the majority in Miami and New York, Rovirosa said. The Atlanta campus, opened in 2015, “had a small cohort, and unfortunately, the campus was no longer sustainable,” she said.

 

The news comes after Miami Ad School’s Toronto location shut down in March. Toronto was a franchised and independently operated location, and Miami Ad School’s U.S. headquarters had no advance notice of its closure, Rovirosa said. 

 

Some students there have not been reimbursed for their tuition, the Toronto Star reported.  

 

“We care deeply about all students and alumni, and never stand behind the mistreatment of students in any way,” she said, adding that one affected Toronto student has since transferred to Miami Ad School’s online course.

 

“If you or someone you know was impacted, we’d love to help, whether that’s access to our online program at a reduced cost or other support options.”

 

The Atlanta campus shuts down two years after Miami Ad School closed its San Francisco campus in May 2023. The school was acquired by Groupe EDH, a French higher education group, in the same year. 

 

Like other ad schools, Miami Ad School has faced challenges since the Covid-19 pandemic temporarily halted in-person education and amid the industry’s ongoing digital disruption, as ADWEEK previously reported. Atlanta’s Creative Circus closed in 2023, and the U.K.’s Watford Course shuttered in 2021.

 

Miami Ad School’s remaining North American campuses are Miami and New York. It also has partnerships with international schools in cities such as Berlin, Buenos Aires, Madrid, and Mexico City.

 

Since its founding in 1993, Miami Ad School has gained international recognition, winning the Future Lions School of the Year award at Cannes Lions seven times, including 2025. 

 

“Miami Ad School remains strong and growing,” Rovirosa said, adding it has launched an AI for Creatives course and will relocate its New York campus to a new facility in Manhattan in 2026.

15868: Pepsi On Hold Fest—Hold On, It’s Bullshit.

 

This Pepsi scampaign was allegedly ‘published’ by students from a portfolio school in Ecuador. It was explained as follows:

 

Every month, people spend an average 92 minutes on hold calls, and even with all the great music we can hear around the world, call centers keep playing the same boring old ones.

 

All the time we spend waiting to be attended, should have something different.

 

And Pepsi wanted to change that.

 

So, we partnered with the brands that receive most of those calls every day and turned them into a stage for emerging artists to be heard like never before.

 

People spend an average 92 minutes per month on hold—WTF is happening in Ecuador? Hey, the kids didn’t wait too long to submit the lame concept for awards recognition. Somebody should call to complain that they’re being overcharged for a portfolio diploma.

 

15823: Student Work Is McDepressing.

 

This Mickey D’s campaign was created by students at an ad school connected to S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Wow, if these advertisements reflect the school’s quality of instruction, the students can look forward to more assignments for the Golden Arches—as restaurant crew members.

 

15729: The Diversity—And Divertsity—Of Denver…

 

Denver Ad School presents its latest graduating class. Um, despite the promotional diversion, DAD is not to be confused with DEI…

15369: How Many Brazilians Does It Take To Create A Shitty Campaign?

 

This Honda campaign from Brazil credits the creative team as including two copywriters, two art directors and a creative director. Really? In the US, it could’ve been handled by a single portfolio school student.

 

15259: The One Club Should Be Clubbed For Hypocrisy.

Adweek published a long fluff piece on The One Club and its efforts to be viewed as more than an awards machine. The organization has expanded the philistine philanthropic initiatives to champion diversity, supplementing Where Are All The Black People (didn’t the annual soiree officially get renamed Here Are All The Black People at least seven years ago?) with more heat shields—including schooling and mentoring programs. Gee, nice to see that a group most known for holding the highest standards for creativity failed to come up with an original idea to address the industry’s exclusivity, lazily settling on contrived and clichéd “solutions” that have historically failed to foster change.

 

What’s even more pathetic is that The One Club positions itself as a nonprofit. Sorry, but how the hell does an advertising awards enterprise gain such status? A nonprofit doling out Gold Pencils is like a food bank only serving filet mignon, no?

 

If they presented awards for hypocrisy, The One Club would—ironically—earn a Black Pencil. No contest.

 

How The One Club Stepped Up in 2020

 

The organization showed it does more than simply dole out awards

 

By Minda Smiley

 

Kevin Swanepoel, CEO of the One Club for Creativity, thinks the organization he leads has a bit of an image problem.

 

Despite being behind events such as Where Are All The Black People, an annual multicultural career fair that’s run for more than 10 years, Swanepoel said he still believes many in the industry solely view it as an awards hub.

 

“One of our biggest frustrations as an organization is [that] it’s so misunderstood that the One Club is just awards,” he said.

 

To be fair, it’s true that its long-running One Show and ADC Awards are the One Club’s bread and butter. But this year, perhaps more than any other, the One Club proved that it’s capable of much more than organizing juries and hosting lavish awards galas in New York.

 

Throughout 2020, the One Club, which positions itself as a nonprofit dedicated to supporting and celebrating the “success of the global creativity community,” has leaned into the year’s challenges with a proactive mindset that’s helped it contribute solutions to some of the industry’s biggest problems.

 

For instance, in response to the nation’s racial reckoning, it worked with Spotify creative director Oriel Davis-Lyons to build One School, a free, 16-week portfolio program for Black creatives.

 

Later in the year, it collaborated with Seattle’s School of Visual Concepts to debut 2^nd Skill, a virtual nine-month bootcamp geared towards creatives who may be struggling to find work or looking to “future-proof” their careers.

 

Swanepoel claims people in the industry have “sat up and noticed” the One Club’s efforts, especially in a year where many organizations have pulled back or struggled to stay afloat.

 

“I’ve got some really heartfelt emails from very senior people in the industry,” he said. “For me, that is so heartwarming because it means that people are taking notice of what we are about.”

 

Getting it done

 

Applications for 2^nd Skill close on Jan. 17, so interest in the program remains to be seen. But the One School, which launched in July, has experienced overwhelming demand, so much so that the One Club is currently working on ways to continue expanding it in 2021.

 

The One School initially accepted 15 students in its inaugural fall course, which began in September. Shortly afterwards, the One Club expanded the virtual school to the West Coast to allow for more students. According to the One Club, 30 students have already completed the fall course, and it plans to graduate even more next year as it widens its footprint.

 

Yash Egami, vice president of content and marketing at the One Club, said the school was created to stop agencies from claiming they can’t find Black creatives.

 

“The tired expression is, ‘we don’t know where to find talent.’ By creating this pipeline, we are saying, ‘there’s no excuse,’” Egami explained. “We are helping this talent and helping agencies identify this talent. We’re not solving the problem, but we’re helping agencies solve that problem.”

 

Bob Isherwood, professional development director at the One Club, said the nonprofit also reached out to applicants who didn’t make the cut this fall and invited them to participate in a six-week mentorship program. Isherwood said 79 Black creatives took part, receiving guidance from mentors at agencies including DDB, McCann and R/GA.

 

Participants worked on two briefs throughout the program. According to Isherwood, the hope is that they can use said briefs if or when they choose to reapply to One School.

 

“We didn’t have to do this; it cost us a lot of time, energy and manpower. But it was the right thing to do,” Swanepoel said of the mentorship program.

 

Going virtual

 

Like many organizations, the One Club had to take its events online this year due to Covid-19.

 

Creative Week, its annual New York event during which it hosts panels and ceremonies for its awards shows, typically takes place in May. In April, the One Club announced that it would turn Creative Week into a monthlong streaming event instead this year.

 

Where Are All The Black People also went virtual this year. In past years, it’s been open to 1,100 people at New York’s Convene venue; this year, the online version attracted more than 3,000 attendees globally, the One Club said.

 

Swanepoel said moving these events online has opened his eyes to the “power of digital transformation.” Moving forward, he said he sees a “hybrid model”—one in which in-person events include a virtual element as well—becoming the One Club’s new norm.

 

He said the year’s rapid shift to virtual environments is also partly why it was able to pull off One School and 2^nd Skill so quickly, as neither require a physical space for learning.

 

Looking back on 2020, Egami pointed to a few reasons why he thinks the One Club has managed to innovate and provide resources during such a trying year. For starters, he said the fact that roughly only 30 people work for the One Club keeps it nimble.

 

“When we have to pivot because of things that happen, we’re able to do so pretty quickly,” he said.

 

Egami also said the One Club’s status as a nonprofit helps it avoid approval processes and layers common at for-profit entities.

 

“It actually makes some of the decision-making easier, because we’re not answering to shareholders. We’re not always talking about the bottom line,” Egami shared.

 

Swanepoel said he expects award entries, which he said typically accounts for 70% of the One Club’s revenue, to go down next year as agencies impacted by the pandemic continue to trim costs.  

 

“I think agencies and brands are very selectively entering what they’re going to spend their money on so that they can get the best return on investment,” he said. “We believe next year is going to be incredibly difficult for all awards shows.”

 

Even so, he said the One Club has the resources to “weather the storm.” And Egami said that the programs it’s debuted this year have helped the nonprofit identify new revenue streams.

 

“Because of all these other programs that we’re doing, we’ve diversified our business, so it’s not all dependent on just awards entries,” Egami said. “We are going to feel the impact, but it’s not going to be as devastating as some other organizations.”

14248: Portfolio School Of Life.

AgencySpy posted about the Chicago Portfolio School, where faculty and students evacuated the building after a landlord eviction. The Chicago Portfolio School Founder and Director said the school “is in good financial shape” and making plans to move to another location. The scenario is actually providing students with a primer for an advertising career. After all, it’s not uncommon for staffers to show up for work and discover the agency has gone under. Hell, such occurrences usually include employees being locked out of the building and denied final paychecks. And the leader who insists the enterprise “is in good financial shape” is probably full of shit. When tenants are forced to “unexpectedly” vacate the premises, that’s definitely a red flag. Welcome to adland, kids!

Chicago Portfolio School Forced to Leave Its Headquarters Due to Landlord Dispute

By Patrick Coffee

After a very unfortunate series of events at the end of this week, the Chicago Portfolio School plans to relocate from its current location at 213 West Institute Place.

Yesterday, all students and staff were forced to leave the building unexpectedly.

“Simply put, we are in a rent dispute with our current landlord,” wrote founder and director Jeffrey Epstein. “We were asked to leave the space until the dispute has been settled which we hope will happen in the next day or two.”

Despite the momentary evacuation, Epstein said that the school is “is in good financial shape,” that all staff members have been paid in full, and that Fall classes will soon begin as scheduled.

The news led to a thread on r/advertising, where students confirmed that they received an email yesterday afternoon indicating classes would be cancelled for a week. One member wrote, “eviction is not just a dispute.”

According to Epstein, management then made “emergency plans” to hold classes in a nearby WeWork space in case the negotiations took longer than expected.

Now, however, the school and lawyers representing its building’s landlord appear to have reached an agreement regarding rent. “We are working together for plans to stay in the space for an orderly transition to our new location,” Epstein wrote.

It is unclear at this time where that new location will be.

13220: Accidental Racist, Accidental Truth…?

If you buy into the thinking behind this Twitter scam ad from Creative Circus, you could also argue that unconscious bias is still bias—and the advertising agencies and companies using unconscious bias to excuse discriminatory practices are simply full of shit.

11056: Bush And Bullshit.

Here’s a student campaign from another college that’s failing to properly prepare its students to land a job in advertising.

From Ads of the World.

9206: Miami Ad School Moronic Mess.

Geez, does Miami Ad School offer graduate programs in contrived and corny clichés? If so, this must be some dimwit’s digital dissertation.

From Ads of the World

9182: Stereotyping Begins In Miami Ad School.

Miami Ad School in Madrid, Spain, produced a series of print ads for news source 20 minutos. Looks like the students are being expertly trained in the fine art of cultural cluelessness. Bravo, Miami Ad School.

P.S. to Miami Ad School students: The ads are strategically flawed, as they communicate that 20 minutos hides the full story—i.e., the truth—from its readers. You and your hack instructor should have caught that.

9005: Harry Webber Rocks Portfolio Schools.

At The Big Tent, Harry Webber offered the following perspective on portfolio schools:

Portfolio Schools that instill the concept that creative people are somehow akin to Rock Stars have destroyed an entire generation’s ability to connect with the audience on the basis of subjects that are meaningful to the way people live their lives. We are not Rock Stars. We are salesmen and saleswomen with a suitcase full of brushes and a train that leaves for the next town in twenty minutes. Portfolio Schools do not teach empathy. They teach “shock and awe.” You cannot sell a housewife an air freshener by farting in her living room. You have to understand that her husband’s flatulence is the problem and suggest that if he insists on taking off his shoes in the living room, Glade will solve the problem. Motivation is a subtle art form. Portfolio Schools don’t do subtle. That you must learn from life.

8605: School Of Pop Culturally Clueless Engineers.

Why is Miami Ad School running banners that look like dating services? As if the industry needs more Blondes—although it’s likely that most lecherous creative directors might think so.