Pimp My Ad poster

If you’ve walked through Art Center recently, chances are you’ve seen posters for Pimp My Ad.

The first poster that caught the Dotted Line’s attention was designed by second-term Advertising major Chris Gilbert and was a visual nod to William Bernbach’s classic 1959 Volkswagen ad campaign.

Printed on larger stock than most anything else adorning the College’s hallways, the poster featured a black-and-white photograph of, well, a “pimp hat,” paired with copy about a campus group whose existence was no longer a mystery.

Pimp My Ad, which borrows its name from MTV’s popular car customization show Pimp My Ride, is a weekly art direction workshop in which Advertising majors have their work critiqued informally by Advertising Department Acting Chair James Wojtowicz, guest speakers like Art Center Advertising alumnus Zhorab Gevorkian and, most importantly, their academic peers.

It’s also a good excuse for students to get together on Wednesday nights to share a slice of pizza, listen to music and get to know one another.

The genesis of the group started during Advertising major Mitos Corpuz’ first term. “I realized the Advertising program was really small,” says Corpuz. “We only had between 60 and 70 students, yet we didn’t all know each other.”

So she started a student group that organized Advertising-related field trips and movie nights. And although it was a successful group, Corpuz felt it still needed something extra. “I thought, why don’t we have a place where students can brainstorm our homework assignments?”

Pimp My Ad's President Mitos Corpuz

Corpuz found a kindred soul in Wojtowicz, or “Wojo” as he’s affectionately known.

Wotjowicz had been thinking along similar lines and wanted to create a venue for Advertising students to test out their concepts and designs in an informal setting.

So Wotjowicz, Corpuz and a few other students put their heads together and formed Pimp My Ad.

“I’m a big believer in the notion that students sometimes learn more from each other than in class,” says Wojtowicz, who outside of the classroom has developed memorable ad campaigns for clients ranging from NBC, Levi Strauss Co. and the Anaheim Angels.

A recent Pimp My Ad critique

Wotjowicz attends every Wednesday meeting and offers conceptual and practical guidance while also facilitating peer critiques.

“Outside of the classroom, students can have a type of dialogue that only they can have with themselves,” he says. “And sometimes advice can be trickier when it’s coming from the top down.”

He says the workshop, as originally conceived, was intended more for later term students. But younger students started joining the fun, and he now feels the opportunity for earlier term students to be critiqued by later term students, and vice versa, is one of the highlights of the experience.

Fourth-term Advertising major Andrew Kapamajian, who’s been with the group since its inception, agrees. “More people are learning about [Pimp My Ad],” he says. “People are starting to take it seriously and bringing in their work. And that’s how you get better, by talking to people, showing your work and getting advice from peers.”