The school of advertising and creativity

It was a real school of contemporary life. As I hadn’t been involved in advertising before, this gave me a basic understanding of the threads that go into one or another type of advertising and the kind of material that can be produced from a single sentence of a task. Our brain is an unstoppable machine if you just let it work. I have seen it hundreds of times. You can generate lots of innovative ideas that change people’s perceptions of what has been normal for them. And this, strange as it may sound, can be achieved even through the most concise, one-word advertisement. All you need is the creativity to find it.

In short, the course gave me the courage and the understanding that I can try and make mistakes over and over again, but that it only makes me more creative and productive. Not just at work, but also in my life.

I had long been dreaming of working in advertising, but I was lost, distracted and wandering around in circles. The Atomic Garden fundamentally changed the course of my life by helping me harness my scattered creativity, introducing me to the colourful world of advertising and giving me the opportunity to learn from the coolest teachers. In addition, my dream came true – after finishing the Creativity in Advertising course, my teacher Rimantas Stanevičius invited me and my creative partner to join the creative team of Milk agency.

The experience and knowledge gained at The Atomic Garden school is unique and invaluable – it helps you not to get stuck in the creative process, to believe in yourself and to always find a way out. Being a creator is not easy, but I say THANK YOU for the opportunity to engage in it every morning.

After completing the Creativity in Advertising course, I began to work with in-house digital product teams, so my creative work started requiring a deeper understanding of numbers. Hence, the newly launched Creative Performance course immediately appeared on my must-do list. I really liked having more than one course leader, because we got twice as much insights and relevant information, applicable to digital creation, planning and analytics.

Creative Performance MyBee After completing the Creativity in Advertising course, I began to work with in-house digital product teams, so my creative work started requiring a deeper understanding of numbers. Hence, the newly launched Creative Performance course immediately appeared on my must-do list. I really liked having more than one course leader, because we got twice as much insights and relevant information, applicable to digital creation, planning and analytics. The most interesting aspects of the course for me were their flexibility and the students themselves. The backgrounds of all the participants were quite different, and it allowed me to look into a lot of areas that I wouldn’t have thought of myself. Although the sessions were held after work, motivation was constantly boosted by the lively nature of the classes, which were tailored to the real world issues and needs of the time. It is only because of this flexibility that I have unexpectedly found a new topic of interest, which will certainly be easier to delve into with my fresh knowledge and contacts.

After spending some time at school, you realise that you know even less than ever. It makes you feel anxious that you weren’t previously interested in this horrible but wonderful thing called advertising. And then comes the real breakthrough. You become an avid reader, experiencer and listener of all things related to advertising. You become more open to life in general and, in the end, you start to create appalling, and maybe sometimes brilliant, advertisements yourself.

… when you see an elderly supermarket cleaner who seems to be typing something on her phone, but when you get closer you see that she’s just putting on a pair of rubber gloves, you stop for a moment and you realise the differences between generations, the influence of social networks, changing habits, addictions that can easily be transformed into a new advertisement, and then you remember what your teacher said: life comes first, so you stop, you put an idea somewhere in your head for the future, but what can you do when after this course your perception completely changes, so you work every moment, and your thoughts are just one long sentence, full of ideas and insights that never end…

When you come to the Creativity in Advertising course, you turn into a weird person (if you weren’t already): you turn off your adblocker, wait for adverts while watching TV and startle your friends by speaking non-stop about the best campaigns.

The Atomic Garden Vilnius is a school that introduced me to the world of advertising and made me think differently. Here I have gained knowledge that I cannot find in any book, explained in such a broad way. The atmosphere here was motivating and encouraging to learn. Here I learned to tame my creativity, so that it’s not just one-off flashes of ideas. I was also surprised to discover how widespread the Atomic community is – practically everywhere in the advertising field I find people who have studied or teach at the school. It’s great to see that if you don’t let go of your passion, the advertising industry is waiting for you.

This course was not only useful but also a fun challenge for me. I started it with a good understanding of brand strategy, but Clare’s lectures as well as those of the other teachers helped me to delve deeper into different concepts and gave me new tools, which I’ve already had the opportunity to use in my personal and professional projects. It was very interesting to create by looking specifically through the prism of a GOOD brand: from brand story to copywriting or innovative and sustainable packaging alternatives. For both those who have never created a brand before and those who have already experienced the creative process – this course will give inspiration, understanding of market trends or will even help to develop a new brand!

To be interesting and influential in the world of advertising, you have to learn that you’re not here for the sake of self-expression. During my time at The Atomic Garden Vilnius, I developed a sense of versatility and it was the best thing that could have happened.

For everyone, but certainly not for those who just want to listen passively. I have to admit, I didn’t expect that much work myself. Now you have lectures, and now, look, you’ve got an assignment to do and you’re spinning around like a bee. There were some stuck moments when you don’t know where to go next, then you call Clare, the course leader, who breaks the ice from your thoughts, leads you out of all the (not only comfort) zones and bang! A few hours later, you have 3 pages of ideas on where to go next. It wasn’t easy, but it was a good, very good process.

I would like to say that I discovered this school unexpectedly, however, it would be more accurate to say that it was the school that discovered me. The Atomic Garden is an entirely unique phase in my life, which has thrown me onto the merry-go-round of the advertising market.

During my studies, I met my teacher Arnas Aukštikalnis, who invited me to become the art director at DDB Vilnius, and just a few months after graduation, having gained the knowledge from The Atomic Garden, I won Lithuania’s Young Cannes Lions competition and went to Cannes to compete among the world’s best young talents. I came back ranked in Top 9 and very eager to catch my own lion in advertising.

My experience in Lithuania helped me to enrol in the Master’s programme at the Miami Ad School, where I am gaining international experience and striving for new achievements.