Crafting Creative Communication Entrance Test CCC 25

From the outside, the world of creative advertising seems like a lot of fun-and-games. Sure, you get to work with glamorous models. Sure, there are late, late nights. Sure, there are glittering award-shows and plenty of back-slapping and little gold statuettes that you can carry home and display on your shelf. But. There's plenty of hard work. There's heart-break. There's passion. There's inspiration. There's discipline. Above all, there's talent. And in advertising, your talent, or lack thereof, will be glaringly obvious the moment you sit down in front of an iMac in an agency. The Crafting Creative Communication Entrance Test is designed to help evaluate advertising creativity talent in applicants, and identify whether they have the necessary discipline to work within clearly-defined boundaries. So what do we expect aspiring CCC students to have?

From the aspiring copywriter, we expect good command over the language, a way with words. We also look for comprehension skills (be able to read a long paragraph of text and write down the main idea in a few sentences, retaining the essence of the passage).

From the aspiring Art Director, we expect the ability to visualize a concept or an idea, good design sense, and command over typography and colour.

From both, we expect the ability to think laterally – essentially, divergent thinking, so that for any given problem, they are capable of generating many possible answers.

Other important characteristics would be: intense curiosity, a willingness to learn different things, general knowledge regarding the advertising industry, and basic understanding of the relationship between a brand, its logo, and its tagline/slogan. ------------------------xxxxx------------------------------------------------- 1. A good friend of yours from college has suddenly decided to become an entrepreneur. His idea is to create a brand out of an ordinary, every-day product – the hair band – and sell it online, through social media.

Your friend wants you to help with brand names and a logo design. Here are the details: Product: Hair band. Also known as hair tie, scrunchie, etc.

It's a simple gadget whose primary purpose is to fasten and hold the hair (particularly long hair) together and away from areas such as the face. The same product is often used by both men and women. You can read some more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_tie Task: Think up 5 brand names for this product. Out of these, pick one name that you like, and create a

logo design for it. This exercise will help us evaluate your imagination, your understanding of basic consumer psychology, and your design sense. ------------------------xxxxx-------------------------------------------------

Crafting Creative Communication Entrance Test CCC 25

2. Précis Writing. Instructions:

This is a test to ascertain your ability to comprehend a passage and summarize it, using all the essential points. It is meant to evaluate your skills in expressing your thoughts clearly, concisely and effectively. It is not meant to test your cleverness in writing a slogan, or in using picturesque figures of speech.

Task: Condense the passage to one-third of the original length, i.e., to around 115 words, including the title.

Some helpful hints:

◦ Read and examine the passage in detail to make sure you understand the main theme, and the meaning of each sentence, phrase and word.

◦ Select and note down the important points which are essential to express the main theme, and then connect them to make a first draft.

◦ Remember that you are to express the gist of the passage in your own words, and not with quotations from the original passage.

◦ While condensing, ensure that you don't simply cut out sentences, phrases and words from the original – you should condense by rewriting. Your précis must be self-contained and a

connected whole.

◦ Add nothing new.

◦ Make no comments.

◦ Correct no facts.

◦ Revise your draft, check for grammar, spelling and punctuation errors.

◦ Let your language be simple and direct. ------------------------xxxxx------------------------------------------------- Passage for précis writing: Rationale For A More Effective Model Of Environmental Governance.

The challenge of environmental management and regulation is immense in a country as large and diverse as India. Over the years, legislation has evolved. With the enactment of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, the various rules and notifications, and the National Environment Policy 2006, a credible legislative and policy base has been created. But there are gaps in the institutional mechanisms and implementation has not kept pace with the legislative and policy evolution. The judiciary has played a major role in matters related to the enforcement of environmental laws. While this has had a salutary impact, it has also brought into focus the weaknesses in the executive. Quite clearly, while our environmental laws have been progressive, implementation by government agencies has left much to be desired. The institutional structures in their current form are inadequate for responding to the emerging environmental challenges, including river cleaning, management of wastes, hazardous substance and plastics management, dealing with chemical contamination, monitoring compliance with environmental clearances, etc. There is no suitable authority to comprehensively and effectively implement the Environment (Protection) Act 1986.

Crafting Creative Communication Entrance Test CCC 25

While the number and complexity of the projects received for environmental clearance by Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) has increased several fold in recent years, its capacity has remained limited. Similarly, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) do not seem to have the capacity or the resources to ensure compliance with various environmental regulations. This challenge is exacerbated by the increasing complexity of environmental issues we face today, requiring the interface of science, economics, law and other social sciences. The fact that the matter of disposal of toxic waste in Bhopal’s erstwhile UCIL plant has not been resolved even 25 years after the Gas Tragedy illustrates the point. This underscores the need to have a suitably empowered apex level authority to deal with environmental issues. (Source: http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/national-environment-protection-authority-nepa-request-comments) ------------------------xxxxx------------------------------------------------- 3. Study the photograph attached ('Le Repos du Cirque' (Rest of the Circus) by Willy Ronis). Task: What does the photo mean to you? Write down five possible, and different, interpretations (in simple sentences, not long paragraphs). This assignment will help us evaluate your ability to understand common signs and symbols, and interpret their meanings. ------------------------xxxxx------------------------------------------------- 4. Task: Shoot a photograph of a coat hanger (plastic, wooden, metal, whatever). Use this photograph to create a poster to promote Ching's Secret Schezwan Chutney, which will be displayed on the walls of

general and grocery stores. You can refer to this product to the official website at: http://www.chingssecret.com/product_SchezwanChutney.html Note: Do not download a photograph of a coat hanger from the internet. Please shoot the photo yourself. This assignment will help us evaluate your sense of proportion, your visual skills and your ability to think laterally, creatively, in a given situation. ------------------------xxxxx------------------------------------------------- 5. In May 2011, while passing judgement on a case filed by bird sellers, the Hon. Justice M R Shah observed, "Everybody is talking about fundamental rights of the citizen, such as, right to live freely, right to food, right to move freely, etc. A day has come to think about the rights of the birds and animals..." His conclusion was final and so was his judgement: “Keeping birds in cages is illegal confinement and against the fundamental right of the birds to move freely. ..” You may read the article here: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Birds-cannot-be-kept-in-cages-HC/articleshow/8304048.cms

Crafting Creative Communication Entrance Test CCC 25

Further, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has something to say about keeping birds in cages. You can read it here: Peta: http://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/whats-wrong-with-keeping-birds-in-cages/ Task:

Design a poster to be put up on the Notice Boards of schools and colleges in major cities, urging students to never keep birds in cages. Your poster could contain words and/or pictures. Note: Assume that PETA is sponsoring this poster (so you will need to use PETA's logo in your poster). Your poster should be creative and communicate the thought: “Don't keep birds in cages – it's cruel.” Or

“Don't buy birds in cages – it's a crime.” ------------------------xxxxx------------------------------------------------- 6. It is night, around 11pm. You are on an overnight journey, in the first class compartment of an Express train. The compartment is a coupé, and has four berths – two below and two above. The sliding door to the coupé is usually shut during the night. All lights are put off except a small blue night lamp. The deep breaths and the gentle snores of your co-passengers tell you that they are fast asleep. Something wakes you up. You see the door sliding open ever so slowly... Task: Continue and complete this story in about 200 words.

This assignment will help indicate how vivid your imagination is, your sense of drama, and your understanding of human emotions. ------------------------xxxxx------------------------------------------------- 7. Everyone seems to be irritated and frustrated by the incessant and totally unnecessary honking that takes place on our roads. Task: Design three vehicle stickers which communicate the message, “Don't Honk!” Obviously, the stickers

will need to be simple and clear and readable from a distance of about 5 feet on a moving vehicle. Please avoid the clichéd slogan “HORN NOT OK PLEASE!” ------------------------xxxxx------------------------------------------------- 8. How can you convince us that the submissions for all the above assignments are done entirely by you, to the best of your abilities, without taking anyone else's help? ------------------------xxxxx-------------------------------------------------

Crafting Creative Communication Entrance Test CCC 25

Important Instructions:

1. If you're applying for the Copywriting module, please note that your language skills will be

evaluated carefully. Attention to grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary are important.

2. Although being able to draw well is an asset for an Art Director, using graphics software to show your art skills is not important at this stage. If you can scribble your ideas on paper, photograph it using a digital camera, and email it to us along with the respective assignment details, it should suffice.

3. You are allowed to research the Internet for information on topics related to the assignments.

4. The answer paper needs to be mailed to admissions@micamail.in within 48 hours (i.e. on or before 21st March, 2015, 10:30 AM) of receiving the question paper.

5. All your answers (both text and images) should be on ONE DOCUMENT ONLY. Your answers should

be in the correct sequence.

6. Please ensure that at the top right hand corner of each of your Answer Sheet, you clearly mention your Form Number first, then First Name and then Last Name/Middle.

7. Ensure that your submission is in MS Word (.doc) or rich text format (.rtf) or PDF (.pdf).