It’s no secret that advertising in this country functions within a small and affluent bubble. If you’ve worked in advertising in Sydney, it is most likely that you are well-off and live within a 14km radius of the CBD. Sure, the same can be said of other industries, but what are the implications for a creative industry? And an industry that works on behalf of brands who seek to reach a broader Australian market? The disconnect here is a worrisome one. 

Enter Sydney Creatives and Industry Legends Rocky Ranallo and Matt Smith, who are rolling up their sleeves to try to address the problem. We caught up with Rocky to hear all about the Western Sydney Ad School. 

Tell us a little bit about the Western Sydney Ad School

It is an intensive 12 week once a week course. The students get a brief each week, 10 briefs in all, and at the end have 2 weeks to relook and usually redo their work so and then prepare their portfolios for presentation to prospective employers. The top student will get an internship at a Sydney agency.

In the end it’s really about getting these kids a job. I found that over the years the other Ad Schools have gradually become out of reach for the less affluent and the less connected. There’s a lot of diverse and different thinkers in the Western Suburbs that aren’t getting a look in when it comes to a career in advertising because of that disadvantage so the real aim is to build them a book of ads so they can get a job and make a living. 

There was research produced by Adshel, some years ago now, that found the amount of Sydney Agency people who had dined at North Bondi Italian was more than double those who had ever gone to Parramatta. In your opinion, has the Adland bubble in Sydney gotten worse over your career? Or has it always been this insular?

I saw that article and in fact posted it on our social page last month, as we all know there is a Red Rooster line separating the outer suburbs from the CBD. But look I think it’s hard to say whether the insular cliques of advertising is worse now than it has been historically, but I think there is definitely an overabundance of talent from the East and Lower North Shore than there is from the West or Southern suburbs. I’m not saying they don’t deserve to be there, but wouldn’t it be advantageous for the industry to have more creatives that come from different backgrounds and cultures. 

Semester 1 kicks off this month – Have you seen a good intake of students? What does the first cohort look like?

The enrolments have been very slow, and we have had to delay the start of the course but I am encouraged by the amount of support from the industry I’ve had. Everyone sees this as a long overdue initiative. Also, Western Sydney University has shown interest in developing some sort of partnership. I must thank George Betsis for the introduction. Like any new venture we have had our teething problems but I know this will work and flourish into a well-respected and must do course.

There’s an agency internship with The Hallway up for grabs for the top student. Are you looking for more agencies to jump onboard with internship offers?

I’m so grateful for Simon Lee at The Hallway to offer this internship and George has also offered a position at his agency WECOLLECTIVE. I would love more offers but because I hope to run this course every 3 months for as long as I can I will need other internship from other agencies later. I’ll be hitting up some of my old friends throughout the year so I think we will be ok on that front.

Do you have any future ambitions to expand beyond creative school? We know the industry could use new and diversified talent across the board, especial

ly strategy and media.

At this stage our long-term business plan is the get Western Sydney Ad School up and running well…2 classes a week with 12 students a class would be fantastic then there’s no reason we can’t open in Melbourne in the future. Geelong looks the right area to target. In fact, I have had some interest in setting one up in Melbourne from a couple of advertising people there.

To find out more about the Western Sydney Ad School, to enrol or get involved in the initiative, visit www.westernsydneyadschool.com.au