Home School for mini creatives (part five): Ads to keep you dancing

by Laurent Simon May 04, 2020

This week's lesson is delivered by VMLY&R's Laurent Simon.

Bonjour, petits filous. Je suis votre professeur de Français cette semaine (at Campaign's Home School for mini creatives).

Let me clear things up before we start: I’m a terrible teacher, which is miserably ironic when one half of my family are or were either teachers, professors or lecturers.

My enfant terrible tells me to shush every time I try to speak French with her. My dear parents are up in arms and forever inconsolable.

My younger brother – who is a headmaster – is raising the perfect little girl. Polite. Self-sufficient. Measured. Well-mannered. The sort of child you can take to a restaurant and will not only sit still for an hour and finish her food, but also amuse guests by reciting a poem while everyone is having their digestifs.

My three-year-old is not that. She is like a velociraptor in Jurassic Park: cunning and jumping on you all the time. Luckily, she loves dinosaurs, so I’ve managed to teach her two handy life skills. First, know the difference between a brontosaurus and a brachiosaurus, and which one means thunder lizard. Secondly, to pronounce stegosaurus like a Latin emeritus.

Since we started working remotely, my partner and I decided to theme each day of the week and to create related activities. This week was pirates, monsters, trees, sea creatures (including mermaids), cooking, doctors and… I can’t remember the last one, to be honest.

I won’t subject you or your munchkins to any of that. Instead, I’ll pick dancing. My little one loves dancing a lot (I’ve had to dance to Christine and the Queens more times than I’ve attended creative reviews) and it’ll be my humble contribution to keep us all active.