Young professionals hear a lot about “the real world.” Enough that by the time “the real world” becomes a reality, it is already a daunting, over-hyped transition.

That is, unless steps are taken to help make that transition a little less painless.

Former ADC President and Founder of ADC Young Guns Bill Oberlander is doing just that, with “Creativity: The Real World.”

A 12-week meet-and-greet tour of advertising agencies, digital studios, and social media firms, “Creativity: The Real World” brings young professionals front and center with the creative industry’s leaders in New York City, starting on January 9, 2013.

The workshops are led by Oberlander, whose career has included executive positions at JWT, McCann, Ogilvy, and Kirshenbaum & Bond, working on such accounts as Bloomberg, Microsoft, Intel, Nestle, Motorola, Exxon-Mobil, Coca-Cola, Hennessy, Snapple, Dom Perignon, and Target.

Classes meet on-site at each speaker’s office on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., January 9 through April 3, 2013. During the first hour, presenters share their most recent creative breakthroughs. The second hour is a review of that week’s creative assignment—a creative brief delivered by the previous week’s speaker.

The speaker list is a who’s who of the industry, including current ADC Board President Benjamin Palmer.

Other speakers include Evan Schectman, CTO, @Radical Media; Anthony Alvarez, ACD, and Jason Ashlock, ACD, R/GA; Mark Mulhern, Senior Vice-President, BBDO; Tina Exarhos, Executive Vice-President, Marketing, MTV; Jay Zasa, ECD, The Barbarian Group; Joshua Teixeira, Executive Creative Director, and Mark Pollard, Director of Strategy, Big Spaceship; Leo Savage, VP/CD, Grey; Craig Cutler, Photographer/Director, Craig Cutler Productions; Ian Chee, Strategic Planning Director, AKQA; Dave Clemans, Executive Creative Director, Taxi/NYC; Adrian Barrow, Head of Planning, JWT; and Jon Dupuis, Senior Vice-President and Business Director, Digitas.

“The concept is to bridge the academic and real world at lightning speed by introducing young professionals to the C-Suite executives at advertising agencies, production houses, and digital shops who are creating the award-winning work shaping today’s pop culture,” comments Oberlander. “Young people need a jump start to align their talents with the best career opportunities in New York City. Networking like this hasn’t come along for young talent until now.”

Registration is confirmed by interview. Tuition is $2,500 for working professionals and $2,000 for 2012 students and recent graduates. More information can be found online at http://realworldcreativity.com/, or by contacting ADC member Alison Curry at Alison@realworldcreativity.com.