The University of Texas at Austin has developed three new broadcast advertising spots that focus on the university as a driving force for discovery and innovation in the Austin community. The ads emphasize how the university and Austin together forge a dynamic, creative and diverse community that few American cities can match.

The spots, produced in conjunction with the strategic planning and positioning firm GSD&M Advertising, are the first three in a series of seven “image” ads that will debut this year.

The “Soul” spot debuted on ABC during halftime of the Oct. 9 football game against the University of Oklahoma.

The series incorporates a new theme, “What Starts Here Changes the World,” developed by the university’s Office of Public Affairs and the Center for Brand Research in concert with GSD&M, in a year-long project led by Advertising Professors Neal Burns and Deborah Morrison.

“Austin, Texas is the ‘City of Ideas’—a city that brings the doers and dreamers together to see new things, dream new dreams and create things and experiences that make a difference,” said Roy Spence, founder and president of GSD&M Advertising.

“The heartbeat of this City of Ideas is the University of Texas, a place of learning, discovery, leadership, freedom and responsibility, where everyone is a student of both our proud heritage as well as a seeker of what is next. The University of Texas and the City of Ideas, working, living and learning together. What starts here changes the world—that is what this new campaign for the University of Texas is all about.”

“What starts here at UT is an amazing array of life-altering events,” said Morrison, associate professor of advertising. “Certainly, this theme speaks to that energy and optimism.”

Air time for the ad spots, which typically are broadcast during televised NCAA sporting events, is provided to the participating universities free of charge.