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The key to the success of this type of digital content is not to teach you a skill or technique, but to inspire you through the life story of the celebrities who instruct them.
Many of us numerous times have been in front of a computer screen waiting for the advertisements on YouTube to finish to be able to access the video we originally wanted to see. During this year, ads for online classes have increased exponentially. Companies such as Domestika, Udemy, and Coursera have had to increase their catalog significantly to keep up with the high demand for courses by an audience that tries to remain trained and useful in the situation of prolonged confinement.
Among all the digital educational offerings, one has managed to position itself in a privileged place, principally due to how its brand has been presented: MasterClass. The advertisements for MasterClass are very characteristic and have set the trend as to how online course advertising is done.
What does a MasterClass promise?
The structure of an ad for a MasterClass is more or less like this: The instructor opens the video with a series of witty or highly impacting phrases. If it is an instructor whose skill is more practical than theoretical, the video will begin by giving examples of these skills. After this initial hook, the video transitions to a black screen that says, “Meet your new instructor,” but by then, we all know who he or she is, and we are hooked. The instructor is a celebrity, someone we would have had our heads under a rock for at least a decade not to recognize and who is, undoubtedly, a master in his or her discipline.
Serena Williams teaches tennis, Stephen Curry the right technique for getting a basketball through the net, Gordon Ramsey instructs cooking, Jodie Foster explains directing, Neil Gaiman, storytelling, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, scientific thinking. These are not just people who are leaders in their field. They are people whom we have admired for a long time. We have consistently consumed their content for years, in some cases, decades. We have an emotional connection with them that derives from the personal significance that we have attached to the ideal we have of these celebrities.
A large audience has followed Jodie Foster’s career since her role in “The Silence of the Lambs,” perhaps even before. Some people have chosen a career in science thanks to the outreach work of Neil deGrasse Tyson. Others became ardent fans of tennis or basketball after following the athletic trajectories of Serena Williams and Stephen Curry.
The objective of a MasterClass ad is not to sell the idea of learning a discipline or area of theoretical study; it is to bring you close to your heroes and convince you that they will share the secret of what makes them geniuses. However, is the promise fulfilled?
What does a MasterClass deliver for the price?
The MasterClass website offers an annual membership for USD 180 that allows access to all the courses in its catalog, nearly four times the price of Domestika’s annual plan without a discount. What is the added value of paying this sum instead of just subscribing to a less expensive, similar platform?
First of all, the production values are surprisingly high for an instructional video or tutorial. All the elements, the technical part, the photography, the narrative, the lighting, the shooting angles, all the aspects of production are very well presented. The visual experience when accessing any of these courses is undoubtedly outstanding. It will make the same impression as seeing any of these instructors exercise the disciplines for which we admire them.
The reading materials are complete and useful supplements to the video lessons and provide a more in-depth perspective on what underlies the skills and trajectories of the instructors. The video lessons are presented in brief and agile formats so as not to overwhelm viewers and to be comfortable for audiences at different levels of mastery in diverse disciplines.
On the other hand, the platform does not provide direct access to experts who are instructing us. While the videos do have a question and answer section that can be helpful to clarify a couple of specific questions, they do not provide followup on learning any of the items that instructors teach.
There are also no efficient ways to create a community of apprentices who remain in communication and grow together. The essential elements for continuing education include the social aspects, feedback, and interactions with people who are learning the same thing. The contents of the MasterClass site are presented more as a unilateral experience, in which we only receive the experiences and knowledge of the instructors.
If we approach the courses as vignettes of entertainment, simple instruction, and inspiration, then these sessions work perfectly. As spectators, we may be glued to the screen watching Gordon Ramsey do wonders on a cutting board or Steve Martin explaining how he built a comedy career without considering himself funny in the first place. These are the components of a fascinating story, not necessarily a practical lesson, but isn’t that what the MasterClass ad was selling us in the first place? In a situation of prolonged isolation, do we always need to be exposed to effective learning? There are more practical courses offered, perhaps less entertaining, with concrete lessons and efficient tracking tools. Whether a product like MasterClass works or not will depend entirely on what the learner or viewer is seeking.
If what you want is a specific program that helps you master an area of study or discipline, a MasterClass may not be the best option for you. However, if you want to have a one-on-one experience with an expert whom you admire and want to know more about how he or she exercises their crafts, then acquiring a course of this profile might serve this purpose perfectly.
Have you taken a MasterClass or any other course on a platform that advertises courses taught by experts who have become famous in their disciplines? Tell us how you felt about the experience in the comments.
Translation by Daniel Wetta.
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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 
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