Can I use examples of print work I have produced that include brand names in an email campaign without first seeking permission?

No. In all likelihood the brand names, as well as an attendant logos, slogans. Etc have been registered as trademarks and as such the companies represented must defend their marks or they risk losing then via dilution.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.