This invited essay discusses why I teach advertising, offering insight about the benefits of combining analytical and creative perspectives by reframing how creativity is used in the classroom.

Providing students with employability skills is an important aspect of advertising education. However, as educators we must also be prepared to encourage students to think about a brand's responsibility and consider how advertising can help address important issues facing society.

The changes in the advertising industry are rapid and dizzying. The advertising industry is going through structural change and advertising education faces a daunting challenge in keeping up with the real world. Advertising educators must recognize the urgency of revising the curriculum to address this challenge. If not, while the industry…

Creating inclusive classrooms, and especially creating inclusive and diverse working groups, can be a challenge in the advertising curriculum. The ad industry values diversity, and employers in general value students who know how to effectively work in groups. This article reports survey data of what makes students feel not included in classroom…

Most educators who teach the advertising campaigns course require students to work as groups. A review of cooperative learning and group dynamics literature, however, suggests that unless students are systematically prepared for group work instructional goals will be difficult to achieve. This article describes how pre-training activities in group…

Students in communication, and particularly in advertising, are encouraged to value creativity. However, even in programs that value creativity, it can be difficult to encourage creativity in the process of research that guides communication efforts. The project described in this paper--"Street Crossing"--is used in upper-division and…

The AIDA Model (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action) is one of the classical promotional theories in marketing. Through active-learning techniques and peer critiques, we use infomercials as an innovative educational tool to instruct the four components of the AIDA model. Student evaluations regarding this active-learning assignment reveal that the…

Creativity is the central source of meaning for humans and is inseparable from critical thinking. Creativity and critical thinking are required in the fields of communication, public relations, and advertising. Most college students know the "rules" of the "game" of schooling, but for the majority, creativity has been all but extinguished by the…

Sex addictions have become an increasing concern since the growth of the sex industry, sex in advertising, and the ease of Internet access to sex. This article uses the foundational principles of Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) to conceptualize sexual addiction and its relational impact. Particular attention is paid to the principles of…

At a time when few copywriting jobs are available for new graduates, enrollments in advertising are exploding. An advertising educator set out to change students' perceptions that in advertising only copywriting requires imagination by developing a course called "Advertising and Innovation" which was designed to force students to use…

Writing, and the vocabulary building that goes with it, is a more complex process than merely putting words on a page. In the process of acquiring vocabulary, for example, students need to understand not just what individual words mean but also which combinations of these words in sentences or paragraphs convey a meaningful message to the reader…

Media literacy is a topic that is being addressed globally as greater numbers of people become aware of the need to teach audience members how they are influenced by the media. Here, two of its broad categories - captive and voluntary - are identified. Examples of media literacy programs in Canada and Australia are also presented to illustrate the…

Teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) who want to develop successful lessons face numerous challenges, including large class sizes and inadequate instructional materials and technological support. Another problem is unmotivated students who refuse to participate in class activities. According to Harmer (2007), uncooperative and…

In spite of the enormous power that women wield in the marketplace, the role of women in advertisements is not commensurate with women as a powerful group. Studies demonstrate a gender bias in advertising, such that, despite their buying power, women are portrayed in stereotypical roles. This manuscript discusses ways that women are depicted in…

The potential for college use and development of radio stations is explored, and innovative and effective ideas from colleges' current efforts are presented. Topics covered include news services, phone-in features, student staff, college program highlights, foreign language programs, paid advertising, and public service announcements. (MSE)