Within the evolving landscape of advertising, educators and employers continuously strive to recognize students and potential employees for every competitive advantage. Creativity, a pivotal determinant of campaign effectiveness, has been recognized as the foremost soft skill sought by employers according to LinkedIn. Grounded in trait theory,…

Cultural diversity is a topic that has been taught across disciplines, but the pandemic has made it more difficult for universities and colleges to teach and discuss it when active interaction is limited in the classroom setting. The difficulties and challenges observed in communication courses, including advertising and public relations, brought…

Persons with disabilities make up at least 15% of the population, yet advertising has, until recently, virtually ignored this audience. We report findings from a survey with 126 students enrolled in advertising classes to gauge awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of disability and advertising. Results show that the majority of students were…

This study examines the value of a new certification program designed to teach nine principles of ethical advertising. The Certified Ethical Advertising Executive (CEAE) certificate course was added to the curriculum in two undergraduate marketing courses in Fall of 2023. The same courses were taught by the same instructors in the semester prior…

What role does advertising play in product development as part of owned media? For three years, a capstone advertising campaign course collaborated with STEM courses to form interdisciplinary teams composed of advertising, engineering, and computer science. The study provides insight into how teams can be more entrepreneurial by building on the…

Undergraduate students showed an increase in moral reasoning (DIT) after a semester-long course covering topics of advertising ethics, completing a new advertising ethics training program (CEAE), and engaging in activities that allowed for reflection. Students placed more importance on postconventional stages of moral reasoning over personal…

World events in the last few years have made globalization and discussions of culture, race, and ethnicity top-of-mind for many people and institutions all over world, including advertising. Academic institutions, agencies, and organizations (e.g., American Academy of Advertising or AAA) are discussing "diversity, equity, and inclusion"…

The Advertising Division of the Association for Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication held its 23rd annual Teaching Pre-Conference, virtually, on the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the advertising industry. Six advertising professionals with DEI experience were invited to share their insights. In short, the key findings are…

Research skills are essential for lifetime learning. Content analysis is an excellent research method to introduce and practice at the undergraduate level. Utilized by academic and industry researchers alike, content analysis involves higher order critical thinking skills for organizing and interpreting complexity. This article outlines a…

Undergraduate advertising campaigns courses are known for their integration of knowledge, application of different skills, and group work. This capstone class partners with a real-world client and may be considered the last professional experience in an educational setting before students graduate. Using a multi-methods approach, this study…

Students in advertising have always been taught about the big four positions of research, media, account management, and creative. However, other positions should be considered as the field evolves. To better understand evolving agency relationships with creative and account service teams, we interviewed 16 advertising professionals about a fifth…

The increased emphasis on targeting audiences via digital and social media channels necessitates the updating of traditional advertising curriculum. Academic courses specializing in social media strategy, analytics, and campaigns are vital to the advertising educational landscape as we strive to best prepare students for future employment. Phase 1…

This paper offers a critical examination of ethical consumption, exploring how it reinforces social identities within the capitalist framework. It argues for the crucial role of educational institutions in addressing ethical consumption within their curricula. While ethical consumption is often promoted for its moral virtues and its potential to…

While preparing to write this article, the author decided to review published teaching cases over the last 10 years concerning advertising and related fields in case journals. He became curious about trends in advertising teaching cases and decided to survey overall trends in teaching cases related to advertising cases. He reached out to 40…

Following the protests and racial reckoning of 2020, advertisers renewed their focus on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as part of their everyday operations. Several recent examples point to brand equity erosion, or escalation of negative consumer responses, resulting from advertisers missing the mark in their efforts to…