Student-Run Advertising Agency: A Showcase for Student Work.

One of the best forums for teaching creativity in advertising is the student-run advertising agency. It is organized like a typical advertising agency with a creative department, a media department, a research department and an account service department, and has a pyramidic structure. Student-run advertising agencies exist for two primary reasons: (1) they help to give the student experience; and (2) they provide a service to the community. Comments from former participants in student-run advertising agencies who are now employed in advertising show that experience in on-campus agencies gives students a competitive edge in their job searches. The teaching environment in a student-run advertising agency is more like the professional world and less like the academic world because it teaches by doing, in a hands-on environment. (Nineteen examples of student work are attached.) (SR)