Here’s a frank truth for anyone majoring in advertising, taking ad classes or working on a very disciplined (undergraduate or graduate) degree in communication: anyone can sound just as intelligent as you with a little hard work and elbow grease.
Advertising is incredible. It’s simultaneously fun and serious, exciting and nail-biting, formal and casual. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry dedicated to the fundamental principle of creativity. But if you want to get in, you need to know about it.
Advertising employees are obsessed with the industry. Everyday, they read AdAge and Adweek. Some read Mediaweek. Others read the blogs, the influential columnists. And guess what? They want you to do the same.
Do you know who Lee Clow is?
Do you know the symbolism of a Golden Pencil?
Can you name-drop Select Resources, Jon Steel and David Lubars without sounding conceited?
You need to, because advertising employees live for the industry, and even if you haven’t had a lick of experience, you can demonstrate serious knowledge by knowing how the industry works.
