THE AUTHOR
My name is Allyson Boe and I am a fourth year undergraduate enrolled at the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Currently, I am completing a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies with a Minor in Writing through the Gayle Morris Sweetland Center for Writing.
After securing an internship position in the strategy department of the advertising agency, Doner, this past summer, I eagerly counted down the days until my start date, ready to see how I could grow in the coming months. Though I dreaded the hour long commute to and from Detroit, in addition to working a real 9 to 5 job, I was excited to combine what I had learned in the classroom with what I would learn in the real world. My experience in the advertising industry was limited, but my father was
My dad and I at AdCon 2017
a highly regarded professional in the field and I was interested in knowing just what it all was about. He had held several executive positions over the years, but I never quite knew how he played a role in the advertisements I saw on television or in the Time magazines he would bring home from work each night. It was not until I was accepted to the University of Michigan, where I chose to study communications and writing, that all of these questions came full circle.
Interning at such a celebrated advertising agency allowed me to watch 80 years of advertising in the making: everything from Timex “Takes a licking and keeps on ticking,” to Mazda’s “Zoom
Head Shot
Zoom” advertisement. Though I had never heard of Doner growing up, I had watched these advertisements on television and can still vividly remember them in my head. It was not about what they were selling, but more so the way they went about selling. While not every advertisement gains as much visibility as these two did, knowing I could have a role in creating content that would still be recognized decades later got me thinking. I wanted to experience all aspects of advertising for myself. Specifically, I wondered how advertising had changed over the years, since before my father joined the business so many years ago. I kept this thought in mind throughout my time at Doner. Time ran out too quickly and I left my internship with still so many questions. It was with these questions that I attempted the Minor in Writing Capstone project.
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