Meet Aidan, Breaking and Entering Network Spotlight
1. Your name?
Aidan Whitney
2. What college are you attending?
Indiana University
3. What is your major and minor?
Cinema Media Arts and Creative Advertising
4. Expected graduation date?
May 2023
5. What role will you break into within advertising? Or what job do you have
lined up?
Junior Art Direction
6. Dream agency?
Leo Burnett
7. What do you do within the Breaking and Entering Network?
Video editing and fellow podcaster
8. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. Where did
you grow up, and how did you become interested in advertising?
I grew up in northern Indiana in the city of South Bend. I had always loved
watching television and had watched countless commercials. This sparked an
interest in video work which I later tried out and fell in love with in late high school
and early college where I decided to originally just pursue film production as my
major. Finding different ways to use my new camera, I worked with locals in
Bloomington Indiana to help shoot commercials. This was a great way to
introduce myself to the possibilities that advertising had offered. After realizing
that I enjoyed this creative aspect of advertising, I explored other ways to help
with advertising and realized this was what I wanted to do. I was lucky enough to
add on a creative advertising degree and learn more through the rest of my
college career!
9. What made you decide to pursue a degree in advertising, and how did you
choose your university/program?
My time doing freelance work for others really opened my eyes to the advertising
world. Finding ways to help people market their products in a fun and interesting
way has always seemed interesting to me and Indiana University allowed me to
work on those skills through its media school.
10. What do you think are the most important skills for success in the
advertising industry, and how are you working to develop those skills?
I think that if you want to do well, you need to learn how to think outside of the
box. While it is important to think of standard practices and mediums when
creating advertisements, thinking of something unique that sets you apart will
help your creativity grow. I have been taking time to help hone my creative
process when thinking of ideas. Do something that will give your creative mind
time to think of every idea, whether it be out of this world or not. A little bit of
meditation has given me time for my mind to sit and think on potential solutions
for clients. It could help you like it helped me!
11. What are your thoughts on the current state of the advertising industry, and
where do you see it heading in the future?
I think that we are on the cusp of a creative breakthrough with the industry. With
tech like artificial intelligence coming into play, creatives in the ad world can
expand their toolkit a lot. I know many are afraid of A.I. since its uses are almost
infinite, but the ascendancy people have over A.I. is the ability to create and
evoke emotion through stories. With this in mind, I think the industry will be able
to adopt this powerful tech and keep people around as the prominence of A.I.
grows.
12. How do you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in
advertising, and what resources do you rely on for industry news and
insights?
I like to use Adweek since I’m able to get it cheap with a student subscription and
I will also check out LinkedIn and twitter at times. These are all great ways to
keep yourself informed as to what’s going on in the ad world and usually have
interesting info on companies and agencies in the industry.
13. Can you share any advice for other students who are interested in pursuing
a career in advertising?
Don’t be afraid to reach out to people! They’re usually happy to help!
