JMU Scratch-Pad, Harrisonburg, VA

JMU Scratch-Pad is James Madison University's student-run advertising agency, where a team of students comes together to compete in the American Advertising Federation's National Student Advertising Competition. We're not just doing classroom work, we're building real campaigns for real brands, putting everything we've learned into practice. This year, our competition partner is the NFL, and our plans book lays out "Play It Forward," a campaign we developed from the ground up to reframe how people see football.

The core idea is simple: the NFL's impact on kids and communities is already happening, most people just don't know it. Through months of research, surveys, interviews, and social listening, we found that parents and families aren't looking for another polished brand message. They want proof that football can build confidence, create belonging, and shape better people. So we built a three-phase campaign that meets them where they are, through social media, streaming, community events, school programs, and real storytelling, to show that football isn't just something you watch on Sundays, but something you can pass on.

SPEEDING THROUGH ADVERTISING

An inside look into the history of luxury automotive advertising

March - April 2026

JMU SMAD 242 Group blog project

Speeding Through Advertising is a group blog created in my SMAD 242 (Intro to Advertising & New Media) class at James Madison University, where we take a closer look at the advertising history behind some of the world's most iconic luxury car brands. We're a team of students who love both storytelling and the automotive world, and this blog is our way of combining the two. Each post digs into how brands like Ferrari, Bugatti, McLaren, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz have built their images over the years, from their earliest print ads to the global campaigns they run today. What we found is that behind every legendary car brand is an equally fascinating advertising story, but all share similar roots, and we wanted to bring those stories to life in an interesting way, whether you're a car enthusiast or just someone who's ever wondered why certain brands feel so untouchable.

If any of this interests you, please feel free to check out my Speeding Through Advertising articles written on the history of advertising in McLaren & Bugatti, as well as the other articles written by my project groupmates as well.