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AD+PR Department Kicks Off 2020 with Exciting Special Events

AD+PR Department Kicks Off 2020 with Exciting Special Events

By Sierra Hole, Logan Hoover, Molly Swint and Akash Vaghasia
Sporting Event Photo Credit: Michigan State University

Whether they’re from down the road or across the world, the Department of Advertising and Public Relations strives to make all students feel welcome. Each year, the department sponsors events to bring students and faculty together to learn, share, grow and celebrate.

For a second year, the department gave students the opportunity to celebrate the Chinese New Year on January 24, with traditional food and games. Chinese New Year is a significant time for MSU’s Chinese students, many of whom cannot go home for the special holiday and ache to spend time with their family.

“It’s the one time of the year that all your family comes together, much like Thanksgiving or Christmas. It is a very special time for the Chinese. I usually make dumplings with my family. The traditions vary from north to south,” said Angela Du, sophomore graphic design student.

On the heels of Chinese New Year was this year’s Super Bowl – a major event not only for sports, but for the advertising industry. The 2020 Commercial Bowl is another event held by the Department of AD+PR that gives students the opportunity to learn about the event’s expensive and influential campaigns. Students were given a preview of Super Bowl commercials at the event on January 31, then voted for how much they liked the commercial. This year, instructor Alexandrea Thrubis Stanley and professors of practice, Greg Taucher and Robert Kolt, led a panel after the commercials and discussed their thoughts on what makes them successful.

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“You have to appeal to the head, appeal to the heart and treat people as people,” said Taucher. “The most successful ads are the ones that treat people as people.”

For Taucher, this year’s Super Bowl commercials were great because they were designed to treat the audience as a friend as opposed to a consumer. Other event attendees enjoyed the emotional appeal or product hype in the featured commercials.

Both AD+PR events brought together our diverse  campus community to share as Spartans. To learn more about AD+PR news and events at MSU, visit https://comartsci.msu.edu/departments/advertising-public-relations/about/advertising-public-relations-newsroom.