Chevys, ADDYs, and Fink’s: Oh My! The Creation of Award Winning Advertising Within an Educational Context

Providing an educational experience that scholars value, students appreciate, and practitioners respect is a consistent goal of modern academia, especially those in the applied disciplines like marketing. In this study, the authors provide a template for designing and teaching an advanced undergraduate advertising course employing Fink’s (2003) taxonomy of significant learning with experiential projects and an example of a current application of the taxonomy. The authors discuss the application of the taxonomy in the context of student conceptualization and participation in a campaign designed for a regional group of four Chevrolet dealers in Oklahoma and Texas. Students were tasked with incorporating the automobile group’s brand with social responsibility while also staying within the clients’ budget of $5000. In addition to educating the students and fulfilling the client’s needs, the efforts resulted in the students winning an ADDY, a respected advertising award, and thus increasing the perceived value of these students to potential employers.