From classrooms to campaigns: Bridging the gap

Despite the government’s pledge to grow the economic value of the creative industries by £50 billion and generate one million new jobs by 2030 through the Creative Industries Sector Vision, fewer than 25% of young people say they were ever encouraged to pursue a creative career by their school.

This gap between policy ambition and educational guidance reveals a lingering stigma: creative careers are still not widely perceived as viable or respected paths. The result is a lack of exposure to the diverse and thriving roles within the creative sector, reinforcing outdated beliefs that success in these fields is rare or unattainable.

Advertising: A creative career hiding in plain sight

I recently returned to my old school to talk about my career in advertising, a job rooted deeply in creativity and storytelling. To my surprise, I was invited to speak not to art students, but to the business studies cohort. It was a clear reminder of how advertising is framed in education: seen as purely commercial, disconnected from creativity or artistic expression.

More importantly, it underscored a wider issue within the education system, where creative industries are frequently overlooked in conversations about viable career paths, especially for students studying the arts.

From a young age, I knew I wanted to do something creative. Like many others, I was steered toward architecture, seen as respectable, practical, and easy to justify. I was lucky to have graphic designers in the family, which made a different path feel possible. But advertising? That wasn’t even on the radar.

I stumbled into the industry as a designer, unaware that it was a space where I could thrive creatively. Since then, I’ve seen how broad and varied the creative roles really are, and how rarely they’re talked about in education. There’s a richness of opportunity here: space to experiment and stretch your creative thinking in unexpected ways. Today, I work as a Creative Strategist, a role that blends research, storytelling, and creative thinking. A job I never knew existed in an industry I was never introduced to. And that’s exactly the problem.

Why creative minds are perfectly suited to transform advertising

There is a persistent disconnect where art and advertising are often treated as opposites, one expressive, one transactional. This perception needs to change.

At its core, advertising draws on the same foundations as art, built on bold ideas, executed with craft, and designed to forge emotional connections. It’s not just about selling a product; it’s about shifting mindsets and leaving a lasting impression.

From large-scale murals and interactive installations to fully immersive brand experiences, ad spaces become canvases for storytelling. The first ad that truly captured my imagination was an OOH ad, the now-iconic BBC Dracula shadow billboard, the perfect interplay of sculpture and storytelling. By day, it appeared as a simple arrangement of stakes; by night, it transformed into the ominous silhouette of Count Dracula. It showed me how when form and concept come together, it creates something bold, imaginative, and deeply impactful.

Students who study creative subjects are uniquely equipped to excel in advertising, aligning naturally with the tools and instincts they already possess. Demanding an artist’s sensitivity to medium, message, and audience paired with the ability to interpret a brief, extract insight, and craft emotionally resonant ideas. Most importantly, the lateral thinking honed through creative practice often yields the kind of disruptive, innovative work essential for standing out in a crowded media landscape.

Reframing advertising in education

So, what’s the solution? We need to reframe advertising in the education system, not just as a business function, but as one of the most dynamic creative industries out there. It’s time to integrate advertising into the wider curriculum, not just in business studies, but in art, design, English, and media classrooms. By redefining it as a creative discipline, to unlock new possibilities for students who may not want to become traditional artists but still want their ideas to make impact.

The solution? Invite more guest speakers to talk about the work, their journey, and that feeling you get when you see the work you helped create in the flesh for the first time. Set creative briefs inspired by real campaigns. Talk about the value of creating powerful experiences for your consumer and how storytelling drives engagement. Talk about how creative thinking fuels the success of global brands.

Students should hear about careers that value their creativity. By weaving real-world creative industries like advertising into these conversations, we help students see how their talents can translate into fulfilling, viable careers.

Creativity belongs in careers, not just in classrooms.