When I tell people that I am an advertising major, it is usually followed up with one of a few responses:
“So you’re artsy?”
“Tell me something funny/witty!”
Or one of my favorites, “Okay, well what do you think of this (random) commercial?!”
It seems that the general consensus is that advertising automatically means you must fit into the creative category, but that isn’t the case. There are plenty of opportunities for people who don’t have a creative bone in their body.
Are you organized, like talking to people and good leading teams? Account management may be a good fit. Here, you get to be the middle-man between your creative team and client. You set the meetings, keep your client happy and teams on track.
Do you enjoy learning how or what people are thinking and doing research? Account planning might be for you. These are the people that figure out who these ads should be talking to and the best way to reach the audience. They put together focus groups, surveys, interviews and think of other creative ways to get information.
These are just the administrative positions. There are also social media and digital positions if you are tech savvy and willing to help create engaging content. Don’t let lack of wit or artistic instincts scare you away from joining the advertising world. There’s a position out there looking for your skill sets and perspective, you just need to look past that general perception.