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The Reed College of Media and College of Creative Arts will merge to form the new WVU College of Creative Arts and Media as of July 1, 2024. Get details.

WVU Journalism School to host top advertising executive

John Adams

John Adams, chairman and CEO of The Martin Agency, will visit West Virginia University’s Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism Wednesday, April 25, through the Advertising Educational Foundation’s “Inside Advertising Speakers Program.”

“We’re thrilled to have someone of Mr. Adams’ stature come to the School of Journalism to share his strategies for developing some of the most popular advertising campaigns in the country today,” said Dean Maryanne Reed.

The Martin Agency represents such brands as UPS, Hanes, Discover Financial, Wal-Mart, BFGoodrich and GEICO.

Adams’ presentation, “Cavemen, Black White Pictures and Other Glimpses of the Future,” will be at 1:30 p.m. in 205 Martin Hall and is open to the public.

Dr. Sang Lee, assistant professor and advertising sequence chair at the School of Journalism said Adams’ visit is a great opportunity for SOJ students to learn about advertising from “one of the best and hottest creative agencies today.”

Adams has spent over 30 years – his entire advertising career – at The Martin Agency, where has seen it grow from a regional shop to one of national prominence.

Under Adams’ leadership, The Martin Agency became the first advertising agency to be named “Agency of the Year” five times by Adweek magazine, the industry standard. In early 2007, Advertising Age ranked The Martin Agency as one of the Top 10 Agencies in America, placing it at #5.

In 1997, Adams became one of a handful of advertising people to be inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. Additionally, he and his partner, Mike Hughes, were named in 2000 as the Outstanding Industrialists of the Year.