THE LARGEST CHAPTER IN THE NATION

We’re a member of the American Advertising Federation, a national trade organization with 40,000 advertising professionals, 100 corporate partners, and 200 student chapters. AAF Illinois is the largest student chapter in the nation with over 500 members. Check out our 12 committees, our innovative work, and our incredibly passionate members.

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Welcome to the American Advertising Federation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign…

Here are the American Advertising Federation at Illinois, we seek to equip all student members with the tools, skillsets, and knowledge to be able to make a difference in the world of advertising.

The American Advertising Federation at Illinois is broken down into twelve different agencies, all of whom specialize in different regions of the advertising space and provide members with the opportunity to work with real clients, tour ad agencies, and gain insider knowledge in the industry. All of our agencies are student-run.

About us

Learn About Our Agencies

Our AAF chapter has 12 distinct agencies, each with a different purpose and unique capabilities. Whether you’re an Account Director, Strategist, Researcher, Creative, or Media Planner, we have a place for you at AAF Illinois.

ADBUZZ

PUBLIC RELATIONS

AdBuzz provides professional public relations services and strategies for an array of local clients with assorted artistic visions, and walks through the inner workings of PR and social media with their members as they create captivating branded content for clients.

BUILD-IT

ENTREPRENEURSHIP/IN-HOUSE

Build-It is a creative catalyst for entrepreneurship and innovative advertising! At the end of the semester, our teams bring their brand visions to life constructing 'pop-up shop' brand displays along with their respective branded products from scratch.

DEI

DIVERSITY BASED AGENCY

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion agency is a diversity based, social awareness brand team for AAF that connects members across agencies. DEI has weekly meetings that dive deeper into different aspects of diversity, bring awareness to causes and events dedicated to DEI, and provide professional development opportunities to students. Recently, DEI has been focused on event planning and creating advertisements for local clients committed to promoting diversity.

NSAC

COMPETITION TEAM

The National Student Advertising Competition is an annual competition where college students around the country create a comprehensive campaign for a real corporate client. Each year, NSAC team members travel to present their campaign in front of agency and client representatives.

ADDYS

COMPETITION SHOWCASE TEAM

Flex your creative muscles in Addy's! Join us to work in teams to develop content for a national competition. Choose from a variety of mediums and work in roles such as strategy, copywriting, art direction, etc.

CTRL+V

VIDEO PRODUCTION

Home to the world of video production, CTRL+V specializes in client work that involves video pre-production, production, and post-production. A variety of creative filmmakers and advertisers tend to make up this committee, and creative ideas are heavily encouraged with each video shoot and edit.

HYPERLINK

INTERNAL BRAND TEAM

Hyperlink is the internal branding agency for AAF! We manage all AAF social media platforms and produce content for anything AAF-related. Hyperlink focuses on growing and applying skills related to photography, videography, graphic design, copywriting, and social media strategy. We accept members of all skills and grade levels!

ON THE HOUSE

FULL SERVICE AGENCY

OTH is a client based ad agency for students who are new to advertising or curious about getting hands on experience working with real clients. We offer a variety of creative services to clients while giving students an opportunity to develop a passion for advertising.

Our Agencies

ADLAB

CREATIVE GROWTH AND PERSONAL BRANDING

AdLab is an educational based agency that tackles all of the newest evolving softwares and skills that the ever changing industry calls for. Students in AdLab are able to improve their skills while also building their own personal portfolios.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

SOCIAL MARKETING

Community Outreach is the organization to join if you want to make an impact on the community in several different ways. It’s the organization to learn about the field of social marketing and organizations having a sense of responsibility for people’s well-being.

MIDNIGHT OIL

FULL SERVICE AGENCY

Midnight Oil is a premier full service advertising agency that mimics the experience of working in the real world. Members are placed into client teams where they work together to develop creative advertising for real clients located in the campus community. Graphic design, social media, video/photo, strategy, account… we have the right role for you.

RSVP

EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

RSVP lives for the experience. They provide experiences for clients and for consumers to engage with the product or service. They can do it all, think outside the box, and have a good time doing it too.