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February 15, 2011

Ad Man Says BYU Prepped Him for Madison Avenue

Devin LuBean says that being metored in BYU's Ad Lab gave him an edge in the job market.

Growing up in Washington with eight siblings and an artist and an engineer for parents gave recent advertising graduate Devin LuBean countless opportunities to learn, grow, and develop his talents.

“There are those who would say that mixing an artist and an engineer could never produce good results,” LuBean says. “They’re wrong! Look at me; well, at least look at my work. I’ve got the hands and heart of an artist and a brain saturated with the neurotic juices of technological geekdom.”

Attending Brigham Young University and studying advertising gave him the opportunity to use his unique perspective and cutting-edge technology to express his creativity. LuBean was active in the Department of Communications’ Advanced Ad Lab and had the opportunity to lead student advertising campaigns for Nike, UNICEF, Doritos, and the U.S. Forest Service (on a new Smokey Bear DVD). Each of these campaigns won several industry awards.

This summer LuBean moved his family to Seattle to start his career as an art director with the global ad agency DDB. He says, “The reason I got such a great job is because of mentors like Jeff Sheets and the experiences I had in the Ad Lab and BYU’s advertising program.

“BYU is more than just a place where learning occurs,” he says. “It’s a place where I gained the experience needed to prove my potential and worth in the world. Of course it’s not easy gaining this experience. It takes countless hours and steadfast dedication, but, in the end, it’s absolutely worth it—all of it.”

At BYU LuBean’s hard work and dedication paid off. The advertising faculty selected him to receive the Bruce Merrill Scholarship for Advertising Excellence.

“I'm immensely grateful I received this award,” he says. “It allowed me to spend more time in the Ad Lab. Beyond that, being selected by my professors and advisors meant so much to me. They saw my hard work, dedication, and potential, and I felt honored and humbled that those amazing mentors thought that much of me.”