Eric Johnson
I’m Eric, a student from Mobile, AL at the great University of Alabama studying advertising. I have a wide range of interests, especially in any sort of media field.
My career goals include being either an art director, copywriter or media planner. Side interests include writing, music composing and financial investing.
I love traveling, cooking, reading, being social and doing anything with music. Dogs are my favorite, but cats are a close second.
I also know a bunch of random facts very few care about.
My skills can apply to many different work environments, and I am confident that I would be able to help you and your team.
Can I give you a copy of my résumé?
“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a creative.”
Goodfellas reference aside, I’ve always been a creative person. With my experience inside and outside of college, I don’t think I’ll run out of ideas to show people. Art direction and copywriting takes more than raw skill; it takes a mindset of always wanting to one-up your last idea.
My college experience has helped this. I’ve been a part of several organizations and currently work with a few different people doing graphic design and video. One of these is WVUA 23, which has given me numerous opportunities to design graphics, write in AP style and, pretty soon perhaps, get into media planning. The graphics I produce mainly go on the website as thumbnails, but a few have managed to become over-the-shoulder shots for the live broadcasts. Though I’ve only been there since June, it’s been one of the best on-campus opportunities I’ve had so far.
My other experiences include working with two different Realtors to promote themselves and their homes, leading Bama Theme Park Engineering & Design as president for the past several months, and serving as vice president of AAF UA. All of these have tapped into my creative side in some way and have helped my leadership and people skills.
Being a creative and helping the AdTeam achieve a win would be an honor and a massive learning opportunity. The agency experience it would give would be invaluable to any art director or copywriter.
Like I said before, AdTeam would be a tremendous opportunity for any advertising student. Besides the fact that you could possibly pitch a campaign in front of some of the biggest agencies in America, the part of the opportunity that I’m most excited about is being in a circle of ad majors that knows what they’re doing. Some of the greatest learning experiences come from other students, and so do some of the best inside jokes.
The dynamic that can be created from a team like this can help with career skills, too. Knowing the different roles in an agency and how they fit together is very useful in the job market.
I also look for to creating a campaign for the NFL, of course.
I would be lying if I said that I read every single day, but I do try to read pretty often.
I’ve always at least had a book that I am reading. There is never a period where there is no book on my nightstand or in my backpack. I believe that if you read well, you can write well, and you can talk well, so reading to any extent improves your life. Especially if it’s the Bible. Reading keeps you in the know, regardless of what genre it is. It’s a habit that I try my best to follow, and I wholly believe in its effects.
Another positive habit I have is using my trusty, paper, physical planner.
I see most students use the planner on their phone or computer, but I have always preferred physical planners because I’m a more tactile person. I like to see real things in front of me, so I’m less likely to forget about an event or homework assignment if I keep it all in my planner. It’s helped me ever since middle school to keep me organized and ready for what’s to come.
You haven’t really lived until your house has been invaded by little plastic ducks.
During the summer after freshman year, my family and I had gone to Canada for vacation. Well, most of my family. With my brother being older, married and with a kid, they stayed in Mobile while my parents and I were away for about two weeks.
See, a lot of trouble can happen in two weeks, particularly with my brother and sister-in-law. When we got back to the house from our trip, I went upstairs to my room and noticed something. A little pink duck sitting on one of my shelves. I didn’t think much of it since my then-30-year-old brother is always snooping around in my room, but then I noticed another one. This time it was yellow on my dresser. And another.
I finally took a picture of this collection of plastic ducks and sent it in the family group chat. I said something along the lines of, “Very funny lol.” They now knew that I knew, so my sister-in-law chimes in and teases that those were not the only ones in the house.
200 ducks, she says.
By this point my parents had already found a small collection downstairs, and when we all saw my sister-in-law’s text, the ducks never stopped appearing. They still haven’t to this day. Upstairs, downstairs, in the attic, in the fridge, in the fish tank. A few even made their way up to Tuscaloosa in things that I packed for my apartment.
And so began the duck wars of 2024, which included a second wave of plastic ducks after we had retaliated and ducked their house, too. Neither house will ever be the same again.