Temerlin Advertising Institute - SMU

Professor Alan Lidji, who retired from TAI in May, returned to campus Tuesday to critique students’ word in Professor Willie Baronet’s “ADV 4363: Logo and Trademark Design” class. 🎨🖌️

Critiques not only provide valuable input for creatives at TAI, but they also mimic real industry practices. Thank you for joining class, Professor Lidji!

Time to meet our first Exxon Mobil Lecture Series Panelist: Pedro Lerma, CEO & Founder of LERMA/

As the founder of LERMA/, Pedro has built a reputation for driving brand growth across diverse markets. Under his leadership, LERMA/ has earned numerous recognitions including Advertising Age's Small Agency of the Year. Pedro was named Agency Executive of the Year in 2025 and was inducted into the American Advertising Federation's Southwest Hall of Fame.

Apart from his contribution to the advertising field, Pedro gives back by serving on numerous boards, including United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts, Bishop Dunne Catholic School, the Hispanic Marketing Council, and SMU Meadows School of the Arts.

Don't forget to save the date for our Exxon Mobil Lecture Series. The FREE event takes place on November 12th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Angelika Film Center. More information coming soon!

This week’s is Dr. Carrie La Ferle, Professor of Ethics & Culture in Advertising at TAI.

🎓 Education: Dr. La Ferle attended the University of Western Ontario for her B.A. in Sociology, followed by an M.A. in Advertising from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. from UT-Austin.

📝 Experience: After earning her master’s degree, Dr. La Ferle worked on the Nissan account at Chiat\Day and spent four years in Tokyo. She returned to school for her Ph.D. and began teaching as an Assistant Professor at Michigan State afterward. “SMU called one day and said they wanted to grow the SMU advertising program. After 8 years at MSU, I moved back to Texas to work at SMU and I have been here for almost 20 years!”

✏️ In the Classroom: Dr. La Ferle teaches “ADV 2302: Advertising, Society, and Ethics” to undergraduates, as well as “ADV 6301: Cultural Intelligence in Advertising,” “ADV 6371: Advertising as a Cultural Force,” and “ADV 6374: International Advertising” to graduate students.

🔍 Insight: Although needed products should sell well anywhere at the right price point, size, and quality, Dr. La Ferle notes that cultural intelligence is a necessary skill in advertising those products. “To compete against equally good value products, understanding the culture of your target audience makes all the difference.”

🌏 Outside the Classroom: When not teaching or researching, Dr. La Ferle loves to travel, stay active, spend time with her loved ones, and volunteer for her church’s ministry. She enjoys trying new activities and experiences during her travels. “In Qatar I tried sandboarding and dune bashing, ziplining in Costa Rica, and repelling at Mt. Olympus in Greece.”

⛸️ Fun Fact: Dr. La Ferle has a background in figure skating! “Growing up I was a competitive figure skater, starting on the ice at the age of 4 and competing up to age 15. I taught skating during my undergraduate and graduate degrees.”

Read more about Dr. La Ferle at the link in our bio! 🔗

Last Friday, Professor Elliott’s “ADV 3304: Advertising Research” class took a field trip to Fieldwork Dallas, a local market research facility. ✍️📊

To apply what they had learned in class about qualitative data, students participated in a simulated focus group to learn how advertising research can be conducted to gather valuable consumer insights.

Thank you for hosting TAI, Fieldwork Dallas!

Introducing our newest hub for student opportunities, created by Professor Corey Jones! 💻

This frequently updated landing page announces advertising-specific scholarships, paid internships, fellowships, competitions, and more — all available to TAI students. Find the link in our bio or in our email newsletter every week! 🔗

The date is officially set for TAI’s annual ExxonMobil Lecture Series! 🗓️

Hear from a panel of industry leaders as they share their perspectives on the future of advertising and what’s ahead for the industry.

Join us November 12 from 6–8 p.m. at the Angelika Film Center for an evening of networking, conversation, and insights from industry leaders.

We hope to see you there! Stay tuned for registration details!

Onto our first of this fall: Jason Shipp, Adjunct Lecturer at TAI.

🎓 Education: Professor Shipp attended SMU for college and graduated with a degree from TAI’s Creative specialization.

📝 Experience: Professor Shipp has worked in an agency setting for over two decades and worked on both the strategic and creative sides. He now serves as Executive Creative Director at Iluminere, a marketing agency in Dallas.

🏦 Standout Campaign: One of Professor Shipp’s favorite client projects over the years: a Wells Fargo campaign that had to be rebuilt from scratch and became a roaring success nonetheless. “We ended up creating the world’s first live-streamed, social-media-powered conveyor belt for a one-day event, where participants interacted in real time to influence what happened next.”

✏️ In the Classroom: Professor Shipp is teaching “ADV 3305: Business Communication” this fall and plans to teach “ADV 4323: Copywriting” in the spring.

⛺️ Outside the Classroom: When not on campus or doing creative work at Iluminere, Professor Shipp enjoys camping and hiking. “Not the hardcore, survivalist version, but somewhere between roughing it and glamping,” he jokes.

💙 Favorite SMU Memory: Professor Shipp’s fondest memory of SMU took place years after he graduated — when he and his wife, also an SMU graduate, brought their kids to campus. “They spent the entire time zipping around, and it turned into one of those unexpectedly perfect days. I still think about it pretty much every time I’m walking to class.”

Read more at the link in our bio! 🔗

Today on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we stand with those affected by a tragedy that swept the nation.

We will never forget.

What is your advertising niche? 👀

Swipe to find your birth month and see which role you got! Did we get it right? 🎯

Our very own Dr. Quan Xie, Graduate Program Director and Associate Professor of Digital Advertising, was quoted as a social media expert in the Denton Record-Chronicle last month. 🗞️

The article focused on a local animal rescue, which had recently gone viral but sparked concern over the absence of a license or permit. Dr. Xie weighed in on the impact of algorithms and attitudes on social media, saying that “people will somehow equal this nonprofit and this nice identity to professional rescuing.”

Read the article at the link in our bio! 🔗

Welcome to our first of the 2026-2027 school year: Sidharth (Sid) Muralidharan, Endowed Chair and Professor at TAI.

🎓 Background: Dr. Muralidharan earned an engineering degree before pivoting to advertising. He later completed a Ph.D. in Mass Communication, with an emphasis on Advertising, at the University of Southern Mississippi.

📝 Experience: Dr. Muralidharan worked as a Junior Account Executive at Zehnder Communications in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where his client was Edgen Murray.

📊 Research: Dr. Muralidharan’s research has focused on pro-social advertising. “Being originally from India, I noticed that there weren’t many advertising studies on India,” he says. “So, a decade’s worth of my research was spent on pro-social advertising in India.”

✏️ In the Classroom: Dr. Muralidharan teaches “ADV 2302: Advertising, Society, and Ethics” and the for-credit undergraduate internship courses at TAI.

✈️ Outside the Classroom: When not on campus or doing research, Dr. Muralidharan enjoys traveling and spending time with his family.

🗣️ Fun Fact: Dr. Muralidharan is good at doing impressions of other people!

💙 Favorite SMU Memory: Dr. Muralidharan’s most memorable moments at SMU? Getting tenure and being promoted to Associate Professor in 2018, followed by his promotion to full Professor in 2024 and Temerlin Endowed Distinguished Chair of Advertising in 2026. “It was a 12-year-long journey, and it would not have been possible without support from TAI, Meadows, and SMU.”

Read more about Dr. Muralidharan at the link in our bio! 🔗

Congratulations to TAI grad Spencer Hogan, who recently became a Graphic Designer for the Carolina Panthers! 🏈

Spencer graduated from TAI’s Creative specialization in December 2025 and has since built his career in design for NFL teams. Using his degree in Creative Advertising and Graphic Design minor from TAI, he has proven that good creative draws football fans in and keeps them engaged.

Congrats again, Spencer! Making TAI proud 👏

Happy National Dog Day from our faculty, staff, students, and alumni at TAI! 🐾

We love our pups over here! Swipe to see some of our canine cuties ➡️

From TAI student to Rising Star 🌟

Palmer Beldy ’22, a graduate of TAI’s Creative specialization, was named an Ad Age Rising Star honoree earlier this month, joining a list of the 2026 Leading Women. The list recognizes women in advertising leadership and highlights their respective accomplishments.

In her own Ad Age feature, Palmer is recognized for her work as Creative Content Specialist at the National Geographic Museum of Exploration. Not only does she write content across platforms for the museum, but she also follows a creative consistency that solidifies the brand’s tone and style.

Read the Ad Age articles linked in our bio! 🔗

What better way to kick off a new school year than with a fall retreat at an ad agency? 📓🍂

On Friday, TAI faculty and staff gathered at The Infinite Agency to discuss the advertising industry and learn more about Infinite, co-founded by TAI alum Jonathan Ogle ’06. Thank you for having us, !

Congratulations to TAI graduate students Rachel Rodgers and Katharine Bales for being selected as 2026 recipients of the AAF Dallas Foundation Scholarship! 🎉

The one-year scholarship, provided by AAF Dallas through Communities Foundation of Texas, is awarded to North Texas college students who are actively pursuing a degree in advertising, marketing, or a related field. It recognizes students for their academic achievements and career ambitions while supporting them in their journey toward graduation.

Way to go, ladies! 🥳

Yesterday, we welcomed our newest graduate students to campus at their orientation session! 🤩🙌

Starting next week, they will begin their journeys delving into advertising theory, strategy and research at the graduate level. We can’t wait to see how they shine! ✨

Thank you to Timmie Hathorn, Naomi Schemm, and Chloé Christenson for offering advice about networking, research, and making the most of a TAI graduate experience.