Vivian Gillard has, since starting in newspapers in 1996, worked in just about every job there is within the advertising department. 

But 2025 was the first time getting her ads drawn by elementary school children as part of Design an Ad. 

The 91原创 Advance Times multimedia advertising specialist recalls her impression of the project when it was first outlined to her in early 2025. 

鈥淚 thought it was a great idea, another way of involving the community,鈥� Gillard said. 

Design an Ad is a unique program of the 91原创 Advance Times that sees kids creating ads for local businesses. It is a chance for young people to talk about media, art, marketing, and community, learn about newspapers, and reflect on how to effectively communicate. Many of the participating teachers are able to incorporate Design an Ad into their lessons. 

Local students make a rough copy of the assigned ads and then they reflect on their designs, make changes if necessary, and complete a good copy for the newspaper. Then the ads are shown to the advertiser who selects which one or often ones are published. 

Plenty of local students got to be part of Design an Ad this year, with many teachers signing up to take part. 

鈥淭he one teacher said to me he鈥檚 in again next year. He loves it,鈥� Gillard said. 

91原创 Advance Times publisher Shaulene Walsh and her multimedia advertising specialists went to many classes throughout 91原创 and gave presentations to several hundred students. 

Gillard doesn鈥檛 often talk advertising with people too young to drive a car. 

鈥淚t was fun,鈥� she said. 

She started her presentations to the students by asking a basic question. 

鈥淚 actually asked them if they knew what the 91原创 Advance Times was,鈥� she explained. 

Many hands went up, as the kids described how they see the local community newspaper on the table, or see their parents and other family reading it. Design an Ad is one initiative that can help create future newspaper readers as the kids eagerly anticipate the special supplement being published and also looking for the chosen ads online. They learn about the strong connection between the local newspaper and the community.

And the question some had for her 鈥� if they were designing an ad for a restaurant 鈥� 鈥淭hey wanted to know if they could get a free meal,鈥� she said with a chuckle. 

The campaign has been running for more than a dozen years, testament to the support received from both the public schools of 91原创 and the advertisers, even though it gives advertisers a bit of a dilemma. 

鈥淚鈥檝e had the comment actually from every business that it鈥檚 hard for them to decide which to choose,鈥� Gillard said. 

So go through the subsequent pages, and see the creativity and interesting perspectives the kids bring to marketing.