It used to be all about avocado toast, bro. But now? Millennials are starting to feel a little… cooked. I like to think I’m still culturally relevant, but as time goes on, I’ve accepted that in some categories, I’m basically a dinosaur.
The good news? Creativity doesn’t age out. But perspective does. And perspective is everything in modern advertising. And that’s exactly why the future of advertising belongs to Gen Z.
As Creative Director at Posture, I’m fortunate to help shape and guide creative thinking every day. Whether it’s a warm-up exercise to get the team in the right mindset or a fast-paced ideation session to tackle a tight client brief, how I mentor creatives has a direct impact on the work we put into the world. It’s a responsibility I take seriously, especially knowing that the most valuable ideas often come from voices that see the world differently than I do.
Outside of Posture, I intentionally put myself in environments where those perspectives are front and center. As an adjunct instructor in Graphic Design at the University of Scranton, I work closely with students who constantly challenge my assumptions. Their ideas aren’t just fresh, but they’re also informed by entirely different cultural inputs, platforms, and expectations.
I saw this again firsthand at NEPA Portfolio Review Day at Wilkes University this past weekend. Reviewing portfolios and conducting mock interviews with students from across the region, one thing was clear: this next generation of creatives isn’t just learning the rules of advertising, they’re rewriting them.
That reality hit even harder last month at the AAF National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC), where I serve as District Governor and help with the event each year. Student collegiate teams are tasked with developing full campaigns for real national brands. This year’s client? The NFL.
The level of thinking was staggering. These students weren’t just presenting campaigns, they were delivering insights rooted in how their generation actually consumes content, engages with brands, and defines authenticity. The NFL’s own social media manager was so impressed that she flagged student ideas to bring back to her team (after she finished up this little marketing thing called The Draft.).
That’s the shift we’re seeing happen in advertising right now in real time. Gen Z isn’t just a target audience. They’re becoming the architects of the strategies brands need to survive.
They understand platforms natively, not academically. They value transparency over polish. They move at a pace that traditional campaign cycles struggle to match. And most importantly, they can spot inauthenticity instantly because they’ve grown up surrounded by it.
Watching judges from brands like the NFL, Meta, and Accenture break down these student campaigns was a reminder that even at the highest levels, we’re all trying to solve the same challenge: how to stay relevant in a constantly shifting cultural landscape.
The difference is, Gen Z isn’t trying to keep up with that landscape. They are the landscape.
As a creative director, that’s both humbling and energizing. It forces me to think bigger, listen more, and create space for new voices to lead here at Posture. My experiences with students have shown me that the future of advertising is built by those who see what’s coming next. And if the talent I’ve seen recently is any indication, that future is already in very good hands.
