The Sexy World of Advertising: My Ad-sy Past...

Whoever knows me well, knows that I've bee obsessed with the advertising industry since high school. I used to go through all kinds of print ads, tear them off from the magazines and re-do them: text/slogans and the visuals.

Back in my NYC days when I experimented with the ads' like black and white photography...

Yes, unlike other normal girls who kept diaires about their feelings for boys, dislikes for school and serious issues - [like being grounded for wearing a lipstic to school] - with parents, I kept a book of ads... That's why my first major in college was Graphic Design - [yep, I'm sure you had no idea]. I also could proudly say that I was not bad at all, I was a strong A-/B+ student for about a year until I started to really think about my professional future and how I'd be able to utilize my artsy skills in the profession, which there were very little of in the state of Oregon - [of course at that time I had no idea that I'd be living in New York!]. And my 'design' future did not look bright...

There were about five - at the most - advertising agencies in Oregon - [at that time] - and I would have had to compete with all the 'artsy genuises' in the whole state...So, I withdrew from the Liberal Arts Department and entered the business world of finacial planning, accounting, business development, marketing and....advertising. In other words - I became a Business School student in my sophomore year.

You can probably guess at which one of those - [having the right part of brain more developed, I think] - I excelled at? Yes - advertising and...some of marketing, when it came to creative marketing.

So, for the next three years, I studied advertising theory and practice instead of, actually, designing ads. It was later when I decided to fulfill the creative desires when I enrolled and finished Graphic Design program at the School of Visual Arts (2003) and then took a bunch of copy-writing classes at the Georgetown University (2007) - [where my audio beats for the print ads were just killing the professors :) ].

But, moving on...that was a prelude to my explaining why, when I've learned that my current employer subscribes to Advertising Age, I jumped with joy! So, the next time you are on the NYC subway and you see a girl with an over-sized bag - [which I call my 'everything, all purpose purse'] - and a 11x14 print copy of Ad Age, most likely it is - moi...

This is why I'm so exciting about the Age's feature on the "Sexiest Ads of 2011", with a lot of which I do agree, and with a lot of which - I do not...The ones I loved - stylistically, visually, artistically and commercially - I've included here:

Rihanna for Emporio Armani:

Armani always knows what he's doing..

Lily Aldridge for Victoria's Secret

Who wouldn't want to look that sexy on the special - wedding - day?

Bar Refaeli for Passionata lingerie's Spring/Summer 2011 collection

Loving the fact that fashion is finally recognizing that models should not be all 'skin and bones'...And just for that reason, I'd become a fan of Passionata lingerie line.

Heidi Klum's topless "Project Runway", Season 9