Mac young alumni join forces in the Toronto advertising world

John Street

'Advertising is the perfect blend of art and science,' says McMaster alumna Madison Papple. From left to right: Papple and fellow alumni Leianne Vergara, Jamie Umpherson, Adam Ferraro, Owen Hurst and Alisa Pellizzari all work together at Toronto advertising agency john st.


A degree in Communication Studies at McMaster prepared five young alumni for an exciting career in advertising.

Adam Ferraro, Owen Hurst, Madison Papple, Alisa Pellizzari and Jamie Umpherson work together at john st. — an award-winning creative boutique advertising agency in Toronto — alongside Science grad Leianne Vergara.

Ferraro and Hurst work on the planning team, curating high-level insights to inform the agency’s work with clients across Canada.

“Coming out of university and being able to have an understanding of each field in communication and media studies, that informed my interests,” said Ferraro, who manages digital and brand planning at john st.

Hurst examines quantitative data sets and condenses consumer data into meaningful insights for clients. His advice to students interested in a job like his? “Pay attention in Philip Savage’s class.”

The group agrees. Teaching professor Philip Savage is a unanimous favourite from their time in Communication Studies.

“The program is really helpful because you learn to speak a lot of languages,” said Pellizzari, noting that degree allows her to speak to everyone from broadcasters to coders in their specific vernacular. She works on the production team at john st. with Papple.

“Producers are like the orchestra leader, the one making sure everyone is exactly where they need to be,” said Papple. They execute the ideas generated by the creative team, including colleagues Umpherson and Vergara. They coordinate all the details to turn a TV script into reality.

Papple always thought she would need a business degree to work in advertising, but most people at john st. have degrees in the arts or science, not commerce. “Advertising is the perfect blend of art and science,” she added.

The advertising world is competitive, but there are great jobs out there. Ferraro credits his eclectic work background for his success.

For Hurst, it’s all about staying connected: “You’ve got to talk to people and you’ve got to volunteer … and get on LinkedIn to find connect with organizations and the people in them.”

Papple emphasises the need for flexibility: “If someone had told me five years ago that I’d be working in production … well I didn’t even know what that was.”

She recommends that new McMaster alumni interested in advertising check out the Institute of Communications Agencies’ Next Gen Day — an opportunity to tour agencies and learn about the industry.

According to Pellizzari, informational interviews helped her get started. The key is finding people whose jobs interest you, inviting them for coffee, asking a lot of questions and learning how they got to where they are, she explained.

It might take a while to cut your teeth, added Hurst, but it’s going to be driven by passion and it’s going to be something you’ll love.