Contemporary Advertising: 2026 Release

Michael F. Weigold is Professor of Advertising at the University of Florida.  He has taught the introductory advertising class for nearly two decades at UF and also regularly teaches courses in advertising research, advertising campaigns, science communication, and communication theory.Professor Weigold has won many awards for both his teaching and scholarship. In 2007, he was designated International Educator of the Year for the College of Journalism and Communications and was one of twenty International Ambassadors for the University of Florida. That same year, he was awarded a Faculty Achievement Award by UF. He is the author or coauthor of over 40 publications and numerous conference papers. He has received a College of Journalism and Communications Researcher of the Year award, and his research has been funded by organizations that include the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Shands Cancer Center, and NASA.Professor Weigold’s professional experience includes account planning at Fraily & Wilson, an Orlando advertising agency. He has also served as a consultant to a number of organizations, including KOBACO of South Korea, Unilever, NASA, and many local clients.

William Arens (deceased), spent his entire career in the advertising business, and after 35 years in the field he had literally done it all. As an undergraduate at Berkeley, he worked part-time as a media rep for the San Francisco radio station, at the University of Paris he held a position at The New York Times, and upon graduation from Whittier College, he began his career in earnest as a sales rep for various print media.

Within a few years, he changed tracks by taking an account management position at a large San Francisco-based high-tech advertising agency, where he rapidly rose to become the manager of their branch office in San Diego.

An entrepreneur at heart, Mr. Arens soon left that position to form his own agency with a partner, where he was both Principal and the Chief Creative Officer. Specializing in business-to-business and financial accounts, that agency grew in stature and reputation over the years, accumulating many awards for creative excellence.

In 1975, he formed William F. Arens and Associates and began focusing on both national and international accounts. In 1982, he formed one of the early Hispanic agencies, Arens & Guiterrez, as a joint venture between his agency and one of the largest in Mexico. Working with mainstream American Agencies, A&G created Spanish-language advertising for blue chip advertisers including McDonald’s, General Mills, Sav-On Drug-stores, and the California Lottery.

In 1989, Mr. Arens jumped to the client side when be bought a chain of quick-lube stores in San Diego. As Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Arens was responsible for all the firm’s advertising and promotion. He over-saw the company’s growth in daily revenue as it doubled and then tripled.

At the end of his career, Mr. Arens was President of Stratimark Consulting, which specializes in strategic integrated marketing communications consulting for clients in the health care field.