The advertising campaign includes billboards, buses, bus stops, inside trains and the Columbia College Chicago campus.
By Mary Mares-Awe—OUR VERY OWN Elio Leturia is riding in style—on the bus, literally. Some of us may have seen the elegant image campaign promoting Columbia College Chicago on CTA buses around town featuring Elio Leturia along with a handful of professors at Columbia.
Leturia was invited for the advertising campaign in late April. The professional photo shoot took place at Columbia’s studios and since last month his face has graced the side billboards of CTA buses, plus the digital screens in four CTA stations at Clark and Lake, Addison Red Line, Davis Purple Line and the Belmont station, as well as inside trains. Elio’s larger-than-life image can also be seen on two billboards along I-90.
Leturia teaching Visual Journalism at Columbia College Chicago
Besides being a journalism tenured professor at Columbia College Chicago and the vice president of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association, Leturia is also an accomplished theater actor. But he’s never been on a stage this big—with such an extended daily run—and more audience than can pack all of Chicago’s theaters, combined.
His reaction to all this attention: “I feel very honored that Columbia has chosen me to be a part of their promotional campaign.” Each professor was invited for the high honors they’ve achieved in their career. Elio Leturia was specifically chosen as a Fulbright-Honored Faculty. “To me it was really exciting because it was serving the campaign of the college—highlighting me as a member of the faculty, but at the same time it was highlighting Fulbright which is very close to me.”
When asked about what went through his mind when he found out he was selected for the advertising image, he says with a laugh, “Well, my first reaction was, what am I going to wear?” From the photo we can see he made an excellent wardrobe choice. Leturia also says he finds it amusing when people who’ve seen the promotional images, send him pictures they took and tell him he looks like a model in a GAP ad.
The advertising campaign is in full swing now and runs through the end of September.
Photos. Susy Schultz, Bethel Swift, Teri Arvisú, Brittany Delk
FULBRIGHT CHICAGO 