One of my first design jobs was for 49er Shops, Inc. It was a valuable work experience, asking designers to be able to create print ads of all shapes and sizes for multiple departments under tight deadlines.
Sometimes, we had to do smaller, postcard-sized ads that contained a lot of information. Copy layout, order, etc. were just as important as creating eye-catching adverts that students would want to pick up and take home.
Sometimes ads have to serve more catalogue-style purposes, where item descriptions, prices, and photos were key elements while design complimented that goal.
And sometimes, we were given reign to cut loose! Sometimes a design was only requested to be 'eye catching' and for me, that meant illustrations! There was a wide series of these in fact, spanning from book sales to print shop promotions. When there wasn't a specific item/service being promoted, I often defaulted to making a large illustration themed after the promotion.