Award season is officially open and that means one thing – it’s time for the ADDYs. “The American Advertising Awards, to give them their official title, are the Advertising industry’s equivalent of the Oscars,” says John Delacruz, Assistant Professor, Advertising. Opening a varied award season every year, the best professional and student work is rewarded and celebrated at an event that showcases homegrown talent.
“For students, this is the first step on the ladder of advertising award shows and is one where their creativity is rewarded alongside the best our industry has to offer. They are judged alongside their professional counterparts – and that’s a big deal,” says Delacruz.
This year’s event was held at Deluxe Eatery and Drinkery, San José, a hip watering hole at the heart of San José’s creative district. Student members of the American Advertising Federation’s Silicon Valley Ad Club volunteered and reaped the rewards. Since 2013, SJSU’s Advertising Program’s participation in this competition has increased. This year, there were 21 student entries across a number of categories that included Art Direction to Copywriting to Cinematography. In all, SJSU students received 16 Awards in the Gold, Silver and Bronze categories, plus a coveted ADDY and a Judges’ Pick.
The Gold Award, and subsequent ADDY went to Arabela Espinoza and Talia Nakhjiri for a Social Media and Print based campaign for the 2017 ADDYs Call For Entries. The campaign, “Make Mama Proud,” was a call to action for advertising creatives to enter the competition so their mothers could be proud of them once more.
A Silver Award and Judges’ Pick went to Noel Shiu and Cullan McChesney for Burger King. This campaign, edgy and racy, showcased their creativity in terms of Copywriting, Art Direction and Strategy.
Brocoli’s Agency – a team consisting of Michael Brown, Hieu Tran, Aurelia Faudot, Peter Babakhan and Antina Chen won three Silver Awards for a rebranding and communications campaign for the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. The campaign, “Dive Deeper,” revealed the breadth of craft skills the students learn in the advertising program. They designed a new brand identity and created an app as well as a social media and print campaign to announce the refreshed new look. “They also created a range of merchandising products too,” says Delacruz.
Brandon Torres, a talented advertising photographer, won two Silvers for a photography exhibition he also promoted via a website and a series of short videos. “De Mi Tierra” celebrated his Colombian heritage and showcased his photographic talent.
Jesse Santos won two Silvers and a Bronze award. One of the Silver awards was received in collaboration with Alyssa Sotelo for an awareness campaign for Patagonia’s Long Root Ale – a beer produced using sustainable agricultural methods. He also won a Silver in Cinematography for a series of bumper videos promoting Peace One Day. The Bronze was also in Cinematography for a commercial promoting HydroFlask as the perfect container for cold beer.
Eva Germer received a Silver award for an environmental sticker campaigns promoting sustainability on campus. These stickers decorate the rims of all the trash cans on campus, reminding users of their environmental responsibilities.
Adrianna Benyat swept the floor with an Awards haul winning two Silvers for Peace One Day and a Bronze for Home Depot, “Toys to Tools.” Adrianna Benyat, together with Saul Manriquez, also won a Silver Award for PetChatz, an ingenious product helping owners maintain video contact with their pets throughout the day, and a Bronze Award or a rebrand of Totally Awesome cleaning products.
Finally, a Bronze went home to Annie Coleman, Lexi Kruger and Dani Ogier for their Burger King, Because Fire is Better campaign. The work they entered was copy-driven and evocative, as well as reflecting Burger King’s edgy tone-of-voice.
“This was a fantastic event where students networked with industry professionals, hustling for internships and where previous students returned having been rewarded with jobs in agencies across Silicon Valley and beyond,” says Delacruz. “Let’s see how much better next year’s ADDYs can be!”