SMU Meadows School of the Arts Students Win Local American Advertising Awards (formerly the ADDYS)

Students at the Temerlin Advertising Institute (TAI) at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts won the majority of honors in the Student category of the 54^th annual American Advertising Federation (AAF) American Advertising Awards local competition, hosted by AAF-Dallas on February 18 at Gas Monkey Live in Dallas. The awards were formerly known as the ADDYs.

Of the 15 awards presented to college students at this year’s competition, SMU won a total of seven in four categories, including three gold, one silver and three bronze awards. Senior Mackenzie Cimala won five awards, the most of any university student in the contest, including three gold and two bronze awards; gold-winning submissions automatically advance to the district level competition in Lubbock, Texas, April 14-16.

The SMU winning entries were as follows:

GOLD AWARD

CLIENT: Bowen House
CATEGORY: Elements of Advertising – Logo Design
CREDITS: Mackenzie Cimala ’16, Designer

CLIENT: Fig & Olive – Logo design
CATEGORY: Elements of Advertising – Logo Design
CREDITS: Mackenzie Cimala ’16, Designer

CLIENT: Fig & Olive – Olive oil bottle
CATEGORY: Product or Service Sales Promotion – Packaging
CREDITS: Mackenzie Cimala ’16, Designer

SILVER AWARD

CLIENT: Dr. Frommholtz’s Candy (fictional line of novelty jelly beans)
CATEGORY: Product or Service Sales Promotion – Packaging
CREDITS: Samantha Butz ’17

BRONZE AWARD

CLIENT: MiraLax – “This Too Shall Pass”
CATEGORY: Print Campaign – Magazine
CREDITS: Mallory Massa ’16

CLIENT: BarkBox
CATEGORY: Print Campaign – Magazine
CREDITS: Mackenzie Cimala ’16, Art Director; Tien Dang ’16, Copywriter

CLIENT: BarkBox
CATEGORY: Cross-Platform Integrated Campaign – Consumer
CREDITS: Mackenzie Cimala’16, Art Director; Tien Dang ’16, Copywriter

“It is wonderful to see the students showcase their talents to the DFW advertising industry, as well as their parents, Temerlin alumni and their professors,” said Dr. Steve Edwards, director of the Temerlin Advertising Institute. “Awards are just one indicator of the quality of not only the students, but the dedicated agency executives and academic experts teaching in the program. We are so proud of Mackenzie Cimala for a truly outstanding performance! She, Samantha Butz, Mallory Massa and Tien Dang all have bright futures in the industry.”

Edwards noted that the students’ work follows that of many prominent TAI alumni, “including David Drown and Megan Lee, who each won multiple awards in the professional categories. We are especially proud of work by former TAI master’s student Arturo Lee and his team at Dieste, a Hispanic marketing agency. Their campaign, titled ‘Adoptable Trends,’ received a gold award in the Online/Interactive category and was named Best of Show.”

Willie Baronet, the Stan Richards Professor in Creative Advertising, said, “I am so proud of the achievements of Mackenzie, Sam, Mallory and Tien! I’ve watched them develop from wide-eyed newbies in Intro to Creativity into creative forces to be reckoned with. I’m confident this is only the first of many shows that will feature their work, and the work of many of their classmates! I’m honored to be a part of the Temerlin team here at SMU.”

“I was so honored to be one of the winners,” said Cimala, who took home five awards. “As a double major in both creative advertising and studio art and minor in graphic design at Meadows, I’ve been able to gain the skills and artistic perspective that enabled me to develop portfolio pieces worthy of ADDY awards. The feedback in our portfolio classes from fellow students, TAI professors and Dallas advertising creatives has been invaluable and allowed me to improve my work. TAI has given me a great academic experience that has also prepared me for the real world ahead.”

Over 950 entries were submitted this year from more than 70 Dallas advertising agencies and universities. Judges were Stephen Cargile, principal creative designer at Walt Disney Imagineering; Eunie Kwon, interactive design director at Mirum Agency; and Marcelo Padoca, creative director and copywriter at The Community (formerly La Communidad).

The local American Advertising Awards are the first level of a three-tier, national competition. Local winners may advance to the district level, and district winners compete in the national American Advertising Awards at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., June 7. At the national level, student entries are eligible for a finalist certificate, a national Student American Advertising Award for first-place winners, and a $1,000 cash prize for the national Best of Show winner.

The American Advertising Awards are the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition, recognizing and rewarding creative excellence in the art of advertising. Every year more than 40,000 entries are submitted in local American Advertising Awards competitions. The Student American Advertising Awards, sponsored by the American Advertising Federation and National Ad 2, are a sub-category designed especially for college students. Applicants must be enrolled full- or part-time in an accredited U.S. educational institution.

Established in 2001 in the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU, the Temerlin Advertising Institute for Education and Research is the country’s first endowed institute for the study of advertising. The Institute is named in honor of Liener Temerlin, a respected humanitarian and leader in the advertising industry. Offering both B.A. and M.A. degrees, TAI trains students to search for unique solutions in advertising, preparing them for work in advertising agencies, media firms, corporate marketing departments and design studios. In addition to opportunities for a 15-week executive internship, M.A. candidates also study advertising outside the U.S. to further develop global perspective. TAI has established an award-winning track record. Students have earned numerous honors, including two national and four district championships in the AAF National Student Advertising Competition and dozens of creative awards in prestigious regional, national and international competitions including The One Show, CMYK Magazine and The Art Directors Club of New York. In addition, the Temerlin Institute was named one of 10 leaders in advertising education among colleges and universities in the U.S. by Stuart Elliott, former advertising critic for The New York Times.