Advertising Students Win Four National ADDY Awards

In a field of nearly 35,000 professional and student entries submitted to the 2021 competitions, just 60 student entries were selected for national Gold or Silver awards

Students at the Temerlin Advertising Institute (TAI) brought home four ADDY Awards – one Gold and three Silver – in the national finals of the 58^th annual American Advertising Federation American Advertising Awards competition in June. It was TAI’s best showing ever at the national contest.

Ethan Rios (B.A. Advertising; minors in graphic design and in photography ’22) won a Gold award for copywriting in his humorous campaign for Nair for Men. The Gold ADDY “recognizes the highest level of creative excellence and is judged to be superior to all other entries in the category,” according to the Advertising Federation.

Grace Peek (B.A. Advertising; B.A. Fashion Media; minor in graphic design ’23) won a Silver award in the magazine campaign category for her All-Terrain Poison Ivy Cream campaign, titled “Fight Nature with Nurture.”

The team of Meredith Welborn (B.A. Advertising/Creative; B.A. Journalism; B.A. French ’21) and Luke Lockwood (B.A. Advertising ’21; M.S. Finance ’22) won two Silver awards for their “23andMe: The Story of You” campaign – one in the television advertising category and one for art direction.

All of the ads had previously won Bronze, Silver or Gold awards at both the local and district ADDY competitions held earlier this year. (See previous story here.)

“We couldn’t be prouder of our students who worked so hard through the pandemic to produce work of this caliber,” said Temerlin Senior Lecturer Mark Allen, recently recognized as 2021 Educator of the Year by the AAF Dallas chapter. “Temerlin students excelled in the 2021 ADDY competitions; in addition to the four national trophies, they won a record 22 awards in the local competition and 10 awards in the four-state district competition.”

Judges of the student entries in the national competition were Nadine Cheung, creative director at Engine, New York, N.Y.; Mike Giunta, senior vice president/creative director at Garrison Hughes, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Aaron Jarosh, creative director at Bailey Lauerman, Omaha, Neb.; and Brian Sterricker, associate creative director at Bader Rutter, Milwaukee, Wis.

The American Advertising Awards are the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition, recognizing and rewarding creative excellence in the art of advertising. The three-tier contest includes local, district, and national levels, with top winners in each contest advancing to the next level. This year, nearly 35,000 professional and student entries were submitted in local competitions, and just 60 student entries were ultimately selected for national Gold or Silver awards. The Student American Advertising Awards 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, who was 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 hundreds of creative awards in prestigious regional, national and international competitions including The One Show, CMYK Magazine and The Art Directors Club of New York.