Students sweep advertising competition

By Cynthia Herndon

The intimately lit room was abuzz with the sounds of chatter coming from a few hundred dapperly dressed students and professional creatives as they nervously nibbled from a vast array of hors da��oeuvres.

One group of young women could be overheard predicting the fate of creative works on display near the back of the room – they speculated that missing works may not be lost but being reserved for more notable recognition later on.

Makena Peet, an art and mass communications/graphic communications major at BHSU, was picked for one of the three works she submitted for judging, she knew she had won something.

“It feels awesome,” Peet said.

The Black Hills chapter of the American Advertising Federation (Black Hills — AAF) held its annual awards gala in the John T. Vucurevich Event Center at the Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City on Feb. 7.

The 2014 AAF Student American Advertising Awards Competition was open to area college students. The event was held in conjunction with the American Advertising Awards which aims to “recognize and reward the creative spirit of excellence in the art of advertising,” according to their website.

Amira Loveridge, BHSU mass communications major, had an up-beat outlook after spotting the children’s clothing catalog she entered in the competition. Her design was displayed amidst masses of highly recognizable professional works from the community. It’s location at the back of the room meant she would not be receiving an ADDY.

“I just think it’s a really neat opportunity to enter as a student in such a big part of the industry that we will enter soon,” Loveridge said.

Dustin Hinson, board member of the Black Hills AAF and assistant professor of mass communication at BHSU, encouraged Loveridge and her classmates to participate in the annual competition. He emphasized the importance of participating – regardless of the outcome.

“Everyone that entered gets the experience of putting their work up against other people and making sure somebody sees it outside of class — which is very similar to what’s going to happen after school if they want to go into this field,” Hinson said. “In addition to the student work, they get to see all the professionals and their work that won as well; so they understand that by the time they get out into the region that’s gonna be them.”

Several BHSU students not only dodged back-of-the room-display demise, but also went on to dominate the competition by earning top honors in their respective categories.

Award winning entries were selected based on originality, creativity, composition and end result. The Gold ADDY is awarded to the top scoring entry in each category and the Silver ADDY is awarded to outstanding entries worthy of recognition. Four advertising professionals from the Denver area market judged each entry individually then awarded the winners based on overall score.

Local ADDY award winners of both student and professional divisions can advance to the district level competition in Minneapolis in April 2014. They can compete against other AAF club winners from South Dakota, Minnesota, and North Dakota with the possibility of earning national recognition at the American Advertising Awards held in Boca Raton, Fla. May 31, 2014.

BHSU students placed in the following categories:

Student Best of Show, Orlando Munoz — “Presidential Stamp.” Student Best of Show Runner-Up Makena Peet — “Illuminated Letter.” Sales Promotion: Point of Purchase, Tana Rae Hersch (recent graduate)a�� Silveree, “Sage Bistro.” Collateral material: Brochure/Annual report Tana Rae Hersch — Silver, “Travel India.”Stationary package Shelby C. Best — Silver, “Bee Hive.”

Direct Marketing: Orlando Munoz — Gold, “Presidential Stamps.” Allison Polski – Silver, “Vintage Pin Up Stamps.” Integrated Campaigns: Consumer Makena Peet – Gold, “Lomo Clothing Campaign” Elements of Advertising: Visual Illustration, Single Makena Peet — Gold, “Illuminated Letter.” Shelby C. Best – Gold, “Goldfish.” Photography, Black & White

Laura Howarda��Gold, “Sunday Brunch.” Anthony Petrone — Gold, untitled Anthony Petrone — Gold, untitled Photography, Color Joseph Geyer — Gold, “Peeling away the Beauty.”

Photography, Digitally Enhanced Cody Wiseman — Silver, “Taking Control.”Cody Wiseman — Silver, “What Comes Next.” Lorena Sumcio — Silver, “Mandala.” Photography, Color

Joseph Geyer — Gold, “Peeling away the Beauty.”