Kent State University students and staff won big at the 2017 American Advertising Federation of Akron’s (AAF-Akron) ADDY Awards ceremony, taking home seven silver awards and one gold.
The ceremony, which was themed “ADDY’s Late Night,” took place on Friday, Feb. 24, at the Akron Civic Theatre. The event included a reception, award show and after-party with live music.
Recent Kent State graduate Amani Williams, ’16, a visual journalism major, won a silver award for her still photography campaign “California.”
“The ADDY Awards are different than any other awards I’ve won," Williams says. "They’re a big deal to me. I’m so incredibly proud to be acknowledged for my hard work.”
Sophomore advertising student Emma Layshock, junior communications studies student Matt Cutler and sophomore digital media production student Nathan Shively won a silver award for their television advertisement “Find What Moves You.”
Senior visual communications design student Grace Harms also took home a silver award, for her visual logo design “Mulino Organico.”
Harms, whose design was submitted by Kent State’s student-run design agency IdeaBase, says that she is incredibly proud to see her logo design win such a prestigious award.
“It took me over a month to design the logo and get everything together,” Harms says. “It’s really cool to see all that hard work pay off in such a huge way.”
Kent State’s office of University Communications and Marketing also won at the ceremony, taking home four silver awards and one gold award.
Jason Zehner, senior graphic designer with University Communications and Marketing, says that the office owes its success to choosing pieces that have the right amount of creative originality, professional attention to detail and effective messaging toward the targeted audience.
“Good work should be noticeable, distinctive and evocative,” Zehner says. “We always work very hard on all of our projects, and we love when we can do it really well. And if our work gets this kind of respect, that’s all the better.”
Competitors who win gold awards in the local competition are automatically forwarded to the District Five competition of the American Advertising Awards, and silver award winners can forward their work for an additional fee.
Gold winners from the district awards are then forwarded to the national competition. The national winner’s ceremony, known as Admerica, will take place this year in New Orleans from June 7-10.
The following is a complete list of Kent State's 2017 ADDY Award winners:
Student Winners:
Grace Harms — SILVER Mulino Organico, Elements of Advertising, Visual, Logo Design
Emma A. Layshock, Matt Cutler, Nathan Shively — SILVER Find What Moves You, Single Television Advertising
Amani Williams — SILVER California, Elements of Advertising, Still Photography, Campaign
Professional Winners:
University Communications and Marketing, Kent State University
AAF-Akron Ad Abe; Adverting Industry Self-Promotion, Ad Club or Marketing Club – GOLD
Crescendo, 2016 Fashion Show Book; Sales & Marketing, Brochure, Single Unit – SILVER
You’re Admitted; Film, Video & Sound, Online Film, Video & Sound, Single Spot, Any Length – SILVER
School of Music Viewbook; Sales & Marketing, Brochure, Single Unit – SILVER
AAF-Akron Advertising Abe ADDY Book; Adverting Industry Self-Promotion, Ad Club or Marketing Club – SILVER