This year, the Advertising and Digital Design program was ranked No. 3 by the One Club for Creativity, the industry’s preeminent advertising and interactive design student competition. FIT students were awarded one Gold One Show Pencil and two Bronze One Show Pencils in the Young Ones One Show student awards.
In a dedicated final semester course, students enter competitions such as the One Show Awards, the D&AD (Design and Art Direction) Awards, and the Creative Conscience Awards. Student teams are tasked with delivering insightful and creative advertising campaigns that are judged by industry professionals.
“When these awards are announced, the industry immediately looks at the winners’ portfolios,” says Joseph Staluppi, co-curriculum chair of Advertising and Digital Design. “It really helps our students get their foot in the door and raises the reputation of the program as a whole.”
The Gold Pencil award went to “The Big Bang and Olufsen,” executed by Gianelle Leger. The campaign brought the audio electronics brand Bang and Olufsen through a sonic journey in outer space.
A Bronze Pencil was awarded to “Tourdash,” a campaign by Astghik Vardanyan and Jane Hoffman for Doordash, the restaurant delivery service. Another was given to Cailey McKenna, Osvaldo Aguilar, Brandon Murillo, and Michael Chimenti for “Warzone Blood Bank,” an innovative approach to generating good press for the controversial video game Call of Duty.
In addition, the Advertising and Digital Design seniors won three Young Ones ADC Awards, a Silver, Bronze, and Merit Award. In the ADC (Art Directors Club) awards, students can enter anything from advertising design to films, posters, and online videos. The ADC Silver Cube for Motion and Cinematography and the Bronze Cube for Advertising: Television/Film/Online went to “Listen to Harlem,” a tourism campaign promoting the New York neighborhood. The campaign was executed by Alice Garsia, Brandon Murillo, and Seamus Deegan.
The ADC Merit Award was awarded to “Fenty Beauty for All” in the category of Advertising: Out of Home Poster.
The success of the projects, Staluppi says, can be attributed to FIT’s rigorous and cutting-edge curriculum that has a heavy focus on research and digital media. “We try to prepare them in the way they’ll work in the industry. To understand the consumer, understand the brand, and understand all the research.”
—Dana Flores, Advertising and Marketing Communications ’22