Michigan State University advertising and public relations students triumphed at the 2018 Michigan ADDY Awards on March 14, walking away with a total of 55 ADDYs in the student category. That total includes 13 gold, 15 silver and 27 bronze awards.
Henry Brimmer, MSU professor of practice in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, was at the award show to pick up some of his own awards and watch proudly as many of his students collected some hardware.
“I’m excited for them, and happy to think I might have played a small part in their development,” Brimmer said.
The annual ADDY Awards are the advertising and marketing industry’s largest and most recognized competition. The presentation and dinner put on by the Mid-Michigan Creative Alliance and the American Advertising Federation was a chance for Michigan-based students and professionals to share their work, get recognized and mingle with the creative community.
For ComArtSci students, it’s a chance to promote work and earn some respect in the industry beyond a grade and the everyday classroom context.
“It was cool to win awards alongside some of my friends, both as partners on the same campaign and in other cases, seeing the work my friends presented in class or outside of class,” said Benjy Joung, advertising senior. “It’s nice to see recognition outside the classroom.”
It was an especially big night for Yi Rong, advertising alumna, who received five gold, one silver, three bronze and one Judge’s Choice Award.
“It was delightful to celebrate our achievements with this creative community,” Rong said. “These projects were impossible to accomplish without my inspirational instructors and my hard-working teammates. I believe these awards can encourage us to go further in this industry.”