Three of the top awards presented at this year’s Mid-Michigan American Advertising (ADDY) Awards went to College of Arts & Letters students. Altogether, 13 students from the College of Arts & Letters brought home 22 individual ADDY Awards, including seven gold, six silver, four bronze, three Judge’s Choice Awards, and two Best of Category.

The Judge’s Choice Awards are the highest prize an entry can receive, with only three presented this year. Those three awards went to Maddison Chaffer, Graphic Design senior, for the Roald Dahl Cover Series; Alison Eberle, Experience Architecture senior, for her St. Paul’s Cathedral Tour entry; and Matthew Gillespie, who graduated in December with a BFA in Graphic Design, for his Amber Air Adventures entry. Chaffer, Eberle, and Gillespie all received Golden ADDYs in addition to their Judge’s Choice Awards. Chaffer and Gillespie’s entries also were chosen for the Best of Category honor.

To have all three of the coveted Judge’s Choice Awards go to our students is quite an impressive accomplishment. Their work is always thoughtful and refined down to every last detail, while still retaining a feeling of whimsy and intuitive decision-making. 

CHRIS CORNEAL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

“I am thrilled to have entered the ADDY Awards this year as a senior. I could not have done it without Chris Corneal (Associate Professor of Graphic Design) and the feedback from my classmates,” Gillespie said. “The ADDYs have already proven to be a great way to get to know the design and advertising community.”

Corneal, who joined his students at the awards ceremony on February 17 at MSU’s Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, is a mentor to many of the students who participated in the competition.

“To have all three of the coveted Judge’s Choice Awards go to our students is quite an impressive accomplishment,” Corneal said. “Their work is always thoughtful and refined down to every last detail, while still retaining a feeling of whimsy and intuitive decision-making. These prestigious juried awards indicate the high quality of their work.”

In the professional competition, MSU’s College of Arts & Letters Marketing Office won ADDY Awards for their work, including:

• Gold ADDY – Liberal Arts at MSU – MSU Branded Content and Entertainment; Advertising category
• Gold ADDY – MSU Faculty Welcome New Students; Branded Content and Entertainment (single entry more than :60 seconds); Film, Video, and Sound category
• Bronze ADDY – “Did You Know?” Pride Points; Social Media Campaign; Online/Interactive category

Hosted by the Mid-Michigan Creative Alliance and the American Advertising Federation, the ADDY Awards allow students and professionals to showcase their advertising work and compete in seven separate categories. This year, each piece was assessed by five judges: Joyce Hayek, Creative Director at Rebuild Group; K’Kio Hardin, Design Director at Tilt; Betsy Agosta, Art Director at Cramer-Krasselt; Allie Fischer, Creative Director and Partner at Godfrey Dadich Partners; and Frank Lazur, Marketing Associate at Retail Bloom.

All Gold and Silver ADDY award winners are encouraged to submit their work to the District 6 competition, which represents AAF clubs in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. District award winners will be notified by April 1, and all District Gold ADDY winners are then entered into the National ADDY competition.

Student ADDY Award Winners

The following is a list of all the College of Arts & Letters students who won ADDY Awards as well as the individual awards they received.

Judge’s Choice 

• Maddison Chaffer, Graphic Design senior, Roald Dahl Cover Series, Sales and Marketing category
• Alison Eberle, Experience Architecture senior, St. Paul’s Cathedral Tour, Out-of-Home category
• Matthew Gillespie, BFA Graphic Design ’19, Amber Air Adventures, Cross-Platform category

Best of Category 

• Maddison Chaffer, Graphic Design senior, Roald Dahl Cover Series, Sales and Marketing category
• Matthew Gillespie, BFA Graphic Design ’19, Amber Air Adventures, Cross-Platform category

Gold ADDYs

• Jacob Chaban, Graphic Design senior, Architectural Poster, Out-of-Home category
• Maddison Chaffer, Graphic Design senior, Roald Dahl Cover Series, Sales and Marketing category
• Meaghan Demski, Graphic Design senior, booch-ology, Cross-Platform category
• Alison Eberle, Experience Architecture senior, St. Paul’s Cathedral Tour, Out-of-Home category
• Matthew Gillespie, BFA Graphic Design ’19, Amber Air Adventures, Cross-Platform category
• Molly Killingbeck, Graphic Design senior, Corduroy Cover, Sales and Marketing category
• Ansley Orr, Graphic Design senior, Coraline Cover, Sales and Marketing category

Silver ADDYs

• Wyatt Stonhouse, Graphic Design senior, Surface + Materiality – Vernors, Sales and Marketing category
• Kelsie Lane, Studio Art and Arts and Humanities senior, Pied Piper Cover, Sales and Marketing category
• Kelsie Lane, Studio Art and Arts and Humanities senior, Richard III Poster, Out-of-Home category
• Meredith Bieber, Graphic Design senior, Design Pupils, Cross-Platform category
• Alex Renninger, Graphic Design senior, Peaky Blinders Title Sequence, Film, Video and Sound category
• Kaitlin Urbin, Graphic Design senior, Time Out Wine, Cross-Platform category

Bronze ADDYs

• Kaitlin Urbin, Graphic Design senior, Snowblower Sale, Sales and Marketing category
• Jacob Chaban, Graphic Design senior, Ten Tickles, Cross-Platform category
• Wyatt Stonhouse, Graphic Design senior, King Lear Poster, Out-of-Home category
• Heather Haely, Professional Writing senior, Child Sexual Abuse Newspaper Ad, Print Advertising category

Written by Alec Parr