JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- At the Tri-Cities Metro Advertising Federation's annual ADDY Awards banquet on Feb. 23 East Tennessee State University faculty and students earned an array of gold and silver ADDYs.
Among the professional categories, a gold award in regional or national television single spots was presented for "I Know," the ETSU faculty and staff convocation video, with faculty member Martin Fitzgerald providing the creative and technical work and D.J. Jessee acting as producer.
Fitzgerald earned another gold award for an audio visual sales presentation, "Providing Area Schools Technical Assistance," about the ETSU PASTA Program.
Jon Hounshell, now an ETSU faculty member, won a gold ADDY for designing the 20th anniversary "tea shirts" for Pal's Sudden Service restaurants. He was employed by Creative Energy when he completed the project.
ETSU's digital media students earned many awards in the student division of the competition, including Jonathan Parsons' gold ADDY and Best of Show for his interactive media portfolio, which judges described as having "Very advanced aesthetic. Stood out as different from all the other projects."
Gold awards were also presented to Christi Faris in the collateral material/poster category, Seth Horn in interactive media, and Anna Seaver in elements of advertising/illustration.
Nick Adams received two gold ADDYs, for interactive media and elements of advertising/illustration, and Justin Dickenson claimed two gold awards for elements of advertising/illustration and elements of advertising/logo.
The mixed media campaign top award went to the team of Christian Schmid, Nick Adams, Tim Denton, Jonathan Parsons, and Renee McCall.
Students receiving silver ADDYs were Justin Dickenson in interactive media, Paul Murray in elements of advertising/illustration, Ashley Graham in packaging, and Silas Shipman in elements of advertising/illustration.
Judges noted that "technically and aesthetically, interactive is the strong point for your market. The level of refinement, planning, and detail is tremendous. It is unusual for the design of the interactive to exceed the design of the print work, but that is clearly the trend in your market. It is also worth pointing out that the same is true for the student work."
As winner of the Advertising Federation essay contest for minority students enrolled in a media arts program, ETSU digital media student Lin Lin Wei was presented a $300 scholarship at the banquet.
Judging the competition were Traylor Woodall, creative director of Fivestone Studios in Franklin; Whitney Pratt, senior art director with Neathawk, Dubuque and Packett with offices in Richmond and Roanoke, Va., as well as Chattanooga; and Alex Wier, art director of the Augusta, Ga., firm Wierhouse.
The ADDYs are the American Advertising Federation's premiere creative competition. Those winning gold awards at the local level advance to regional, and perhaps national, levels.
