by Christian Gammill edited Jacob Cotton
After 40+ years of teaching and decades given to her students right her in Mississippi Professor Emeritus Deanna Douglas was honored with this year’s Silver Medal Award from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Advertising Federation. To quote the AAF website about the award:
“In 1959 the American Advertising Federation established the Silver Medal Award Program. The program was established to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advertising industry.
Each year, local chapters of AAF bestow this award upon an outstanding member of their local advertising community. These individuals are not required to be members of AAF but fall within the criteria outlined on the attached nomination form.”
Professor Douglas’s wasn’t the only one to be honored at this year’s Addy Ceremony. Despite Covid-19’s best efforts University of Southern Mississippi’s student designers are continued to prove their worth in many different categories. This Spring just a quarter of USM’s Graphic Design students won almost every award at the Addy’s Competition as well as Best in Show and Judges Choice Award. The American Advertising Awards (Addys) is the design and advertising industry’s largest competition, attracting over 40,000 entries every year, and just ten design students reeled in 30+ awards. Twenty-one Silver and eleven Gold Addy Awards were awarded. The students placing in the local phase of the competition will move forward to the district level. There they compete with works from across several states for the opportunity to compete at the national level.
Travis Cumbest won Judges Choice Award as well as a gold Addy for his “We Are Here” Social Media Trailer that was created for the SPVA Design + Marketing team for the Art Department. “It was an honor to be selected as the Addys’ Student Judge’s Choice Award. My classmates and I worked extremely hard, and I am very humbled to be recognized by the community.” He said.
Sydney Beech won Best in Show as well as a gold Addy for her “Her Story” Social Media Advertisement that was created during a Motion Graphics course. “I am incredibly honored to have received Best in Show. I was up against some incredibly talented designers, so it was a shock to hear they considered my piece to be one of the best. Winning this award gave me a huge confidence boost and gave me validation that this is exactly where God wants me to be! I also greatly appreciate the overwhelming support and love I have received from my classmates and professors during this experience. Southern Miss has blessed my life in so many ways and it was a privilege to represent the school at the Addy’s this year! The one piece of advice I would give to other students is to never give up! I actually entered the Addy’s last year as well, but I didn’t receive any awards. This year, I won three gold awards and best in show. A little hard work and determination will take you far!” She said.
A list of all the amazing designers and their awards can be found below. Congratulations to everyone who participated for their amazing work.
Samantha Nguyen: Fourcade Root Beer/ Silver
Samantha Nguyen: Loke Coffee/ Silver
Conner Smith: Highland Park Dark Lager/ Silver
Madison Copeland: Expedition Ale/ Gold
Madison Copeland: Fredelig Sjel Coffee Bags/ Silver
Caleb Guidry: Salute Light Lager/ Silver
Alia Scott: Belu Coffee/ Silver
Sydney Beech: Smokey Mountain Memories Cards/ Gold
Madelynn Payne: The Society of Kidnapped Knights/ Silver
Madison Copeland: Secret Society Invitation Society/ Gold
Samantha Nguyen: Dublin Murder Squad Series/ Silver
Travis Cumbest: Sang Pa Coffee Look Book/ Silver
Madison Copeland: Fredelig Sjel Look Book/ Silver
Madison Copeland: Covid Journal/ Silver
Kaejha Dee: Ekte Coffee Company/ Silver
Morgan Green: Dublin Murder Squad/ Silver
Samantha Nguyen: Typography Infographic/ Silver
Morgan Green: Dublin Murder Squad Series Posters/ Silver
Samantha Nguyen: Accents Home & Gifts/ Silver
Madison Copeland: Carhartt Social Media Campaign/ Silver
Madelynn Payne: Ozark TV Intro/ Gold
Samantha Nguyen: We Are Here/ Gold
Travis Cumbest: We Are Here/ Gold
Travis Cumbest: Coca Cola Ad/ Silver
Alia Scott/ Black Mirror TV Intro/ Silver
Alia Scott: Apple Music TV Ad/ Gold
Conner Smith: New Zealand Travel Posters/ Silver
Sydney Beech: Space Race Board Game/ Gold
Travis Cumbest: Ozymandias/ Gold
Madison Copeland: Glossier Animated Logo/ Silver
Caleb Guidry: Southern Prohibition Animation Logo/ Gold
Sydney Beech: Her Story Social Media Ad/ Gold
Judges Choice Award:
Travis Cumbest: We Are Here/ Gold
Best in Show:
Sydney Beech: Her Story Social Media Ad/ Gold
