UPDATE: Alex Marinelli's "Demo Reel" won a Gold ADDY at the District Level and will now be entered in the national competition.
Students from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications were honored by AAF Midlands at the annual American Advertising Awards Gala on Feb. 18, 2023.
Senior visual communications major Alex Marinelli took home top honors with his "Demo Reel." He was awarded Best of Show and a Gold ADDY for the video created in his capstone portfolio class taught by Sabrina Habib.
"Alex is a talented storyteller who captured emotions and moments with the right light, angle, and equipment. Then he edited to the beat in a great sequence," Habib says. "It takes a lot of skill and sensitivity to excel at all of this, many videographers are only good at shooting or editing, he does both extremely well."
AAF Midlands recognized student winners in a variety of categories. SJMC student winners were:
STUDENT BEST IN SHOW AWARD
Alex Marinelli for “Demo Reel”
Faculty Mentor: Sabrina Habib
ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISING
In Cinematography, Single
Gold ADDY Award goes to Alex Marinelli for “Demo Reel.”
CROSS PLATFORM
In Integrated Advertising Campaign, Consumer
Silver ADDY - Sophie Olsen, Henry Travis, Lauren Gaines and Anne Heiler for “Best
Buy.”
Faculty Mentor: Russ Gottwald
In Animation or Special Effects
Silver ADDY - Grace Gomez for “Float a River”
Faculty Mentor: Jason Porter
Silver ADDY - Lily Ferguson and Sabrina Hampton for “How to Bag A Bourbon Drink.”
Faculty Mentor: Jason Porter
Silver ADDY Award - Ben Crispin for “In Good Spirits”
Faculty Mentor - Jeff Williams
ONLINE AND INTERACTIVE
In Social Media, Campaign
Silver ADDY - Maggie Gries for “Poppi”
Faculty Mentor: Sabrina Habib
OUT OF HOME AND AMBIENT MEDIA
In poster – single
Silver ADDY - Alex Marinelli for “Gamecocks Football.”
Faculty Mentor: Sabrina Habib
PRINT ADVERTISING
In Magazine Advertising, Campaign
Silver ADDY - Isabel Borja for “The Roots of your Drink”
Faculty Mentor - Jeff Williams
SALES AND MARKETING
In Printed Annual Report or Brochure
Silver ADDY - Jackson Kirkland and Paul Tate for “UltraPet”
Faculty Mentor - Marcia Purday
AAF Midlands holds the yearly competition as part of the American Advertising Federation’s American Advertising Awards, the largest advertising competition in the world. The awards represent the true spirit of creative excellence by recognizing all forms of advertising from media of all types, creative by all sizes and entrants of all levels from anywhere in the world. As a chapter of the national organization, AAF Midlands’ award winners will move on to compete at the district level and then in the national competition.