AI is everywhere — and marketing is no exception. This year marked the first time that the American Advertising Federation incorporated an AI category into its Midlands ADDY Awards, and University of South Carolina students rose to the challenge, showcasing what is possible in dynamic, creative concept and design in collaboration with AI.
While there was no stray alpine wolf-dog photobombing USC students when they crossed the finish line at the ADDY Awards, that might have been arranged using artificial intelligence. The award ceremony’s “Go-for-the-Gold” theme, a nod to the Winter Olympics, certainly resonated as one USC team — accompanied by journalism instructor Jason Porter decked out in his best snowboarder garb — far outperformed the pros for effective use of AI in their ad campaigns.
“Very few professionals used AI, but once the skeptics saw the way students used AI, there was a change — a wow reaction,” Porter says. “The work was good.”
Recent USC graduate Elissa Myers (above, center) won both a Gold and a Silver ADDY. The gold honored her packaging design work for fictitious brand Celka cosmetics, while the silver recognized her Celka logo design. In proper Olympic panache, she accepted her gold draped in a USC flag.
“Professor Porter asked me if I wanted to take the flag up when I was receiving my award,” she says. “Of course, I said yes and, though it was nerve-wracking, I had a lot of fun doing something so completely outside my comfort zone.”
In addition to College of Information and Computing students, interactive design students from the School for Visual Art and Design also won ADDY Gold with an augmented reality experience developed in partnership with the Columbia Museum of Art.
“Their award-winning project — a whimsical AR scavenger hunt designed to guide visitors through the museum’s lesser-known galleries — was built in just three weeks,” says Meena Khalili, associate professor of studio art. “Twenty-two students, working in teams of three to four, leveraged emergent technologies to bring artworks to life throughout the building. Artificial intelligence supported the project, driving both strategic development and copywriting.”
I truly learned so much about how the industry works and about how my work should reflect what job I want in the future
The SVAD students’ augmented reality museum experience installation served as a permanent fixture in the museum through its renovation last year.
Cross-platform stepping stones
Myers is still taking in the spotlight. It seems surreal, but she worked diligently through a series of critical steps to create her Gold ADDY-winning campaign.
“The packaging was an extremely important part of Celka’s branding, so I wanted to make sure it was unique,” Myers explains. “I first used Illustrator and designed the shapes I wanted for the lip products, making sure to add Celka’s iconic flower motif. Then I used Firefly to render my designs into 3D products. I brought Celka to life by then using Photoshop to change the lighting and colors, and Illustrator to add the packaging details and wordmark that I made. I was able to create packaging that is singular to Celka.”
She expressed gratitude for Porter’s leadership and encouragement, adding that his classes were some of her favorites.
“I truly learned so much about how the industry works and about how my work should reflect what job I want in the future,” she says. “He never hesitates to help students with job interview prep or networking. He also gave amazing feedback that truly enhanced everyone’s projects.”
Ultimately, the ADDY Awards afforded USC communication, design and advertising students the opportunity to meet and network with seasoned, industry creatives.
“It was my first step into the professional sphere,” Myers says.