SMU Temerlin Advertising Institute Nationally Ranked After Successful Awards Season

Another record-breaking year for SMU Advertising!

Written By: Sarah Jane Eckelkamp

We are only halfway through 2022, and TAI students have already doubled the accomplishments of the previous year. Throughout the semester, Temerlin Advertising Institute students enter their campaigns into various local and national competitions. TAI is celebrating several students who have been recognized by prestigious advertising competitions like Graphis, the American Advertising Federation Student Competition, the National Student Advertising Competition, Young Ones, and more. Even though the past two years were characterized by irregularity due to COVID, this awards season was inspiring and unprecedented. Creative Program Director and Senior Lecturer Mark Allen believes that this year’s success was “built on a long tradition of artistic and strategic excellence within Temerlin’s creative program, resulting in the most successful year we’ve ever had when it comes to student competitions.”

The Student One Show:

Young Ones, aka the Student One Show, is organized by The One Club for Creativity and is the world’s premier creative competition for advertising students. 

Last month, our Young Ones winners took home 24 Shortlists, 3 Merit Awards, and 4 ADC Cubes (2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze), earning SMU Temerlin Advertising Institute a Top 5 ranking in the United States and Top 10 in the world.

TAI students represented and were recognized across over a dozen categories, including art direction, copywriting, integrated campaigns, animation, sound design, narrative, film craft, and advertising/design for good. Our creatives cleaned up! Despite only competing in the ADC category, which recognizes campaigns created as coursework during the school year, SMU still obtained extraordinary rankings—which speaks highly of the level and quality of work produced by students through their mentorship from professors in the classroom. Because this category does not assign a particular client or brief, students are able to showcase the exemplary work they produce in the ordinary course of each semester within the Temerlin Advertising Institute. Professor Allen noted that “while it’s fun to win trophies as a reward for all our hard work, awards are really more about verifying (externally) what we already know about our program (internally) through an independent, internationally-renowned group of creative professionals—namely, that TAI  is one of the best advertising programs in the country.” The Student One Show truly recognizes the dedication of our students and faculty to positively shaping the future of the advertising industry. 

Congratulations to those identified below and all who mentored them along the way! And thank you to The One Club for Creativity for supporting students worldwide. 

2022 YOUNG ONES // WINNERS + SHORTLIST

See the winning work here. 

CUBE / LEGO: When did you stop building? > Film Craft: Animation / Elizabeth Skrmetta and Ethan Rios

CUBE / LEGO: When did you stop building? > Film Craft: Narrative / Elizabeth Skrmetta and Ethan Rios 

CUBE / LEGO: When did you stop building? > Television / Film / Online Video / Elizabeth Skrmetta and Ethan Rios 

CUBE / LEGO: When did you stop building? > Advertising: Craft in Video – Visual / Elizabeth Skrmetta and Ethan Rios 

MERIT / Half Price Books > Integrated Campaign / Sarah Scambray, Palmer Beldy and Sam Zimmerman 

MERIT / Band-Aid > Advertising: Television / Film / Online Video / Tessa Conti and Avery Levoyer 

MERIT / Band-Aid > Advertising: Direct / Tessa Conti and Avery Levoyer

SHORTLIST / Inkbox Temporary Tattoos > Magazine Advertising / Anika Crouser and Sophie Heidenreich

SHORTLIST / Rent the Runway: In Every Season > Out of Home / Sophie Heidenreich

SHORTLIST / The One Club: Pay Your Interns >Design for Good: Advertising / Grace Peek and Palmer Beldy

SHORTLIST / The One Club: Pay Your Interns > TV / Film / Online Video / Grace Peek and Palmer Beldy

SHORTLIST / Ring Video Doorbell > Integrated Campaign / Ra Kazadi

SHORTLIST / Temerlin Advertising Institute > Out-Of-Home / Posters / Tessa Conti

SHORTLIST / Lodge Cast-Iron Skillets > Integrated Campaign / Caroline Soja and Ceci Luther

SHORTLIST / Gabb Wireless Phones for Kids > Copywriting / Helen Cheever

SHORTLIST / Dad Grass: Low Dose Hemp Joints > Integrated Campaign / Sarah Scambray and Sam Zimmerman

SHORTLIST / Waffle House > Out-of-Home Poster / Megan Ferm and Brooke Betik

SHORTLIST / Story Corps / NPR Podcast > Out-Of-Home / Brittany Cooksey and Grace Peek 

SHORTLIST / Band-Aid > Motion / Film Craft: Short Video / Tessa Conti and Avery Levoyer

SHORTLIST / Band-Aid > Advertising: Craft in Video / Audio: Sound / Tessa Conti and Avery Levoyer 

SHORTLIST / Dungeons & Dragons > Out of Home Poster / Siena Marek and Olivia Porsch

SHORTLIST / US Postal Service > Out of Home Print / Ethan Rios and Palmer Beldy

SHORTLIST / US Postal Service > Copywriting / Ethan Rios and Palmer Beldy

SHORTLIST / Netflix > Design for Good: Advertising / Mariana Midolo

Graphis New Talent Annual: 

It doesn’t stop there…The Graphis New Talent Annual is a competition that showcases some of the most talented industry newcomers. Since 1944, Graphis has awarded some of the most influential work in the communication arts and, through the New Talent Annual, recognizes “rising stars.” The recognized students come from around the world, and the awarded work is published in a printed hardback volume each spring. 

One of TAI’s rising stars was Sarah Scambray (’22), now Junior Art Director at Slingshot agency, who had five campaigns recognized in the Graphis competition. Scambray said, “It was a huge honor to have work selected from such a wide pool of talented people – especially considering the fact that the judging for these competitions can feel so subjective, and each project is so unique.” Students Ethan Rios, Grace Peek, Palmer Beldy, Sam Zimmerman, Meriel Upton, Helen Cheever, and Elizabeth Skrmetta also placed in several divisions or with more than one campaign. They were alongside Scambray, who said, “Sometimes pieces that win gold in one competition won’t even place in another, so it was encouraging to see work do well across the board.”

SMU Advertising won in multiple categories across both Advertising and Graphic Design this year, taking home 25 awards in the 2022 Graphis New Talent Annual: 7 Golds, 10 Silvers, and 8 Honorable Mentions — the awardees are listed below. Congratulations to all the rising stars! A title which, according to Scambray, “encourages students not to become complacent, but to keep pushing to create better and better work.” Thank you, Graphis!

2022 GRAPHIS NEW TALENT ANNUAL WINNERS

See the winning work here.

GOLD (7)

Sarah Scambray / Divorced Beheaded / Publication

Sharese Rivait / Milkbone Minty Brushing Chews / Integrated 

Sarah Scambray / Rod the Father / Poster

Ethan Rios and Elizabeth Skrmetta / LEGO / Commercial

Sarah Scambray / Huggies / Logo

Grace Peek and Palmer Beldy / Pay Your Interns / Social Video

Sarah Scambray and Sam Zimmerman / Dad Grass / Integrated

SILVER (10)

Emily Elhilow / Krylon High Heat / Integrated

Grace Peek / All Terrain Poison Ivy Cream / Out-of-Home    

Ra Kazadi / Ring Video Doorbell / Integrated   

Ethan Rios / Nair for Men / Out-of-Home

Palmer Beldy, Sarah Scambray & Sam Zimmerman / Half-Priced Books Integrated

Megan Ferm and Brooke Betik / Waffle House / Integrated

Natalie Castillo / Quadpay / Integrated 

Meriel Upton / Fight the New Drug/ Integrated 

Lodge Cast-Iron Skillets / Caroline Soda & Ceci Luther / Out-of-Home

Meriel Upton and Olivia Hernandez / Girl Scouts /  Print

HONORABLE MENTION (8)

Elizabeth Skrmetta and Charlotte Jernigan / Trust & Will / Integrated

Scarborough Renaissance Festival // Elizabeth Skrmetta / Out-of-Home

Wolffe Bonewell and Maggie Daly / Apartments.com / Out-of-Home

Helen Cheever and Palmer Beldy / Genesis Women’s Shelter / Poster

The Beard / Sarah Scambray / Publication

Gabb Wireless / Helen Cheever / Integrated

Meredith Welborn and Luke Lockwood / 23andMe / Commercial Campaign

Thida Sok / Purple Mattress / Logo

American Advertising Federation Student Competition (ADDYs):

The New Talent Annual wasn’t the final stage our students shined on. After winning 30 awards, more than any school in the history of the Dallas ADDY competition in February, dozens of our student campaigns moved onto the District and National levels. SMU competes in District 10, comprised of powerhouse schools from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana – including UT, Texas A&M, TCU, UNT, and LSU. 

Despite being significantly smaller than many competing schools, TAI brought home 21 awards from the District 10 competition: This includes the Overall Student Best of Show Award! The District level performance resulted in a dozen entries, Gold and Silver, qualifying to advance and represent SMU at the National level in Nashville.

At the beginning of June, several students journeyed to Nashville to accept 8National ADDYs – 3 Gold and 5 Silver! Setting a new Temerlin record and winning more than any other university in the country. Elizabeth Skrmetta was one of several students whose work made it to the final stage and said, “It has been beyond humbling to have had a campaign recognized by so many industry leaders across the competition circuit.” She and classmate Ethan Rios crafted a LEGO campaign that received a plethora of attention, ultimately receiving Gold at every level of the ADDYs and many other accolades. Skrmetta graduated in May and said she is “so grateful to the faculty and staff of Temerlin, and would not be the creative [she] is today without each and every one of them.” She feels the “When did you stop building?” campaign is a true culmination of all of the knowledge and skills learned from everyone in TAI, but especially Professor Mark Allen, who was a guiding light throughout the creation of this campaign.” 

Temerlin is grateful for the American Advertising Federation and its continued support for the next generation of advertising professionals. Listed below are the District and National ADDY Award Winners! Congratulations to all! 

National ADDY Winners List: 

GOLD / LEGO: Ethan Rios and Elizabeth Skrmetta

GOLD / Obsessed with the Beard Feature: Sarah Scambray

GOLD / Sooty Corps NPR Podcast: Grace Peek and Brittany Cooksey

SILVER / Lodge Cast-Iron Skillet: Caroline Soja and Ceci Luther 

SILVER / The One Club: Pay Your Interns PSA: Palmer Beldy and Grace Peek

SILVER / LEGO: When did you stop building?: Ethan Rios and Elizabeth Skrmetta 

SILVER / Angi’s List: Alexa May

AAF DISTRICT 10 WINNERS LIST: 

Watch the Best of Show Winner here.

Best of Show // LEGO: When did you stop building? / Ethan Rios & Elizabeth Skrmetta 

Student Special Judges Award // LEGO: When did you stop building? / Ethan Rios & Elizabeth Skrmetta

Gold / The One Club: Pay Your Interns PSA / Integrated Campaign / Palmer Beldy & Grace Peek

Gold / Temerlin Advertising Institute / Art Direction / Campaign Tessa Conti

Gold / LEGO: When did you stop building? / Animation or Special Effects / Ethan Rios & Elizabeth Skrmetta

Gold / Obsessed with the Beard / Publication Design / Sarah Scambray

Gold / LEGO: When did you stop building? / Art Direction / Ethan Rios & Elizabeth Skrmetta

Gold / Lodge Cast-Iron Skillets / Integrated Campaign / Caroline Soja & Ceci Luther

Silver / Your House Away From Home / Integrated Campaign / Megan Ferm & Brooke Betik

Silver / LEGO: When did you stop building? / Television Advertising / Ethan Rios & Elizabeth Skrmetta

Silver / Angi’s List / Magazine Campaign / Alexa May

Silver / Trust & Will Online Estate Planning / Copywriting / Elizabeth Skrmetta & Charlotte Jernigan

Silver / Gabb Wireless Phones for Kids / Copywriting / Helen Cheever

Silver / Story Corps / NPR Podcast / Out-of-Home Poster Campaign / Grace Peek & Brittany Cooksey

Bronze / Dad Grass: Low Dose Hemp Joints / Integrated Campaign / Sarah Scambray & Sam Zimmerman

Bronze / US Postal Service: Through it All / Magazine Campaign / Palmer Beldy & Ethan Rios

Bronze / Dallas Ballet Academy / Out-of-Home Campaign / Thida Sok & Ceci Luther

Bronze / Half Price Books / Integrated Campaign /Sarah Scambray, Sam Zimmerman, & Palmer Beldy

Bronze / QuadPay: Indulge Yourself / Art Direction / Natalie Castillo

Bronze / Apartments.com / Copywriting / Maggie Daly & Wolffe Bonewell

Bronze / Temerlin Advertising Institute / Out-of-Home Poster Campaign / Tessa Conti

National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC): 

The American Advertising Federation also supports the next generation of advertisers through the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC.) This year, Professor Nicole Haddad mentored a team of students from across all three advertising tracks – digital media strategy, strategic brand management, and creative – Cox School of Business, and Dedman College as they created a campaign for Meta Quest by Facebook. The 2022 SMU team members were Palmer Beldy, Amber Bormann, Rachael Briner, Helen Cheever, Grant De Paoli, Kalena Dorgan, Jackson Ferris, Emme Rothberg, Brendan Shelley, Bailey Sullivan, Meriel Upton, Brooke Weber, and Sophie Yuill.

For the first time since 2019, the competition occurred in person, and the team ventured to Houston, Texas, where they presented their semester of research, insights, and ideas to a panel of judges and the brand. Professor Haddad felt that “The team conducted powerful primary research to uncover unique insights while the creative team members brought it to life through digital advertising and media activations. The special sauce that made this team work so well together was the chemistry and bond that everyone had. So much fun was had together, and those bonds ultimately fueled incredible teamwork.”

This year, SMU won the District 10 Third Place prize and the Judge’s Special Award from Meta for the “Most Uncomfortable Truths.” The Judge’s Special Award was awarded for the boldest idea rooted in an insight that made the client the “most uncomfortable.” Professor Haddad claims the special award “illustrated how successful the team was in identifying and honing in on a key insight, and marrying that insight to create bold, truth-telling content.” 

A job well done…!

The success of Temerlin’s students this year was outstanding. Professor Mark Allen believes, “If we’re fortunate enough to keep this tradition going, it makes SMU a place that new students want to study and galvanizes our alumni base—and this keeps the whole cycle going.” 

Congratulations again to all, and thank you to all who made this year possible.Especially Mark Allen – Senior Lecturer and Creative Program Director, Willie Baronet – Stan Richards Professor in Creative Advertising, Cheryl Mendenhall – Senior Lecturer and Program Director for Graphic Design Minors, Tami Fowler – Senior Program Specialist, and Gordon Law – Executive in Residence and 2021-2022 Interim Chair. What a year!