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Creatives Take NYC

From April 25 to May 1, several of our students had the opportunity to tour and network with some of the world’s leading advertising companies during this year’s TAI creative NYC trip which serves as a discovery class. Dr. Mark Allen and Professor Willie Baronet planned and led graduate and undergraduate students in this unique immersive advertising experience.

“As always it was an inspiring and productive time in New York where we took our students to some of the best agencies in the world. Watching them meet our alums and seeing the amazing work they are producing is always a magical experience for me. This year we visited Anomaly, Ogilvy, Momentum, Walrus, NBC Universal, Kenneth Cole Studios, Translation and more!” – Willie Baronet

The first stop on the tour was Johannes Leonardo, a creative firm that encourages customer involvement on behalf of companies. TAI alum Tessa Conti gave us a tour of the distinctive JL church-style facility and updated us about her work with clients including Adidas, Amazon, and Kraft. Later on in the day, we went to Translation with Kaleb Mulugeta, a TAI graduate, and had breathtaking views of the Brooklyn Bridge. AdAge has named Translation the 2022 Agency of the Year and included it on their Agency A-List.

We began our Friday morning at Kenneth Cole Studios, where Maria Cuomo gave us a tour of the facility and shared some of Kenneth Cole’s advice. Despite being a fashion business, we learned about in-house advertising and the brand’s deliberate adherence to its identity. Amol Rana gave us a fascinating tour of Google and displayed some of his YouTube commercials. We had the opportunity to speak with several alumni for a Q&A session at the end of the week, during which we asked them questions regarding their post-college and professional lives and received some incredible advice.

The plan for the weekend was to visit Central Park, see shows on Broadway, and visit museums like the Whitney and MOMA in order to thoroughly immerse oneself in NYC life.

On Monday, we had a great start to the week by going to Momentum Worldwide, here they served us NY way. We learned everything there is to know about experimental advertising, which is the practice of leveraging technology to improve the human experience while creating memories for brands. Former TAI alumni Jordan Chlapecka and Allie Hartman talked about their experiences working with companies like Verizon, Nike, Coke, and AMEX. Next, we visited Ogilvy, where we met up with Helen Rieger and Morgan Hoff, two former SMU students. They were able to demonstrate several projects they had completed for Verizon, Nationwide, and Coca-Cola, but they also gave us advice on how to approach uncertain circumstances proactively when things could change unexpectedly. Deacon Webster’s Walrus was the final agency visit of the day, during which he explained his strategy of being calculating but yet humorous. We concluded Monday night with the senior dinner, where Willie and Mark gave inspirational speeches and many of us shed tears as our seniors begin a new chapter in their life.

On our last day, we began with a visit of the SNL and Jimmy Fallon sets at NBCUniversal. Michael Reidy, an SMU alum, welcomed us with breakfast before the panel discussion began. The panelists stressed that while our creativity will make us stand out, we must also enter this phase of our life with passion and resiliency. Eric Damassa led the final agency visit of the trip, which was Anomoly. Anomoly strives to cooperate with companies like eos, Ranch Water, and Obie that align with its mission. We concluded the trip with the Alumni Networking Event, where we had the chance to socialize with other alumni who live in the city and sing a few karaoke songs to round off our time together.

Overall, there are not enough words to describe our trip, so be sure to watch our reel on Instagram at @smu.advertising!

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Spotlight on Success: Recap of SMU’s Hosting of The NSAC Competition.

On April 17-19, Southern Methodist University had the honor of hosting the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) for the first time on campus in 41 years. NSAC is a collegiate advertising competition sponsored by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). Two hundred seventy-five students participated in this year’s competition, representing 21 universities from Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.  These talented students developed a campaign for Proctor & Gamble’s Tide for this year’s competition and presented it to a panel of judges.

Temerlin Advertising Institute Professor Nicole Haddad directed and led this year’s team. The SMU team showcased its skills and creativity and secured a commendable fourth-place finish. Ben Perry, a student on SMU’s team, earned the impressive title of best presenter in the competition. 

“Seeing myself and others be recognized for the hard work we put in not only this year but throughout our academic careers was truly invigorating. Winning best presenter was an honor that reflected not just my own efforts but especially those of my classmates and team in our pursuit of great work and determination to make each other better every day. Being a Temerlin student is a true blessing.” – Ben Perry

In conjunction with NSAC, Southern Methodist University hosted the AAF’s Mosaic Awards. Companies, agencies, and individuals from District 10 (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas) were recognized. Twenty-one awards were given for their commitment and work to diversity and inclusion. Our Endowed Distinguished Chair and Director of the Temerlin Advertising Institute, Joe Phua, spoke at the ceremony.

Additionally, the American Advertising Federation hosted an awards ceremony for District 10, where students and faculty members were recognized. Dr. Mark Allen was awarded the “Outstanding Educator of the Year” award, which you can read more about [here]. Scholarships, a symbol of academic excellence, were also awarded to students. We are delighted to acknowledge three of our creative students who were among the recipients. These students include Spencer Hogan who was awarded the Jim Goodnight AAF scholarship, Ethan Jones who was awarded the June Cerrato AAF scholarship, and Kailyn Sawhny who was awarded the Harry Ottman AAF scholarship.

“I’m honored and excited to receive this award! Thank you to all the people who have guided me through this journey. I am so excited to further my advertising experience!”  – Kailyn Sawhny

We were thrilled to host this year’s AAF National Student Advertising Competition and are incredibly proud of the SMU’s Tide team and faculty for all their recognitions and accomplishments.