On February 27th, SMU TAI students once again proved their creative expertise at the 2025 Dallas ADDY Awards, hosted at The Hall on Dragon. The prestigious event, organized by AAF Dallas, was a night of celebration—honoring creativity, dedication, and academic excellence in advertising.
SMU students dominated the competition, bringing home an impressive 25 awards, including 9 Silver, 15 Gold, and the coveted Mosaic Award—a true testament to the continued excellence and innovation fostered by the Temerlin Advertising Institute.
“Our students work so hard in this program. I only have 3 words to say: SO DAMN PROUD!” – Professor Willie Baronet
The winning work showcased a diverse and cutting-edge range of advertising projects, spanning multiple media formats and real-world campaigns for existing brands. Since all the submissions earned Silver or higher, they now advance to the highly competitive District 10 competition, where SMU students will go head-to-head with some of the best young creative minds in the country.
“After being in the creative trenches with the students on these campaigns all last year, you get to a point where you’re so close to the work that you can’t be objective about it anymore. And you start to wonder if you’re just a ‘proud parent’ who’s biased about how good everything is. But the Dallas ADDYs are always special because, as the first award show of the year, it’s when we finally get confirmation that all the hard work we’ve put in over the past year really was worth it, and the work is verifiably good based on an independent jury of creative professionals. I couldn’t be prouder of these students and the work they’ve produced.” – Dr. Mark Allen
You will be able to see all of this award-winning work at Portfolio Night next month on April 2nd , RSVP here.
With each year, SMU’s presence at the ADDYs grows stronger, solidifying its reputation as a powerhouse for emerging talent in advertising. Congratulations to all the winners—your hard work and creativity continue to set the standard for the industry’s future!
DALLAS ADDYS WINNERS
SILVER
Mr. Appliance / Lucy Kieffer / Integrated Campaign
SVA Perspective Poster / Ethan Jones / Out-of-Home Poster
Birkenstock / Spencer Hogan + Ross Yenerich / Integrated
Etsy / Kailyn Sawhny / Television Advertising
Perfumania / Bella Mac + Tyler Chapman / Integrated
Check Your Smoke Detector / Emma Georghakis / Television
Mr. Appliance / Lucy Kieffer / Art Direction
Narcan / Tyler Chapman + Ross Yenerich / Out-of-Home
Amazon Prime / Gustavo Lucrecio / Outdoor & Transit
GOLD
Social Media, Made to Be Addictive / Jordan Naivar / Art Direction
NatGeo Expeditions / Emma Clarke and Linh Vu / Television
Screamfest / Spencer Hogan + Emma Clarke / Out-of-Home
Polaroid / Ross Yenerich + Kailyn Sawhny / Copywriting
Pinterest / Linh Vu + Allie Weinstein / Television Advertising
National Videogame Museum / Bernadette Cruz / Integrated
Special Olympics / Ross Yenerich / Television Advertising
Raid Wasp Spray / Knox Miller / Out-of-Home
Social Media, Made to Be Addictive / Jordan Naivar / Integrated
Polaroid / Ross Yenerich + Kailyn Sawhny / TV Advertising
Grin Tongue Cleaners / Kaya Lee / Out-of-Home
Miracle-Gro for Christmas Trees / Lilly James / Copywriting
Emma Georghakis / Hanky Panky / Logo Design
Calphalon / Caroline Corcoran / Copywriting
Perfumania / Bella Mac + Tyler Chapman / Radio
MOSAIC AWARD
Special Olympics / Ross Yenerich