Newhouse School students advance to championship round of national advertising competition

A team of students from the NewHouse, a student-run advertising agency in Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, placed first in the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition (District Two), held April 30 in New York City. This year’s client is State Farm Insurance.

The student team will compete for the national title June 10-11 in Orlando, Fla.  

Participating students are Sarah Bamford, Julia Dorfman, Elaine Feinstein, Lauren Finn, Nicole Handler, Steve Mendonca, Joe Misiewicz, Kate Overholt, Sarah Ruppert, Craig Schlesinger and Courtney Taddonio. Ed Russell, assistant professor of advertising in the Newhouse School, is faculty advisor. 

The judges were impressed with the students’ performance. “I don’t think our agency could assemble a presentation team as good,” said one. Another noted: “I had to keep reminding myself I was looking at college kids. NewHouse performed like a group of talented, young professionals.”

 In 2009, the NewHouse won both the District Two regional competition and the national competition for their campaign “The Stupid Drink,” which targeted binge drinking among college students. The client that year was the political lobbying group The Century Council.

For more information, contact Russell at (315) 443-4045 or edrussel@syr.edu.