Newhouse Creative Advertising Student One of 15 Worldwide Chosen for Communication Arts 2022 Student Showcase

The print publication Communication Arts chose only 15 student portfolios from around the world for its 2022 Student Showcase, including Newhouse creative advertising student Jenny Suhr. This marks the fourth time in a row Newhouse creative advertising has won since students began entering four years ago.

“Being selected for the Communication Arts Student Showcase makes me feel motivated to continue working hard,” Suhr said. “It makes me feel like the time and energy I’ve put into my portfolio over the last two years is paying off. I’m excited to see what else I can achieve in the future.”

Suhr was recognized for three print campaigns created in Portfolio I and II taught by professors of practice Mel White and Kevin O’Neill: “Can You Spot the Difference?” for the Special Olympics; “Charged” for Mophie powerstation chargers; and “Hugs” for the non-profit organization HUGs from Cara.

“Jenny’s thinking is one of a true creative,” White said. “Provocative, attention-getting ideas that make you think differently about something. From day one of her first creative advertising course, Portfolio 1, Jenny embraced the ad creation process – concepting, getting feedback and taking the idea further, or going back to the drawing board with a cup of coffee in hand and never giving up. The result of this process is very apparent in her work.”

Suhr created “Can You Spot the Difference?” for the Special Olympics. “The Special Olympics uses the same sports equipment as professional sports, yet people don’t think of The Special Olympics as a real sports competition,” Suhr said.

Suhr built her campaign around this fact. Each ad features three identical pictures of a basketball, tennis ball or volleyball on display in an art gallery. Each image is labeled with what kind of ball it is, like “NBA Basketball,” “Olympic Basketball” and “Special Olympic Basketball.” Below the images, the copy says, “Can you spot the difference? There are none. Special Olympic sports are real sports.”

“I have never seen an idea for the Special Olympics like the one she created,” White said. “It’s visually intriguing. And then the words make you think differently. Any stereotype or misconception simply is shattered. And in place is nothing but respect for the challenging and incredible athletes who compete in the Special Olympics.”

“The concepting process for ‘Can You Spot the Difference?’ went on for longer than usual because it was one of the first campaigns I had created in Portfolio I,” Suhr said. She found that taking a break from a challenging concepting process like “Can You Spot the Difference?” allowed her to return to the brainstorming process with fresh eyes.

“Going back to the drawing board can be discouraging because it feels like you are starting completely over, but I’ve also found that some of my most successful campaigns were a result of going back to the drawing board to rethink ideas over or start from scratch,” she said.

“Charged” for Mophie powerstation chargers focused on how reliant people are on their phones – and how they die at the worst times.  “I can think back to so many times my phone has died when I really needed it or wanted to capture an important moment,” Suhr said. “I love taking pictures, so I thought focusing on the disappointment of missing out on an incredible shot was a way to reach people.”

Mophie’s portable powerstation chargers can help people avoid this frustration. To convey this, Suhr chose images of professional athletes in picture-perfect poses like catching air on a snowboard, scaling icy mountains and canoeing through intense rapids. An image of a phone with the dreaded dead battery screen in the lower left corner is paired with the tagline, “Phones always die at the worst time. 24 hours of additional portable battery life.”

“After reading the Mophie ads, take a poll and see how many people this has happened to,” White said. “That’s the brilliance of Jenny’s ideas. They’re based on insights into human behavior. The best advertising is.”

Suhr was hired as an art director intern by Ogilvy, one of the leading international creative advertising agencies. “The Newhouse portfolio courses have really pushed me to become the best art director I can be and have given me so many opportunities to improve,” she said. “Now, I feel ready to enter the advertising industry after I graduate.”

Communication Arts editors awarded outstanding students for their “distinctive approach to creative problem solving and for producing work at a professional level.” Exemplary work from each student was published in Communication Arts’ 2022.