Newhouse Creative Advertising Students Win an Outstanding 220 Awards in 2024

Newhouse creative advertising students shattered expectations last year, winning 220 awards across 15 of the world’s most esteemed student advertising competitions. The ideas, recognized by Cannes Future Lions, the Clio Awards and more, pushed creative boundaries and redefined what’s possible.

Every piece of award-winning work was created in the Newhouse creative advertising program in portfolio courses taught by Mel White and Kevin O’Neill, both professors of practice. These awards not only showcase individual talent but also highlight the program’s ability to produce the next generation of industry leaders.

Cannes Future Lions Grand Prix: The Hardest Award in the World for Creative Advertising Students to Win

Two smiling women hold up their awards after a ceremony
Molly Egan, left, and Marlana Bianchi beam with excitement as they hold their 2024 Cannes Future Lions Grand Prix trophies, moments after being announced as the winners. (Photo courtesy of Mel White)

With entries from an astounding 245 schools in 59 countries, only one student team was chosen as the Cannes Future Lions Grand Prix winner. That student team came from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University.

Marlana Bianchi, art director, and Molly Egan, copywriter, won for their digital AI idea for Spotify, titled “Break the Sound Barrier” (video), which they created in Portfolio III taught by White in the creative track for advertising majors at Newhouse.

Their idea makes music streaming more inclusive to the deaf community by adding sign language performances to the Spotify platform. In their idea, deaf performers translate lyrics seamlessly into sign language by memorizing lyrics and the beat ahead of time, while dancing to the beats of the songs.

By incorporating deaf performers and using deepfake technology for social good, the idea scales deaf performances into over 300 sign languages for each song on the platform. Musicians will also have the choice to opt into “Break the Sound Barrier” to generate them signing with deepfake technology.

Bianchi and Egan’s idea responded to the Cannes Future Lions brief, which asked how Spotify could use new technology to spread positivity and uplift underrepresented communities.

Spotify’s creative director Tye M. Comer praised the idea’s impact, highlighting its innovative use of deepfake technology for social good. Spotify chose the Grand Prix winner based on which idea they wanted to explore producing. The company aims to collaborate with Bianchi and Egan to bring their idea to life on the Spotify platform.

Nearly two dozen major publications picked up the story, including Ad Age, Adweek and The Wall Street Journal. The momentous Ad Age headline read: “Syracuse University Creatives Win Future Lions Grand Prix with Spotify Sign Language Project.”

The Newhouse School published a two-part article series on the Grand Prix win.

Part 1: “How 2 Newhouse Students Won the Top Student Creative Advertising Award in the World: The Cannes Future Lions Grand Prix”

Part 2: “Part 2: How 2 Newhouse Students Won the Top Student Creative Advertising Award in the World—the Cannes Future Lions Grand Prix.”

Cannes Future Lions Shortlist Award

The student team of Meiling Xiong and Maggie Mallon won a Cannes Future Lions Shortlist Award for their AI-based idea, “Truth Spotter” (video) for Spotify, marking the first time a feature would identify misinformation in podcasts. Using NewsGuard AI, the feature cross-checks information and ranks podcasts with color codes: red for high, yellow for moderate and green for minimal misinformation. This was created in Portfolio III taught by White in the creative track for advertising majors.

Clio Award

an image that reads "AI vs AI" and "The New York Times"
Creative advertising student Brooke Hirsch ’24 is one of 10 worldwide winners of the Clio Award for Student Innovation for her idea “AI vs. AI.”

Newhouse creative advertising student Brooke Hirsch, copywriter, won a Clio Shortlist Award for her innovative “AI vs. AI” digital AI idea for The New York Times. Hirsch was one of only 10 winners worldwide in the Clio Student Innovation category of the competition.

She came up with a solution to combat AI-driven misinformation, using AI to detect and counter false content.

“What better way to protect people from false AI content than using AI to detect it?” Hirsch wondered. This thought sparked her idea, which she cleverly titled “AI vs. AI.” Her two-minute “AI vs. AI” case study video shows how this idea would work. This was created in Portfolio III taught by White.

Read the full story about Hirsch’s Clio Award win.

One Show Young Ones: 18 Awards

In the One Show Young Ones competition, the Newhouse School ranked in the top 10 for U.S. undergraduate programs, with creative advertising students winning an impressive 18 awards.

In the ADC competition of One Show Young Ones, Hirsch made her mark, winning a Silver Cube and a Merit Award for “AI vs. AI,” which is featured on the One Show Young Ones website.

Outstandingly, this recognition placed Hirsch in the top five student copywriters in North America, a major achievement. Newhouse creative advertising students also won 10 Shortlist Awards in the One Show Young Ones ADC competition.

In the Brief competition of One Show Young Ones, art director/copywriter duo Ella Fiegener and Quincy Whipple won a Merit Award for their Dove campaign, “Skin Stories” (video), which is also featured on the One Show Young Ones website. This campaign celebrates the natural wrinkles on a woman’s face, reframing them as marks of pride rather than shame. This was created in White’s Portfolio III course.

Also in the Brief competition, two campaigns won Shortlist Awards. They were “Saucy Sounds” (video) for Velveeta by Remi Tsunoda, art director, and Avery Schildhaus, copywriter, and “The Real Housewives of Duolingo” (video) for Duolingo by Meiling Xiong, art director, and Maggie Mallon, copywriter. These campaigns were created in Portfolio III taught by White.

In the Portfolio competition of the One Show Young Ones, Ryan Garret Conner, an art director, won one of nine Portfolio Advertising Awards given worldwide. Six of his campaigns are featured on the One Show Young Ones website in the Portfolio competition section.

Hirsch also earned a Portfolio Advertising Shortlist Award, adding to her impressive list of accomplishments in this competition.

New York Festivals: Eight Awards

Newhouse creative advertising students won eight awards at the New York Festivals, including two Bronze, five Finalist awards, and one Shortlist. Notable work includes Bianchi and Egan’s “Break the Sound Barrier” idea and Hirsch’s “AI vs. AI” idea, both winning Bronze and Finalist recognitions. Finalist awards went to the “Skin Stories” campaign and Sophia Donio and Jenna Byers’ “Map Your Music” campaign for Spotify.

On Spotify, the “Map Your Music” feature enhances travel experiences by playing songs tied to famous landmarks as users pass by them, showing information about the landmark while playing songs connected to it. For example, when someone visits Abbey Road in London, Spotify would start playing “Come Together” by The Beatles. These campaigns were created in Portfolio III taught by White.

D&AD New Blood: One Wood Pencil

Matt Powers, Dara Dilmaghani and Isabella Uribe won a D&AD New Blood Wood Pencil for their self-initiated “Krochet in Komfort” campaign for Kraft Mac & Cheese. Drawing from lessons in White and O’Neill’s portfolio courses, they tackled the brief through late-night Zoom calls, collaborating across time zones. Powers had just graduated from Newhouse, Dilmaghani was in graduate school at Newhouse and Uribe was studying in Sweden at Berghs School of Communication.

Their campaign teams up with popular Generation Z crochet artists to yarn bomb cities. They also created pop-up events that would connect young crafters in person, giving Gen Z the “third places” they so crave. Credits for this campaign went to Syracuse University and Berghs School of Communication.

ADDYs: 15 Awards

Newhouse School creative advertising students won three ADDY District Awards and 12 ADDY Local Awards.

At the ADDY District Awards, the students won one Best in Show, one Gold and one Silver.

Art director/copywriter duo Sophia Donio and Jenna Byers won a Best of Show and Gold Award for their “It’s Obvious” campaign for Tile, which uses exaggerated visuals, like a massive set of keys pushing up a sofa, to show how Tile’s Bluetooth technology makes finding lost items effortless. The headline reads, “We make it obvious where you put your lost object.” This was created in Portfolio II taught by White.

a kitchen with a comically large wallet in it
“It’s Obvious” campaign for Tile.
a bedroom with comically large airpods in it
a living room with a comically large set of keys in it

Art director/copywriter duo Greta Hartwyk and Meghan Gulley won a Silver Award for their integrated campaign “Frenemies” for Heineken, which unites fans of opposing football teams, bringing them together over a Heineken. This campaign will surprise fans by upgrading their seats at games. The catch? They must sit right next to a fan of their rival team. This was created in Portfolio III taught by White.

At the ADDYs Local Awards, Newhouse School creative advertising students swept the competition, winning all three Best in Show Awards and 12 of the 14 total awards given. Avery Schildhaus won a Best in Show $1,250 scholarship and two Gold Awards for “Ease of Assembly” for Ikea, created in Portfolio II taught by O’Neill.

The students also won two Best in Show scholarships of $750 and $500, one Mosaic Award (given to a campaign that promotes systemic change through equity and inclusion), two Gold and four Silver Awards.

Read the full story on the ADDYs win

a couch and light next to it
“Ease of Assembly” campaign for Ikea.
a chair and a table

Communication Arts Advertising Annual: Three Awards

Newhouse creative advertising students earned three Shortlist Awards in the Communication Arts Annual Advertising Awards. Victoria Aragi and Kayla Beck won for their integrated ad campaign “Just Let It Go” for eBay. Charlotte Shea and Brooke Hirsch won a shortlist for Volvo’s “Digital Blackout” in the Positive World Impact category. Linxin Wan and Maggie Mallon won for “Mean Well” for Apple, also in Positive World Impact. All work was created in Portfolio III taught by White.

Communication Arts Student Showcase: Two Awards

Two Newhouse creative advertising students won Communication Arts Student Showcase Awards for their first-ever ad campaigns. They were two of only 14 winners in the world in the Communication Arts Student Showcase.

Art directors Tori Aragi and Jordan Leveille won for five advertising campaigns they created in Portfolio I, the first creative advertising course at Newhouse, and one campaign created in Portfolio III, both taught by White. Their work was shown in the March/April 2024 issue of Communication Arts.

Read the full story on the Communication Arts win.

Golden Award of Montreux: Four Awards

At the Golden Award of Montreux, Newhouse School creative advertising students won four of just 25 awards given worldwide. All the awarded work was created in portfolio courses taught by White. One winning campaign “You Can’t Beat a Search Dog” used visual solution advertising to highlight the skills of search dogs. This was created in Portfolio II taught by White.

a maze in front of an avalanche
“You Can’t Beat a Search Dog” campaign for National Disaster Search Dog Foundation.
a maze in front of a disaster zone

AEJMC Festival of Visual & Interactive Media: Five Awards

Newhouse creative advertising students swept the competition, winning five of the six total awards given in the advertising category of the national competition. They won a Gold, Silver and Bronze, along with two Honorable Mentions for their ad campaigns created for Volvo “Avoidable Reality,” Volvo “Digital Blackout,” PETA “Cruelty Rebranded,” McDonald’s “Second Favorite Arch” and Pilot Pen “The Necessity in Continuation.” All work was created in Portfolio I and III taught by White.

Graphis New Talent: 54 Awards

Newhouse creative advertising students also excelled in the Graphis New Talent competition, winning 54 total awards. They won seven Gold, 24 Silver and 23 Honorable Mentions, demonstrating excellence across a range of innovative campaigns.

Ads of the World: 107 Selected

Ads of the World selected and published 107 Newhouse student advertising campaigns, an impressive accomplishment as Ads of the World is part of the Clio network. All selected and published works can be viewed on Ads of the World.

All 220 Awards Newhouse Creative Advertising Students Won in 2024

All 220 creative advertising students’ awards affirm the industry-level talent that comes out of the program.

Molly Egan is an undergraduate student from the creative advertising track at the Newhouse School.