Two Newhouse Creative Advertising Students Won Communication Arts Student Showcase Awards…For Their First-Ever Ad Campaigns.

Communication Arts is one of the top publications for visual communications worldwide. Each year, the magazine honors students with Communication Arts Student Showcase Awards for outstanding advertising, design, photography or illustration work. The winners are selected based on their unique approach to creative problem-solving and for producing work at a professional level.

This year, out of 14 student winners nationwide, four are advertising majors. And two of them are from the Newhouse School.

Tori Aragi ’24 and Jordan Leveille ’24, art directors in the Newhouse creative advertising program, won for five advertising campaigns they created in Portfolio 1, the first course for creative-track advertising majors at Newhouse. One campaign by Aragi came from Portfolio III, the final course in the creative advertising track. Aragi and Leveille’s first-ever advertising campaigns were shown in the March/April 2024 print edition of Communication Arts.

“The fun of Portfolio I is that many students come in with no experience,” said Mel White, a professor of practice and Aragi and Leveille’s instructor in Portfolio I. “They tell me they’ve never created an advertising campaign before, and I tell them, ‘The work created in this course often goes on to win creative advertising student awards.’ Time and time again, this proves to be true. In my Portfolio I course, I don’t just teach students how to create ad campaigns; I teach them how to create compelling campaigns that are memorable.”

The Award-Winning Campaigns

“Too Tired to Function” for Raycon Wireless Earbuds

Aragi’s “Too Tired to Function” campaign for Raycon Wireless Earbuds includes three print ads and was developed in her Portfolio I course. It is one of her three campaigns featured in this year’s print edition of Communication Arts. This campaign highlights Raycon’s superior battery life by showing Apple AirPods “falling asleep” during inconvenient travel times and uses visual solution advertising to tell this story, altering visuals to communicate the concept of the ad campaign.

“This was my first-ever advertising campaign,” Aragi recalled. “Professor White taught me how to blend visuals and copy to create this compelling story.”

“Hydroscape” for Hydro Flask

Leveille’s “Hydroscape” campaign for Hydro Flask, created in Portfolio I, similarly uses a visual solution approach, transforming Hydro Flask bottles into frigid, icy landscapes to represent how well the product keeps liquids cold. This concept visually links Hydro Flasks to glaciers, a recognizable symbol of cold water.

“This is a clever way of visually showing how the water bottle keeps water cold for a very long time,” said White. “Jordan is strikingly adept at using visual solution advertising.”

“Bad Hair Day” for Aveeno

Leveille’s “Bad Hair Day” campaign for Aveeno, created in Portfolio I, takes a playful approach with its visual solution. It depicts the torment of dealing with untreated, damaged hair by transforming the hair into a monstrosity. This campaign shows how Aveeno’s Oat Milk Hair Treatment can “tame” unruly hair, thus positioning the product as the solution to achieving hydrated, healthy locks.

“Fries Over Friends” for McDonald’s

Aragi’s second featured campaign, “Fries Over Feelings,” created in Portfolio I, captures the universal sting of someone swiping your McDonald’s fries. Aragi turned this everyday betrayal into a memorable ad series, blending serious undertones with exaggerated humor. Her long-form ads amplify the drama of the stolen fries by incorporating clever comedic twists.

“Professor White’s guidance on copy-based advertising was crucial in developing this idea and its comedic touch,” Aragi said.

“I’m Thirsty” for charity:water

For charity: water, a nonprofit dedicated to providing clean drinking water where many do not have access to it, Leveille came up with the idea in Portfolio I to create drinking water cans with no tab on them, making the water inside completely inaccessible. These cans would be placed in vending machines that appear to dispense free cans of water.

The can’s design is meant to give consumers a glimpse of what it’s like for people who lack access to clean drinking water, aiming to generate empathy for the 370 million individuals facing this challenge daily. The cans lack tabs, so people cannot access the water. This design gives consumers a glimpse into experiencing first-hand, even if it’s just for a few seconds, what it’s like to have no access to clean drinking water.

Each can reads, “By making this can of water impossible to open, we have restricted your access to clean drinking water. Now you can relate to the 10% of our population who lack access to clean water daily. It shouldn’t be this difficult for anyone to quench their thirst.”

This campaign is notable for its innovative use of experiential advertising, creating a powerful and original experience for the consumer.

White praised Leveille’s charity: water campaign for its social awareness: “The charity: water campaign tangibly recreates water inaccessibility through a completely sealed and visually identifiable can, allowing consumers to experience an issue that many typically don’t in their daily lives.”

“Just Let It Go” for eBay

Aragi’s third campaign, “Just Let It Go” for eBay, was created in Portfolio III. Collaborating with copywriter Kayla Beck ’24, Aragi targeted Generation Z in the United Kingdom with this cheeky campaign.

Through their research, Aragi and Beck said they found that Gen Z struggles to let go of preloved items, even when they have outgrown them. From there, the creative advertising students created a campaign that gives people the snarky shove they need to realize it is finally time to let go.

“Professor White always stressed the importance of simple ideas and cohesive campaigns, which helped me to create this project,” Aragi said.

2024 marks the sixth consecutive year Newhouse creative advertising students have won Communication Arts Students Showcase Awards.