We:30 Share & Tell: Eric brings his advertising award

Every Wednesday at 3:30 we get together to celebrate an employee who exemplifies our core values to inspire, share, evolve, exceed and be 100% jerk-free. Our Share and Tell edition invites an employee to share something that inspires them and has a unique story. This week Eric brings his advertising award.

I wonder how often you guys get We:30s about advertising? Well, in any case, I decided to share an advertising award I’m pretty proud of.

This past semester, I was lucky enough to be selected for the advertising competition team at the University of Nebraska. We were one of over 180 teams that competed in the National Student Advertising Competition put on by AAF.

The client this year was Mary Kay, which was…a challenge.

Over the three months we spent producing this campaign, I learned more about makeup than I ever thought I would. While that was useful, what I valued most was working with such an awesome team. There were 23 of us total, and we were a tight group. There were many late nights that often turned into early mornings. Everyone pulled more than their own weight. I myself was a copywriter, but I had a hand in research, storyboarding, presentation design, etc. We put our heart and soul into this campaign and the result is something I’m truly proud of.

In April we took our campaign to Kansas City for the district competition. We won and brought back the sixth straight championship for Nebraska. After that, we passed the semi-final round and qualified for the national competition in Boca Raton, Florida. The competition was stiff, and we got 8th overall. We were disappointed we didn’t win, but I believe we impressed the right people. Legend has it that the president of Leo Burnett teared up during our presentation. 

So, for my We:30, I’m bringing my first place award from the district competition. A lot of awesome things came out of my experience with this team. I made a lot of great friends and I even started a company called Red Thread with four of my teammates. Here is a link to my portfolio website if you want check out this award-winning campaign that we spent 3 months of our lives creating.

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