Newhouse School of Communications
Newhouse students win 2009 National Student Advertising Competition
June 9, 2009
by Jaime Winne Alvarez
A team of five students from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications placed first out of more than 140 institutions of higher education at the 2009 National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC). Their winning campaign, “The Stupid
Drink,” targeted binge drinking among college students.
The team is comprised of newly graduated seniors Erica Bruno of New York, N.Y. (formerly Shaker Heights, Ohio); Peter Ceran of Long Valley, N.J.; Greg Rozmus of Northport, N.Y.; Paul Savaiano of New York, N.Y. (formerly Glen Ellyn, Ill.); and Maria Sinopoli of Boston, Mass. (formerly Manlius, N.Y.); . Faculty advisor is Ed Russell, assistant professor of advertising.
According to Russell, the team’s campaign, “The Stupid Drink,” refers to “that drink between in control and out of control, the drink where judgment deteriorates and consumption accelerates.” The idea of the campaign is to try and speed the learning process of safe and responsible drinking by helping students identify and name their “Stupid Drink.” It might be a number, a type of liquor or a feeling they get when they are about to go too far.
Administered by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the NSAC is the nation’s premiere student advertising competition. Each year, students create a campaign based on a case study for the competition’s sponsor. This year’s sponsor was The Century Council, a national not-for-profit organization funded by distillers dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking.
This year’s competition was the first time that teams were asked to address a social issue to promote a positive behavioral change—the prevention of dangerous overconsumption of alcohol among college students, also known as “binge drinking.”
The Newhouse team was one of 18 to make it to the final round of the competition, where they presented to executives representing The Century Council, the Advertising Council, a non-profit organization that marshals pro-bono resources of the advertising and media industries to create public service campaigns; and the American Council on Education (ACE), the major coordinating body for all of the nation's institutions of higher education.
“My congratulations go out to Syracuse University,” says Ralph Blackman, president and CEO of The Century Council. “We were consistently impressed by the enthusiasm and creativity that all of the competitors brought to the competition."
The American Advertising Federation (AAF) headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the oldest national advertising trade association, representing 40,000 professionals in the advertising industry, with a national network of 200 ad clubs located in communities across the country. Through its 214 college chapters, the AAF provides 7,500 advertising students with real-world case studies and recruitment connections to corporate America. For more information, visit http://www.aaf.org.
