Ad Students Deliver
Images by Megan Lange and Julia Muell for their “Inspired World� campaign
When challenged to draw attention to a new website for the company Avery Dennison, which specializes in packaging and labeling design, sophomores Megan Lange and Julia Muell knew what to do: Handle with care.
After months of research and conceptualization, the pair landed on a winning strategy: ads that would embrace, rather than compete with, their environmental surroundings.
The finished product, “Inspired World,� claimed a coveted Golden Pencil at the 2019 Young Ones awards, a worldwide showcase of creative work by top students in advertising, digital communication and design.
“I was in math class,� Muell says, remembering the moment Lange texted her the news that they’d won the top prize in the client brief category. “So I left class, and I immediately called her and started crying.�
Accompanied by Professors of Practice Dan Ligon and David Smail, Muell and Lange joined 12 other advertising students on a trip to New York City for the competition, hosted each year by The One Club for Creativity. Their four-day trip included visits to six media and advertising agencies, and stops at iconic sights throughout the city.
“It was definitely a learning experience,� says Sam Eaton, a senior majoring in strategic communications and studio arts who won a Bronze Pencil for his team’s “Read Between the Lies� submission for The New York Times’ brief. “There was so much collaboration from other team members and perspectives I never even would have considered.�
As a group, this year’s students brought home two Golden Pencils, one Silver, one Bronze and several merit awards. They finished in eighth place overall, and in second place among other 4-year undergraduate (non-art) universities.
“I kind of look at it as a diving board—like it just gives me a little bounce before I jump even further,� Lange says.
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Tayler Shaw graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences and CMDI with degrees in Journalism and Spanish in 2021.