Texas Creative Students Win Awards

Over the past few months, Texas Creative students were honored for their conceptual ideas and innovative campaign executions by several prestigious national publications and advertising associations.

Several students won gold at the national ADDY awards in Nashville. Danny Nathan and Katie Kupstas received a Gold ADDY for their

Broan Trash Compactor work. The clever campaign featured piles of garbage so tightly compacted, you could actually see timelines and narratives compressed in the strata. Instructor Sean Thompson stated, "They're a great blend of intriguing visuals and rewarding storytelling that's derived directly from the product's best feature: crushing power. Besides, it's fun to look through somebody else's garbage."

Mike Heid's Cheese Nips point-of-purchase installation campaign earned him a Gold ADDY as well. The campaign consisted of oversized mousetraps, baited with stacks of Cheese Nips boxes, which were designed to be placed in grocery retailers in an attempt to lure cheese lovers to "get nipped," as the tagline goes. Roxanna McCubbin, a recent graduate now working at Slingshot in Dallas, worked on the campaign as well.

Danny Nathan, along with copywriter Eric Schweiger, earned a Student Merit from the Art Directors Club in New York for their F/X Network campaign. The work, which features nontraditional ambient media executions designed to be placed on bathroom mirrors, in urinals, and in elevators, allow potential viewers to become part of the ads, which convey the engrossing feeling of F/X programming. "What's particularly interesting," Thompson added, "is that these guys experimented not only with placement, but also with nontraditional materials, like thermodynamic inks." The work will be published in the Art Directors Club's 84th Annual. Danny is currently a freelancer based in New York and Eric is a copywriter at Associated.

Matt Barber and Bin Chen, recent ad grads from Texas Creative's graduate and undergraduate program, were featured on AdCritic.com's PrintCritic in early September for their Fangoria Magazine campaign. Their unnerving print ads are seen from the murderer's perspective and the campaign's disconcerting tone truly captures the voice of the horror publication. "The concept grew out of the insight that hardcore horror fans go to root for the bad guy, not to be scared by him," said Matt Barber.

Kristi Flango and Laura Lebel have work featured in the most recent issue of CMYK magazine. This innovative campaign for the KOA campgrounds features billboards carved out of actual wood and is designed to appear in the context of other dull and dreary roadside billboards for cheap motels and greasy diners. The goal was to create an authentic, rustic, and fun image for KOA, and to position it as a "un-hotel" experience. Kristi was recently hired as an art director at Cole+Weber/Red Cell in Seattle.

Sean Thompson added, "It's always nice to see our students honored for their hard work. We spend so much time growing ideas together in the classroom and in the studio, but the real test, the ultimate final exam, is to show those ideas to the world. Outside recognition by the industries brightest is the best motivational tool out there."

Congratulations to Texas Creative for a busy summer filled with great work.

10/17/2005