Three University of Colorado at Boulder students won first place in the print discipline at the One Club聮s Young Creative Professionals advertising competition held in New York City.
The CU-Boulder team of David Baker, Farrah Ferguson and Laura Hauseman competed against professional advertising agencies and graduate portfolio schools from around the country.
The award is quite a coup, according to David Slayden, associate professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and director of the Lab for New Media Strategy and Design, an Omnicom-funded project.
"Winning the top prize in this competition is a great distinction for the students and for our school," Slayden said. "It is arguably the top prize in the advertising industry. That we were able to win over a highly talented field demonstrates both the excellence of our students and the commitment our program makes to teaching.
"Only one other undergraduate school was invited to participate in the competition, which makes it extra sweet for our program, and the recognition is already providing job offers for the students from national headhunters."
Baker, Ferguson and Hauseman, all graduating seniors, were in New York City for the competition May 8 and May 9. Baker accepted the award for the team, as the other two returned to Boulder to attend commencement ceremonies.
According to Ferguson, the reality of the big win is just beginning to sink in.
"We didn聮t realize how big the award was until after the fact," she said. "Our group worked hard and this is a good payoff for us."
Thirty teams were chosen to compete in three different disciplines: print, interactive/new media and television. The teams were given 24 hours to complete an assignment. The CU-Boulder team had to execute an ad campaign on the role of the paper clip in the future, in light of its 100th anniversary and the emphasis on an increasingly paperless world.
Their project, titled "Nothing Can Replace a Paper Clip," used three winning scenarios to beat the competition, including a medical chart held together with a wad of chewing gum.
A second team with seniors Jennifer Scholl and Matt Woodhams-Roberts also qualified for the One Club competition. A collaborative university-industry effort made the trip possible. Stewart Hoover, interim dean of journalism and mass communication, provided initial funding and additional support for the trip was arranged by Phil Karsh, chair of the school聮s advisory board, and Ron Askew, president of the Integer Group.
The One Club for Art and Copy is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting creativity in the craft of advertising. As part of its mission to promote high standards of creative excellence, the One Club produces the advertising industry聮s most prestigious awards program, The One Show.
The One Club launched its first Young Creative Professionals Competition this spring during the 2000 One Show Festival. Full-time students and junior creatives age 25 or younger who are just entering the field of advertising had the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity before an elite panel of judges representing the top creative talent at leading advertising agencies around the world. For more information on the competition, visit the One Club Web site at .
CU-Boulder's School of Journalism and Mass Communication provides a variety of degree programs for students interested in journalism careers. Undergraduate program offerings include advertising, broadcast news, broadcast production management, news-editorial and media studies.
Graduate degree programs are offered in mass communication research, newsgathering, integrated marketing communications, environmental journalism and communication. For more information visit the school's Web site at .