The American Advertising Awards are the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition, attracting over 50,000 entries every year in local competitions. The mission of the competition is to recognize and reward creative excellence in the art of advertising.
Conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), our local competition is the first of a three-tier, national competition. Entering the competition supports our entire industry, because the AAF and its local and district affiliates use the proceeds to enhance advertising through programs such as public service, internships, advocacy groups, advertising education, and consumer awareness.
The call for entries for AAFCM’s competition is released October/November with entries due around, or shortly after, the first of the year. The entries are judged and a fun, theme-inspired show (usually held in the St. Cloud area) is held to honor our club’s student and professional award recipients. From there, winning entries move on to the district and then, hopefully, national level to compete with other top-notch work from around the country.
Here’s a brief history of our local award shows and our nod of gratitude to the fine folks who donated their time and energy as event chairs:
| Year | Chair | Theme | Agency of Record | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Adsolute | Hatling Flint | Civic Center | |
| 2007 | Aaron Brossoit | Ad Wars | Holiday Inn | |
| 2008 | Michele Anderson Rick Jensen |
ADDY in Wonderland | Agency 128 | Holiday Inn |
| 2009 | Rick Jensen Cory Hollenhorst |
50’s Ad Era | Adventure | Regency |
| 2010 | Corinne & Greg Skoog | Totally 80’s | Adventure | Civic Center |
| 2011 | Kristie Haubrich | White Out | Adventure | Civic Center |
| 2012 | Kristie Haubrich Anita Hollenhorst |
Secret Society | Adventure | SCSU |
| 2013 | Anita Hollenhorst Amy Imdieke |
DIYDS (Do It Your Damn Self) | Adventure | Paramount |
| 2014 | Rebecca Backes Tara Dickinson |
AlterEgo | Gaslight Creative | Paramount |
| 2015 | Katie Sczublewski | Ciphers + Legends | Adventure | Paramount |
| 2016 | Andrea Yurczyk | Regency Creative Club | Adventure | Regency |
| 2017 | Sarah Forystek Andrea Yurczyk |
Ad Scouts | Agency 128 | Regency |
| 2018 | Sarah Forystek Lacey Schirmers Bridget Deutz |
Adventure | The Grand Ballroom at the Best Western Kelly Inn |
|
| 2019 | Lacey Schirmers Megan Hollenhorst |
Adventure | The Gorecki Center at the College of Saint Benedict |
|
| 2020 | Sarah Forystek | Sourcewell | The Gorecki Center at the College of Saint Benedict |
|
| 2021 | Taylor Sellnow | Meta 13 | Virtual |
If you have more information about past shows that isn’t represented here, please let our current show chairs know by sending an email to aafcm.addys@gmail.com.
For more information about the American Advertising Awards visit www.aaf.org.