The ADDY Awards is the world’s largest advertising competition with over 50000 entries annually.
Over the past few months, we’ve had a hand in helping to prepare for the 2012 AAF-GF ADDY Awards, held this past Saturday, February 25. Everything from the theme (Clue! the board game), to the decor (purple uplighting, candelabras, and mustaches, oh my!), to the food (a mashed potato bar?!), to the drinks (character-themed cocktails!) has had us dizzy with excitement! But nothing could have prepared us for what unfolded at the event, as we were presented with some of the night’s top awards.
We are so honored to be recognized for design and advertising projects that we poured our heart and soul into. Countless hours were spent brainstorming, planning, analyzing, designing—and re-analyzing—every aspect of each project, and we couldn’t be happier with the results!
Here is a little more about each of the winning projects:
Best of Show / Judge’s Award / Gold ADDY – Freez King Brand Website
Judge’s Award / Gold ADDY – Freez King Brand Identity
Silver ADDY – Freez King Sign
Freez King came to us at the earliest stages of development, when the restaurant was merely and idea. We started by designing a logo, that harkens to a vintage roadside sign, then created and developed an array of materials—menus, t-shirts, and a flashy retro neon sign to name a few—that gave a certain sass to the brand. By far our largest (and proudest) piece is Freez King’s website—a project that gave us the opportunity to work with an amazing team of people. Want 2 Grow? Marketing & PR, Mary Kate McKenna Photography, and New North Development all worked hard to help bring the site to life and were our sounding boards for some really wild ideas. We attribute a great deal of the success of these projects to a great client who gave us free creative reign over this major branding effort. Straight from the man, himself: “Don’t be a hater, eat a burger.” —Mike Tauraso
Judge’s Award / Gold ADDY – Brewer’s Alley Wedding Alt Packaging
Already a well-established Frederick staple, Brewer’s Alley approached us looking to re-brand their logo and retail beer packaging. As Frederick’s first brew pub, Brewer’s Alley already had a strong following and well-known brand. Early brainstorming hatched a unique theme for their beer packaging – vintage pin-up gals. We had so many great creative sessions with our project team – Phil Bowers of Brewer’s Alley and Scott Grove PR. The first in our beer packaging series was the Brewer’s Alley Wedding Alt style beer. We meticulously hand-painted our bride running to (or from?) the altar, via the use of the very cool Wacom Tablet. We are currently working on the second beer style, and are really looking forward to sharing it!
Silver ADDY – Smooch! Studio website
Smooch! Studio is another client that we just can’t say enough good things about. We’ve been with Nicole and Kendra Knight, co-founders and makeup artist extraordinaires, since they first opened their doors almost three years ago. We watched them build their retail boutique, outgrow their first space, and now see them completely rock it in their new space…and, we have to say, we’re incredibly proud of them. We created an entire brand identity for Smooch!—logo, collateral, signage, packaging, and more—but were honored on Saturday evening for the design of their website. The makeup boutique’s website features an integrated e-commerce system where site visitors can purchase all of their face-loving products. We carefully cataloged and scrutinized ALL of their retail products— eyeshadows, liners, lipsticks, etc.—to ensure the site did their awesome products justice! A big thank you to our product photographer, Bill Millios, who was covered in eyeshadow and foundation at the end of each photoshoot! It was a pleasure working with New North, once again, on the development of the site. And, a shout out to Stacy Anderson, who’s creative copy writing gave the Smooch! brand it’s online punch!
We had an amazing time working side-by-side with these businesses to build their brands, and continue to support them as they grow and flourish. At the end of the day, we are incredibly thankful to be part of a network of creative businesses that support and build each other up. We find so much inspiration in collaboration, and feel fortunate to be surrounded by very talented peers.
Here’s to another great year!
