Advertising Club of Buffalo announces 2016 ADDY Award winners

Block Club takes Best of Show; Ed Healy wins Communicator of the Year

On Friday evening, The Advertising Club of Buffalo hosted the 2016 WNY American Advertising Award Show, honoring local advertising and communications professionals along with some of the best creative work from the previous year.

A record 500 professional and 40 student entries were received from area advertising agencies, professionals and students. They were scored by judges from New York City, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.

"The ADDY's is about celebrating the industry and the creative talent that exists right here in our backyard," said Scott Bartels, president, Advertising Club of Buffalo. "Year after year, work from Buffalo gets recognized at the regional and even national level. Win or lose, the event is always a good party in honor of a year's worth of hard work."

The big winner of the night was Block Club, picking up the Best of Show Award for their UNYTS, "Save Warren" campaign.

Gelia was awarded the most ADDYs of the night, with 35 (17 Gold, 18 Silver). Crowley Webb took home 29 awards (four Gold and 25 Silver). Block Club was honored with 19 awards (seven Gold and 12 Silver), 15 Fingers took away 12 awards (five Gold and seven Silver), and dPost secured 10 awards (two Gold and eight Silver).

Other award winners include: The Martin Group (one Gold and seven Silver), White Bicycle (five Gold and two Silver) and Quinlan (five Gold and one Silver).

Special ADDY awards were also awarded to outstanding individuals in the advertising industry. The 2015 winners include:

•Edward J. Healy, vice president of marketing, Visit Buffalo Niagara - David I. Levy Communicator of the Year Award. This award was created to recognize outstanding achievement and service in the communications industry.

•John Paget, Paget Films - Alex Osborn Award for Creativity. Named in honor of Alex Osborn of Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn fame, this award recognizes individuals who, through outstanding creative achievements, have left an indelible mark on the Western New York creative community.

•Peter Burakowski, director of marketing, 43 North - The Odysseus Award. The Odysseus Award was established in 2011 by the Advertising Club of Buffalo to honor a client in the Western New York market (individual or group/department) who has used the discipline of strategic marketing and advertising in an extraordinary way.

•Charlie Fashana, client strategy director, FARM Buffalo - Joe Crowley Award for Service. This award recognizes not only hard work, but also outstanding achievement in furthering the activities and interests of the club.

•Jillian Minderler, graphic designer, Quinlan & Company - Advertising Club of Buffalo Future Star Award. This award honors an outstanding young professional in the marketing and advertising field who has demonstrated great potential in his or her early years in the industry.

The Veritiv Creative Use of Paper Award went to White Bicycle for its Charles A. Burchfield "A Resounding Roar" LP package for the Burchfield Penny Art Center and Righteous Babe Records. And the Best Showbook Ad award was a tie between BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and Charles Waldorf Photography. 

College students were also included in the action. Taking home the Student Best of Show was Jessica Puskar of Villa Maria College for "No. 2 Pencil Box." Megan Sweeney from Buffalo State College received five awards (two Gold and three silver).

Students each taking home one Gold award include:

• Chelsea Turton, Daemen College
• Grace Gruarin, Villa Maria College

Student Silver award winners include:

• Chad Hornberger, Buffalo State College
• Eric Hostetter, St. Bonaventure University
• Gruarin
• Lucy Norton, Villa Maria College
• Rachel Surdi, St. Bonaventure University
• Samantha Lonczak, Villa Maria College

Taking place at Statler City, the show's theme was "Married to Your Work," as created by FARM Buffalo. It paid homage to the labor of love in advertising.

This year's planning committee co-chairs were April Brown, art director, FARM Buffalo; Sarah DiPofi, brand manager, The Martin Group; and Christie Witt-Berardi, senior brand manager, The Martin Group.

The ADDY Awards is the advertising industry's largest and most representative competition, attracting more than 50,000 entries every year in local ADDY competitions. The mission of the ADDY competition is to recognize and reward creative excellence in the art of advertising.

Conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation, the local ADDY Awards is the first of a three-tier, national competition. Concurrently, all across the country, local entrants vie for recognition as the very best in their markets.

The Advertising Club of Buffalo supports and connects communications professionals in Western New York. It strives to bridge the gaps between passions, occupations and experience levels to create a single unified community that provides national industry involvement with a local focus.

For more information about the Advertising Club of Buffalo and its upcoming events, visit www.advertisingclubofbuffalo.com. Follow ACB on Facebook and Twitter.