Students from BA (Hons) Creative Advertising were celebrating at the New Blood Awards after winning Pencils for the fourth year running.
Final year student Evan Gilsenan and second year student Charlotte Cunningham won the coveted D&AD New Blood Pencils for their work in response to a brief set by mobile network provider giffgaff.
Charlotte Cunningham was awarded a Yellow Pencil for her campaign '24 Months', a poem which focused on the freedom of not being tied down to a contract. Charlotte's Pencil was the highest level to be awarded for the giffgaff brief, with Yellow Pencil's being given to "work that is outstanding, excelling across all judging criteria and potentially causing a pang of jealousy."
Image: Charlotte Cunningham with her Yellow Pencil at the D&AD New Blood Awards
Evan’s response ‘Here for a good time, not a long time’, a copy-led campaign that highlights giffgaff’s lack of tied-in customer contracts, was awarded a Wood Pencil.
Image: Evan Gilsenan with his New Blood Pencil
Evan explains his work:
“I found a few key insights that I really wanted to get across in the piece of long copy I had to write. The main takeaway was their attitude in terms of contracts; there are none, stay or leave whenever you want.
My brainwave moment came when I started to think about an advert or article that works like they do. An almost multiple choice-style long copy. Pick how much of the advert you wish to read…but still get the benefits from it.
I found myself really able to speak in giffgaff’s voice, leading onto the shorter social copy which seemed to come out of the long copy very naturally.”
The New Blood Pencils were awarded at the D&AD New Blood Ceremony held on 11 July, as part of New Blood Festival 2019.
The D&AD New Blood festival brings together emerging talent and industry professionals, with students from university courses around the UK exhibiting their work. This year Leeds Arts University students from BA (Hons) Animation, BA (Hons) Creative Advertising, BA (Hons) Graphic Design and BA (Hons) Illustration will showcase their talent the Old Truman Brewery from 10- 13 July. Find out more here.
