News / 05 Jul 2024
Students win D&AD New Blood Pencils for ninth year running
BA (Hons) Marketing Communications
Students from BA (Hons) Creative Advertising (now BA (Hons) Marketing Communications) are celebrating their success after winning coveted D&AD New Blood Pencils.
Final year student Sarah Heng won the Wood Pencil award in response to the Adobe brief with their work ‘A Click Away’, a campaign to inspire Gen Z to pursue a career in content creation.
Bradley Barnes won the Graphite Pencil award for his project 'AI Reply', a response to the Bumble brief that uses AI to support people with Autism with improving their communication when using dating apps.
Over the past nine years Leeds Arts University BA (Hons) Creative Advertising students have won 12 D&AD New Blood pencils, including Selina Smyllie’s Black Pencil in 2021, the highest level of award. In 2023 final year students Jamie Hesketh and Evie Moysen won the Graphite Pencil for their work in response to a brief set by Heineken.
"I’m made up for Sarah and Brad. Winning a D&AD New Blood Pencil is a fantastic achievement. These are the most converted student, and professional, awards out there. That Sarah and Brad’s strategic and creative thinking has been recognised by the judges is sensational. We’re looking forward to the award ceremony in July where their pencil level will be revealed. This makes it 12 Pencil wins for our course since 2016. And yes, I am counting."
Nicholas Young, BA (Hons) Marketing Communications Senior Lecturer
The D&AD Awards showcase and celebrate the world’s best commercial creativity in design, advertising, craft and production, with the New Blood category for newcomers and students. Pencils are awarded to the winners. Winning a D&AD Pencil is considered the pinnacle of one's advertising career.
Sarah and Bradley were presented with their pencils at the New Blood Awards Ceremony in London.