National Student Advertising Competition

The National Student Advertising Competition is the premier college advertising competition that provides more than 2,000 college students the real-world experience of creating a strategic advertising/marketing/media campaign for a corporate client. Students develop a plans book and then pitch their work to advertising veterans from the American Advertising Federation at the district, semi-final and national levels.^[1]

How It Works

Each year, a corporate sponsor (client) provides an assignment or case study outlining the history of its product and current challenge. The case study reflects a real world marketing challenge. Students must research the product and its competition, identify potential problem areas and devise a completely integrated campaign for the client. Each student team then "pitches" its campaign to a panel of judges.

Structure

Each of the AAF's college chapters can form a team for the National Student Advertising Competition on its campus. The AAF is divided into 15 geographical regions, and based on their school location, student teams first compete at the district level, either in-person or virtually. The winning team(s) from each district then advances to the semi-finals, where NSAC teams compete for one of eight spots at the finals. The final round of competition is held during ADMERICA, the AAF's annual national conference.

Judging

Judging is conducted by professionals in the advertising, marketing and communications industry. Judges at the national level are selected from the client and their advertising agencies.

2016 District Winners: Snapple Campaign

June 4–7, Anaheim, California, United States of America

District	States	2016 Winning Team(s)	National Finals Placement
1	Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut	Boston University
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	George Washington University	'
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	St. John's University	'
3	Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina	University of Virginia	National Champions
4	Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico	Ringling College of Art and Design	3rd Place
5	Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky	University of Kentucky	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Michigan State University	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Purdue University Calumet	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Ball State University	'
7	Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana	Louisiana State University	'
8	North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin	University of Minnesota	'
9	Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri	Webster University	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	Texas State University	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	University of Central Oklahoma	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	West Texas A&M University	2nd Place
11	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska	Idaho State University	'
12	Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico	New Mexico State University	'
13	Hawaii	Hawaii Pacific University	'
14	Northern California, Northern Nevada	University of California Berkeley	'
15	Southern California, Southern Nevada	Chapman University	'
Virtual District	'	DePaul University

2015 District Winners: Pizza Hut Campaign

June 10–13, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America

District	States	2015 Winning Team(s)	National Finals Placement
1	Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut	Johnson & Wales University	National Runners-Up
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	St. John's University (New York City)	3rd Place
3	Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina	University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill	'
4	Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico	University of Miami	'
5	Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky	'	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Grand Valley State University	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Columbia College Chicago	'
7	Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana	Louisiana State University	'
8	North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin	Minnesota State University - Moorhead	'
9	Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri	University of Northern Iowa	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	West Texas A&M University	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	University of Oklahoma	'
11	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska	University of Oregon	National Champions
12	Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico	Brigham Young University	'
13	Hawaii	Hawaii Pacific University	'
14	Northern California, Northern Nevada	San Jose State University	'
15	Southern California, Southern Nevada	University of California Los Angeles	'
Virtual District	University of Southern Mississippi	'	'
Wildcard Winner	'	'	'

2014 District Winners: Mary Kay Campaign

May 28–31, Boca Raton, Florida, United States of America

District	States	2014 Winning Team(s)	National Finals Placement
1	Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut	Johnson & Wales University	4th Place
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	George Washington University	'
3	Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina	University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill	'
4	Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico	University of Miami	National Runners-Up
5	Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky	Marshall University	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Marian University	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Purdue University Calumet	National Champions
7	Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana	University of Alabama	'
8	North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin	South Dakota State University	'
9	Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri	University of Nebraska - Lincoln	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	University of Texas - Austin	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	Texas Tech University	3rd Place
11	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska	University of Idaho	'
12	Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico	Southwest University of Visual Arts - Albuquerque	'
13	Hawaii	Hawaii Pacific University	'
14	Northern California, Northern Nevada	UC Berkeley	5th Place
15	Southern California, Southern Nevada	UCLA	'
Virtual District		Cal State Fullerton	'
Wildcard Winner		TBD	'

2013 District Winners: Glidden Campaign

June 5–8, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America

District	States	2013 Winning Team(s)	National Finals Placement
1	Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut	Johnson & Wales University	4th Place
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	George Washington University	'
3	Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina	University of Virginia	3rd Place
4	Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico	University of Miami	National Champions
5	Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky	University of Kentucky	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Michigan State University	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Purdue University Calumet	'
7	Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana	Louisiana State University	'
8	North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	'
9	Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri	University of Nebraska - Lincoln	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	University of Houston	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	West Texas A&M University	'
11	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska	University of Idaho	'
12	Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico	Brigham Young University	'
13	Hawaii	Hawaii Pacific University	'
14	Northern California, Northern Nevada	University of Nevada, Reno	'
15	Southern California, Southern Nevada	University of Nevada, Las Vegas	'
Wildcard Winner		Syracuse University	National Runners-Up

2012 District Winners: Nissan USA Campaign

June 2–5, Austin, Texas, United States of America

District	States	2012 Winning Team(s)	National Finals Placement
1	Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut	Johnson & Wales University	3rd Place
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	Pennsylvania State University	'
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	Syracuse University	'
3	Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina	University of Virginia	'
4	Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico	University of Miami	4th Place
5	Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky	Ohio University	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Grand Valley State University	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Butler University	'
7	Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana	University of Alabama	National Runners-Up
8	North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin	Minnesota State University - Moorhead	'
9	Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri	University of Nebraska - Lincoln	National Champions
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	Texas A&M University - College Station	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	Texas Christian University	'
11	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska	Portland State University	'
12	Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico	Southwest University of Visual Arts - Albuquerque	'
13	Hawaii	Hawaii Pacific University	'
14	Northern California, Northern Nevada	University of California - Berkeley	'
15	Southern California, Southern Nevada	University of California - Los Angeles	'
Wildcard Winner		West Texas A&M University	5th Place

2011 District Winners: JCPenney Campaign

June 1–4, San Diego, California, United States of America

District	States	2011 Winning Team(s)	National Finals Placement
1	Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut	Johnson & Wales University	3rd Place
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	Hofstra University	'
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	Ithaca College	National Runners-Up
3	Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina	University of Virginia	'
4	Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico	University of Miami	National Champions
5	Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky	Ohio University	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Columbia College - Chicago	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Butler University	'
7	Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana	Savannah College of Art and Design	'
8	North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin	Minnesota State University - Moorhead	'
9	Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri	University of Nebraska - Lincoln	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	University of Texas - Austin	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	Oklahoma State University	'
11	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska	Brigham Young University - Idaho	'
12	Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico	University of Texas at El Paso	'
13	Hawaii	Chaminade University	'
14	Northern California, Northern Nevada	California State University - Chico	'
15	Southern California, Southern Nevada	Chapman University	'
Wildcard Winner		Purdue University Calumet	'

2010 District Winners: State Farm Campaign

June 10–11, Orlando, Florida, United States of America

District	States	2010 Winning Team(s)	National Finals Placement
1	Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut	Boston University	'
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	Syracuse University	'
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	George Washington University	'
3	Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina	University of Virginia	'
4	Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico	Florida State University	'
5	Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky	Marshall University	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Purdue University Calumet	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Butler University	'
7	Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana	Savannah College of Art and Design	'
8	North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin - Madison	'
9	Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri	University of Nebraska - Lincoln	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	Texas State University	National Runners-Up
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	University of Houston	'
11	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska	University of Oregon	'
12	Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico	Art Center Design College - Tucson	'
13	Hawaii	Chaminade University	'
14	Northern California, Northern Nevada	University of Nevada, Reno	'
15	Southern California, Southern Nevada	Chapman University	National Champions	Wildcard Winner		Ball State University	'

2009 District Winners: Century Council Campaign

June 4–5, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America

District	States	2009 Winning Team(s)	National Finals Placement
1	Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut	Johnson & Wales University	'
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	Syracuse University	National Champions
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	George Washington University	'
3	Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina	University of Virginia	'
4	Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico	Florida State University	'
5	Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky	Ohio University	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Northwood University	'
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Columbia College Chicago	'
7	Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana	East Tennessee State University	National Runners-Up
8	North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	'
9	Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri	University of Nebraska - Lincoln	'
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	Texas Tech University	'
11	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska	Portland State University	'
12	Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico	Art Center Design College - Tucson	'
13	Hawaii	Hawaii Pacific University	'
14	Northern California, Northern Nevada	University of California - Berkeley	3rd Place
15	Southern California, Southern Nevada	Chapman University	4th Place	Wildcard Winner		Texas Christian University	'

2008 District Winners: AOL Campaign

June 8–9, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America

District	States	2008 Winning Team(s)	National Finals Placement
1	Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut	Emerson College	5th Place
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	Hofstra University
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	George Washington University
3	Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina	University of Virginia	3rd Place
4	Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico	Florida State University
5	Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky	Ohio University	National Champions
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Indiana University Bloomington
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Columbia College Chicago
7	Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana	Louisiana State University
8	North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
9	Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri	Webster University
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	Texas State University - San Marcos
11	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska	University of Oregon
12	Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico	Art Center Design College - Albuquerque	National Runners-up
13	Hawaii	No participant
14	Northern California, Northern Nevada	University of Nevada, Reno
15	Southern California, Southern Nevada	University of Southern California
Wildcard Winner		Texas Christian University	4th Place

2007 District Winners: Coca-Cola Campaign

June 7–8, Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America

District	States	2007 Winning Team(s)	National Finals Placement
1	Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut	Quinnipiac University
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	Syracuse University	4th Place
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	Baruch College
3	Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina	University of Virginia
4	Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico	Florida State University
5	Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky	Marshall University
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	University of Illinois
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	University of Michigan	National Runners-Up
7	Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana	Savannah College of Art and Design
8	North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	National Champions
9	Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri	Webster University
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	Texas Christian University
11	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska	Portland State University
12	Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico	Art Center Design College - Tucson
13	Hawaii	Chaminade University
14	Northern California, Northern Nevada	California State University - Chico
15	Southern California, Southern Nevada	University of Southern California	3rd Place
Wildcard Winner		University of Texas at Austin

2007 District 14 NSAC Regionals: Fresno, CA

Top Row from Left:
Victor Costa, Veronica Favela, Alicia Allen, Andie Larsen, J.J. Beard, Liz Santos, Kateland Weighall, Robert Ortegon and, Billy Wilson.
Bottom Row from Left:
Bill McGowan, Jen Witz, Brie Leon, Christina Solomon, Jamie Varon & Ramsey Barnette.

2006 District Winners: Postal Vault Campaign

June 10–12, San Francisco, CA

District	States	2006 Winning Team	National Finals Placement
1	Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut	Johnson & Wales University
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	University of Scranton
2	New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia	George Washington University
3	Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina	University of Virginia	National Champions
4	Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico	University of Miami
5	Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky	University of Kentucky
6	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan	Ball State University
7	Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana	University of Tennessee
8	North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	3rd Place
9	Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri	Webster University	National Runners-Up
10	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana	Southern Methodist University
11	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska	University of Oregon
12	Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico	Art Center Design College - Albuquerque	4th Place
13	Hawaii	Chaminade University
14	Northern California, Northern Nevada	University of Nevada, Reno
15	Southern California, Southern Nevada	Chapman University	5th Place
Wildcard Winner		University of Wisconsin - Madison

Past Sponsors and Winners

Year	Sponsor	Winning Team	Year	Sponsor	Winning Team
1973	California Vinter	Michigan State University	1974	American Motors Corporation	University of South Carolina
1975	Warner-Lambert	University of Texas-Austin	1976	Toyota Motor Sales USA	University of Texas-Austin
1977	Frito-Lay Inc.	San Jose State University	1978	Coca Cola USA (Sprite)	Virginia Commonwealth University
1979	Wella Balsam	University of Tennessee	1980	Nabisco, Inc.	San Antonio College
1981	Adolf Coors	Michigan State University	1982	Corning Glass Works	University of Virginia
1983	Maxwell House Coffee	University of Georgia	1984	Radio Shack	Texas Tech University
1985	Burger King Corporation	San Jose State University	1986	Levi Strauss and Company	Iowa State University
1987	Chevrolet Motor Division	Brigham Young University	1988	Nestle Foods Corporation	University of Oregon
1989	Kellogg Company	University of West Florida	1990	The Hearst Corporation	Southwest Texas State University
1991	American Airlines	University of Wisconsin–Madison	1992	Visa USA	University of Montana
1993	Saturn Corporation	Ithaca College	1994	Eastman Kodak Company	University of Houston
1995	Chrysler Corporation	Loyola University-New Orleans	1996	American Red Cross	University of West Florida
1997	Pizza Hut	University of West Florida	1998	Hallmark Cards, Inc.	George Washington University
1999	Toyota Motor Sales, USA	UCLA	2000	The New York Times	University of Alabama
2001	Daimler-Chrysler	University of Wisconsin–Madison	2002	Bank of America	Southern Methodist University
2003	Toyota Motor Sales	University of Nevada-Reno	2004	VISIT FLORIDA	Southern Methodist University
2005	Yahoo!	Texas State University-San Marcos	2006	Postal Vault	University of Virginia
2007	Coca-Cola	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	2008	AOL (AIM)	Ohio University
2009	Century Council	Syracuse University	2010	State Farm	Chapman University
2011	jcpenney	University of Miami	2012	Nissan North America	University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2013	Glidden	University of Miami	2014	Mary Kay	Purdue University Calumet
2015	Pizza Hut	University of Oregon	2016	Snapple	-	-

References

1. http://www.aaf.org/iMIS/AAFMemberR/AWARDS%20AND%20EVENTS/Events___Programs/National_Student_Advertising_Competition/AAFMemberR/Awards_and_Events/Programs_Events/NSAC.aspx?hkey=ed45f531-c449-449d-9e12-2fadb3d1c89f

External links

• Main page from the American Advertising Federation