A Night to Remember: The 2025 American Advertising Awards Seattle

On Thursday, April 03 the Seattle advertising and creative community gathered for an unforgettable night of inspiration, recognition, and celebration at the 2025 American Advertising Awards Seattle Gala—marking the triumphant return of AAF Seattle’s biggest annual event to a live, in-person format after five years online.

Held at Kane Hall on the University of Washington campus, this nearly sold-out event welcomed hundreds of creative professionals, agency leaders, students, and supporters to honor the very best in advertising across the region. From bold integrated campaigns to powerful public service storytelling, the work celebrated this year reflected not just creative excellence but cultural impact, collaboration, and purpose.

A Triumphant Return to the Stage

The American Advertising Awards—affectionately known as the ADDYs—are part of the nation’s largest and most representative advertising competition, attracting more than 25,000 entries each year across three tiers: local, district, and national.

For the Seattle creative community, this year’s gala wasn’t just another awards show—it was a comeback story. After half a decade of virtual gatherings, the event marked a bold new chapter for AAF Seattle, a club that nearly closed its doors in mid-2024. But thanks to a revitalized board, a passionate volunteer base, and the support of industry leaders, the organization has entered what President Valentina Gomez Bravo calls “our comeback era.”

“Rebuilding AAF Seattle has been a labor of love,” said Gomez Bravo during her opening remarks. “This event mattered—not just for us as individuals, but for the entire community. It was a night to remember, and we hope it’s the first of many more to come.”

Honoring Legacy: The Silver Medal Award

One of the evening’s most anticipated moments was the presentation of the Silver Medal Award, the highest honor AAF Seattle bestows each year. This prestigious recognition celebrates those who have made significant contributions to advertising and demonstrated a consistent commitment to creative excellence and industry advancement.

Presented by advertising legend Tracy Wong, this year’s Silver Medal was awarded to two outstanding leaders: Matt McCain and Michael Boychuk, whose collaborative legacy has shaped some of the most celebrated work in the region and mentored a generation of creative professionals. Their tribute video, produced by their agency peers, was met with roaring applause and a standing ovation.

Learn more about the Silver Medal Award and the honorees.

The Judges, the Work, the Wins

The 2025 show was judged by a panel of nationally recognized creative leaders from outside the Seattle market. Their selections reflected the breadth and depth of talent across the region, with entries evaluated across traditional, digital, social, experiential, student, and public service categories.

For the first time ever, AAF Seattle introduced Bronze Local Awards into the winner’s circle, allowing more outstanding work to be recognized alongside Silver and Gold ADDY honorees.

Among this year’s most notable winners:

• Herd of Shepherds and Smartsheet took home Best of Show for “Peak Fandom,” a campaign that blended creative craft and data-driven strategy with playful fan engagement.

• PB& LLC and Visit Seattle received the Mosaic Award for “Unsettled Territory,” recognizing excellence in multicultural marketing and inclusive storytelling.

• Judge’s Choice Awards were presented to:

  • VML Seattle for “The BOOM Inside You” with Washington’s Lottery & the Seahawks

  • DNA&STONE for “Scary Not Scary Question” with Seattle Children’s Hospital

  • Seattle Kraken for “Defend the Deep”

The show also highlighted student work from Seattle Central College and Western Washington University, underscoring the next generation of creative leaders.

A Look at SOME OF THE THE Winners

Here’s a simplified look at some of this year’s award recipients:

🏆 Best of Show

• Herd of Shepherds – “Peak Fandom” for Smartsheet

🥇 Gold ADDYs (Selected Highlights)

• VML Seattle – “The BOOM Inside You” for Washington’s Lottery / Seattle Seahawks

• Seattle Kraken – “The Creature” and “Hoist the Colors”

• Imaginary Friends – “This is Work” for Microsoft

• DNA&STONE – “Aegis – Aging is Life”

🥈 Silver ADDYs (Selected Highlights)

• Copacino + Fujikado – “Skip the Drama” for Sound Transit

• PB& LLC – “Unsettled Territory” for Visit Seattle

• Hydrogen – “Powering Generations” for Puget Sound Energy

• C+C – “Salmon Warriors” for Salmon Defense

🥉 Bronze Awards (New in 2025)

• FreshMade – “Dogs: The Ultimate Copilot” for Microsoft

• Bread n Butter – “Dick’s Drive-In x Royal Family Farms”

• Designit – “Packed with Joy” for Zipfizz

• University of Washington – “Brand Anthem”

🎓 Student Winners

• Jenny Katz, Seattle Central College – Quili Sustainable Packaging

• Cam Gibb, Western Washington University – MODE Summit 2025

A complete list of winners and categories can be found here.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

This year’s gala was made possible through the generous support of our event sponsors. AAF Seattle is deeply grateful to the following partners:

• Associated Posters Inc. – Our go-to source for large and grand format printing. Their beautiful banners welcomed every guest at the door, and they offer exclusive discounts to AAF members!

• Via Creatives – A powerhouse video production team that captured the night beautifully. We can’t wait to share their official recap.

• Offbeat Films – The storytellers behind our stunning photo booth experience. Check out the photos—they’re as authentic as they are fun.

• Weekend Photography (Jonathan Owens) – Candid moments, standing ovations, and all the sparkle in between—Jonathan captured it all live from the floor.

We’re proud to collaborate with sponsors who not only support the event but also uplift the creative community year-round.

View the Photo Album

📸 Relive the magic!
Our full photo gallery from the gala is now live.
Click here to view and download your favorite moments.

What’s Next for AAF Seattle?

The gala may be over, but AAF Seattle is just getting started.

With a revitalized board, a growing membership, and a renewed mission focused on Service, Growth, Recognition, and Connection, AAF Seattle is committed to building a more inclusive, accessible, and vibrant creative community.

“This isn’t just a comeback,” said Gomez Bravo. “It’s the beginning of a new chapter—and we want everyone to be a part of it.”

Want to get involved? Volunteer? Sponsor an upcoming event? Or just meet more people who get what you do?

👉 Contact us or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to stay connected.

About AAF Seattle

Founded in 1909, AAF Seattle is one of the oldest clubs in the American Advertising Federation, the nation’s only organization that brings together professionals across all disciplines and career levels in advertising. From students to CEOs, creatives to strategists, we’re here to champion the industry and the people who make it matter.

Want to help shape the future of AAF Seattle?
Join the movement. Be part of the momentum. And maybe… start working on your 2026 entry.

Now Accepting 2015-16 Board Nominations

Each year at this time, our board goes through a transformation process as some directors move on to new challenges, and new faces arrive to take their place. We know who's leaving, but we need to find the brave souls who are ready to step up and do the job.

Our openings for the 2015-2016 board year include the following positions:

• Communications Director
• Government Relations Director
• Programs Director

• Sponsorship Director
• Treasurer
• Vice President

If you're interested, first read the position description, then fill out and submit your application by 6 PM on Monday, May 11, when we'll review all submissions and contact interested parties.

About our board

Board Position Descriptions (.pdf)

Board Application (.dotx)

Nominations will be announced Wednesday, May 20th and submitted to AAF Seattle's membership for approval. A member-approved slate of directors will be announced to the public on Monday, June 1st.

Western Regional Conference Roundup

Your trusty board recently took Reno by storm in hopes to double our revenue and advertising brain power at the AAF Western Regional Conference. Now that they've all recovered from the whirlwind of experts, seminars, buffets and lounge singers, we asked them to share their thoughts and things they learned at the conference. 

AAF Seattle board and friends

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Martin McGee, President

What I wanted to get out of this conference was to network with other clubs in the region to see what is and is not working for them. I want to get ideas to implement in Seattle and possibly provide ideas for other clubs to try.

My priorities coming out of this conference are around planning for the club—both short and long term. While the club has goals identified for the current year, I would like to develop a multi-year strategic plan.

The ever photogenic Martin 

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Mark Kurtz, Diversity & Multiculturalism

AAF Seattle is a force in the Western Region. We have the foundation in place to grow. The landscape of the term "advertising" is expanding to include many forms of marketing and we need to flexible in order to cater to the needs of our members.

This conference reinforced the responsibility we have as advertising and marketing professionals to elevate our work to the highest level. Numerous examples were given throughout the conference that rely on the many skill-sets that AAF Seattle represents—especially around creative storytelling and how to connect audiences to those key messages in a meaningful and relevant way. The collective work that our members produce has the ability to impact billions of people and this is a great industry to represent.

Mark puts his lucky charm to the test

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Charlotte Boutz, Vice President & Programs

I love to hear what other clubs are doing—both their success stories and their challenges. Each market is so different, so clubs approach serving their communities differently, but there’s still a lot to learn and share. 

The Reno team did a great job producing “bonus” content that was not directly related to the business of the organization, but helped open our minds and keep the energy level up. I was especially inspired by the team at Goodby Silverstein & Partners sharing the NBA Jingle Hoops campaign, and Jonathan Woytek from Pereira & O'Dell on the Skype Stay Together campaign. Beyond the concept development, which was incredibly powerful in both cases for different reasons, the creative problem solving that these teams pulled off throughout the production processes was jaw dropping. What a fun pair of reminders of why we’re in this business, and what it takes to tell a good story well.

Charlotte enjoys the Reno nightlife

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Audrey Berglund, American Advertising Awards

I always look forward to networking with other ADDY chairs and figuring out best practices based on their experiences. It’s a great place to share ideas and gain support.

This conference served as a great kickstart to this year’s American Advertising Awards. I got a lot accomplished in the way of event timeline, budgeting and committee building. I definitely have a plan of attack moving forward and am set up to run effective committee meetings.

Audrey strikes up a convo with the locals

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Cindy Pennington, Executive Director

I want our membership to know that your elected board desires to learn more about growing and promoting the advertising industry in Seattle. They want AAF Seattle not just be relevant to the agencies, but to the businesses, vendors and clients in the Seattle area.

Cindy takes in the sights

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Nik Amar, Advertising Education

I got some great ideas for programs from other clubs. It's a priority for me to work with the board to create greater, more bombastic membership drives, considering how essential membership is to the survival of our club.

Our club is large and diverse in membership and behavior. Members can take an active role in our club’s future through regular attendance and simply meeting and suggesting things to the board (not to mention volunteering).

Nik explores Reno's culture

Open Committee Positions

Believe it or not, your beloved club doesn't run on fairy glitter and sun beams. And even though your fearless board leaders put in a fair share of blood, sweat and ugly cry tears, they still couldn't make AAF Seattle operate without the help of volunteers. 

Whether you're looking to network, puff up your portfolio and resume, or fulfill your court ordered volunteer hours, we've got plenty of open spots to feed your ulterior motives. Bonus: you get to hang with the best dang ad folks this side of the Snoqualmie Pass.

Check out our positions and if you're interested, send us an email with the following:

1. Your name
2. Your job title
3. The volunteer position you're inquiring about
4. Qualifications or experience you may have that relate to the position

Communications Committee

Copywriter

Write snappy copy for event communications, blog posts, social media posts and other communication needs. Apply now

Art Designer

Design graphics and logos, and choose images for event communications. Layout newsletters and other advertisements. Apply now

Communications Liaison

Serve as the go-between of the Communications Director and the Seattle American Advertising Awards (ADDY) creative team. Determine and execute a communications plan for the awards show. Manage the communications schedule and advise on communication capabilities within the club. Position duration is September-March. Apply now

ADDYs Committee

Commitment: 2-3 meetings/week depending on action items. Meetings last 30 minutes-1 hour. Position duration is September-March depending on volunteer role.

Competition Committee Volunteer

Call for entries through judging. Will identify and target companies to enter competition, manage collection of entries, sort entries for judging and coordinate judging day, including laying out work to be judged. Apply now

Judging Coordinator

Help Judging Chair recruit some of the best creative minds in the US. Coordinate travel, lodging, dinners and social events. Apply now

Creative Director

Responsible for concepting theme carried out through communications, print and digital materials, and the show. Apply now

Awards Show Coordinator

Acts as a liaison between the venue and the committee, negotiates rentals and F&B. Apply now

Sponsorship Committee

Sponsor Liaison

Serve as the go-between of the Sponsorship Director and the Seattle American Advertising Awards (ADDY) committee. Pursue cash sponsors for food and beverages, as well as in-kind sponsors for wine, beer and liquor. Position duration is September-March. Apply now

Seeking Board Members

Each year at this time, our board goes through a transformation process as some directors move on to new challenges, and new faces arrive to take their place. We know who's leaving, but we need to find the brave souls who are ready to step up and do the job.

Our openings for the 2014-2015 board year include the following positions:

• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Membership
• Communications

• Government Relations
• Education
• Diversity

If you're interested, first read the position description, then fill out and submit your application before Monday, June 16th, when we'll review all submissions and contact interested parties.

About our board

Board Position Descriptions (.pdf)

Board Application (.dotx)

Nominations will be announced Friday, June 20th and submitted to AAF Seattle's membership for approval. A member-approved slate of directors will be announced to the public on Friday, June 27th.

ADmerica! 2014: Board Members Look Back

We sent a team of devoted board members to brave the sunshine, beaches and freezing conference rooms at the American Advertising Federation's national conference, ADmerica!, at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, May 28 - June 1.

We've asked them to recount their experiences from the trip. No conference or meeting recaps, just personal takeaways. We'll be adding their reports to this post as they come in.

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Kirsten Martin, Sponsorship Chair:

ADmerica was a whirlwind – high energy, great contacts, and a chance to learn something new at every turn.

Best part of the weekend? It’s a tie between a wickedly entertaining (and informative) keynote by David “Shingy” Shing, AOL’s digital prophet, and the inspired efforts of student teams across the country reimagining the Mark Kay brand for millennials. Hobnobbing with industry and AAF leaders, and sharing in their work, at ADmerica has only reinforced my passion for what we do.

I left Boca Raton with a sunburn, a new appreciation for humidity, and a rash of new, far-flung professional relationships I’ll nurture in the years to come.

AAF Seattle board members (L-R) Audrey Berglund (ADDYs), Kirsten Martin (Sponsorship), and Renee Peterson (President)

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Martin McGee, Vice President & Treasurer

From the sessions on club management to networking with advertising professionals from around the country, the ADmerica! conference in Boca Raton, Florida, was once again an inspiring and informative experience.  As incoming President for AAF Seattle, I was particularly drawn to programming around improving club operations and how we can better serve our members, including developing and maintaining a strategic plan, a key factor to ongoing club success.

And, of course, it was great to see all of the award-winning advertising work, including several entries from Seattle, at the national American Advertising Awards Show.

AAF Seattle board members show their District XI spirit. (L-R) Audrey Berglund (ADDYs), Kirsten Martin (Sponsorship), Renee Peterson (President), Christine Gammill (District XI Governor), and Martin McGee (VP/Treasurer).

Seattle Winners at the National ADDY Awards

Last night the national American Advertising Awards were held at the Boca Raton Resort & Club at AAF National's ADmerica conference, and Seattle represented in style.

Publicis Seattle took home two Gold and two Silver ADDY awards for their work on T-Mobile, as well as a Silver for their work on the Seattle Symphony. That's a haul.

Creature brought home two Silver awards for their work on DoubleDown Interactive.

The Seattle Wunderman Network won a Silver for their work on XBOX.

And Wongdoody won a Silver for their work on the Seattle International Film Festival.

All these winners were able to compete in the national show after winning at the local and district levels. This progressive competition is one of the things that makes the American Advertising Awards so unique, and so coveted.

It's truly an honor to win any award at the highest competitive level. We were proud to represent our city, AAF District 11, and the AAF Western Region in front of so many distinguished agencies.

Also of note, Seattle agencies Hydrogen and Admosis Media (an AAF Seattle corporate member) served as media partners for the event.

We'll share more stories from ADmerica this coming week. The complete national winners list can be found at the ADmerica winners page.

Catch Up with AAF Seattle

Our latest newsletter has hit the intertubes, full of our latest updates. Even if you’re a regular reader of this blog we’ve got a couple bits in there, or at least some new photos, to make it worth a click.

Not a yet subscriber? Sign up here.

Oh yeah, we’re still looking for a name, so add your idea or vote here. Winner gets two admissions to our Market Insights: Distilling a Brand event in June.

We LOVE Our Volunteers!

AAF Seattle is simply nothing without its volunteers. While we always try our best to recognize and thank everyone--from volunteers to committee members to our board--for all they do, after all the effort over the past year we thought we should make a grander gesture.

Enter our friends The Tacoma Rainiers, who, through employee and ADDY chair, Audrey Berglund, stepped up and offered us a luxury suite complete with amenities. We got busy and coordinated a bus ride and beverages for the trip and a great day was planned.

The weather threatened, taking away throwing out the first pitch and ultimately the whole game, but not before we'd already had a great time.

And we had a backup plan: the nearby Park Way Tavern, where we closed out the day and verified Esquire magazine was right in naming it one of the best bars in America.

Yes, being a volunteer can be hard work but it's also a lot of fun, and more than a few people notice and appreciate the effort.

See all our pics from the day on Facebook.

Interested in volunteering? Let us know.

Newsletter Launches, but What Do We Call It?

Last week we launched our monthly newsletter all about what's happened with AAF Seattle over the past month, what's currently going on, and what's coming up, written in quickly scannable bits so you can feel briefed while giving you the option to click for more information.

Sign up for the newsletter here (or in the sidebar on this page).

One thing we need is a smart name that reflects the newsletter's content and conveys our tone of clever wit while maintaining some level of professionalism. Not so easy, right?

So we thought we'd open it up to our readers to send in their suggestions and vote. Whoever submits the winning idea will receive free admission for two to our next Speaker Series event.

Share your newsletter name ideas and vote here

The 2014 AAF Silver Medal Award Winner Is Brown. John Brown.

Our selection committee has chosen this year's worthy recipient, John Brown. The award will be presented during the American Advertising Awards on March 19th.

Congratulations to John Brown!

Read more about John Brown and the AAF Silver Medal Award.

Your 2014 Board of Directors

At the end of every board year we reflect on our successes and thank those responsible. We aspire to reach our community and to advance the club farther than it's ever been, and it takes a lot of work by a dedicated crew.

As much fun as we have doing what we do, some board members eventually move on, so we shake their hands for a job well done, smack them on the rear, send them on their way and welcome their oh-so-innocent replacements (muah ha haaaa).

Because of our growth in membership and responsibilities, we're expanding to include roles we haven't had in recent years indicated below in bold, and new board members, indicated below with an asterisk.

Please welcome your 2014 Board of Directors!

Renee Peterson - President

Martin McGee - Treasurer, Vice President

Ashley Ernst* - Secretary

Julia Allen - Membership Director

George Riddell - Public Service Director

Charlotte Boutz* - Programs Director

Luis Antezana - Director of Communications

Kirsten Martin* - Sponsorship Director

Audrey Berglund* - ADDY Awards Director

Ha Na Park* - Diversity & Multiculturalism Director

Eli Martin* - Ad2 Director

And finally, we'd like to thank the following exiting directors for their service:

Heather Simmonsen - Membership Director

Greg Tranum - Sponsorship Director

Victoria Ostrovskaya - Programs Co-Director

Meghan Ragsdale - Programs Co-Director

We'd sign your yearbooks if we had them!

Our board members are all awesomely skilled but even they can't do their jobs alone. If you'd like to be part of a committee or volunteer at an event, please contact info@aafseattle.com. It's a great way to get your foot in the door of a really cool club.

Seattle Represents at ADmerica 2013

The American Advertising Federation's national conference, also known as ADmerica!, was held June 5-8 at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. AAF Seattle board members Renee Peterson, George Riddell, Martin McGee, Luis Antezana, and Audrey Berglund represented our club, which won a Club Achievement Award for winning the Division III ADDY Challenge. Our own George Riddell impressed while performing his duties as National ADDY Chair. And Eric Weaver of Spring Creek Group led a panel of experts in the social media panel. All in all a tremendous few days of learning and interacting with our AAF brethren from District 11, Western Region, and around the nation.

The National ADDY Awards were held June 8th, with Keith Rivers and Eli Martin of Workhouse Creative, Keith Goldberg of Rally, and GreenRubino in the house to pick up their National ADDY Awards. Creature, Wong, Doody, Crandall, Weiner and Cole & Weber United also won National ADDYs for their work. Full list of winners here.

A few words from George Riddell, Secretary and National ADDY Chair, about his experience:

ADmerica was especially gratifying for me this year because of the large AAF Seattle contingent that attended the conference. Having such strong Ad Club representation meant that more club leaders are gaining the benefit of networking with clubs from other markets, and participating in professional development programs offered by the AAF. The group also spent time together looking ahead to the coming year for AAF Seattle. The experience should provide great momentum for an exciting year of Ad Club activities in Seattle.

Martin McGee, Treasurer and Vice-President:

One of the sessions I attended at the AAF National Conference focused on one of the key benefits AAF provides to our members and the advertising industry in general -- Government Affairs.  AAF champions causes at the local, state and federal level that impact advertising including the critical issue of allowing advertising services to remain tax deductible as a business expense.  Various clubs around the country presented ideas they implemented to work with elected officials both during their campaign and while in office.  AAF Seattle will be exploring ways to apply some of these ideas to our region in the future.

From Luis Antezana, Director of Communications:

This being my first AAF national conference, I was impressed by the breadth of the community of creative professionals that care so much about the health of our industry and work to ensure its viability and high standards. This organization works more in the background than they probably realize, as I had no idea all that was involved in what they do. As would be expected, along with a lot of work came a decent bit of fun after hours, sealing new and old relationships. I was proud to represent our city and our club, to have our board make a great showing, and to have so many agency people along with us. The members of AAF Seattle should know we stack up well against any other city!

Check out AAF National's ADmerica photo set for more pics from the big event.

Business Up Front: We're On LinkedIn

Facebook has served us well for social posts like photo sharing, but it's not the ideal place for thinky work mode posts. That’s more of a job for LinkedIn. And given its recent enhancements, including a familiar-feeling news feed, as well as a decent, targeted ad system and improved company pages, it’s become more enjoyable to spend time there.

So we'll be utilizing LinkedIn on two fronts. First, through our company page, we'll be sharing notable links related to work and news about local agencies and vendors along with AAF Seattle club news. Second, through the AAF Seattle group, we'll provide a forum to converse about Seattle-specific topics, to continue discussions and networking begun during our events, featuring participation from our speakers and panelists, and for club-related chatter. There may even be gossip.

So follow our company page and join our group, and we'll do our best to make it worth your while.

Now on Instagram: @AAFSeattle

We thought the Seattle ADDY Awards would be a perfect opportunity to launch our presence on Instagram. No food or kitten pics for us, just some behind-the-scenes and in-progress shots from AAF functions, some teasers, and a few choice glamour shots. It's also a great way to keep up with official event #hashtags to see what others are posting.

Check us out at @AAFSeattle and give us a follow.