90% of MDS teams from AdSchool’s End of Year show are now signed up with agencies
By Kate Humphries, creative advertising programme director, MDS AdSchool
Last Friday, exactly one week out from the official end of our 2021 class, we realised the pick-up on our teams had been faster than any previous year since AdSchool began.
It’s an outcome that crowned a year in which AdSchool won a Pencil and four Merit awards at the One Show in New York; picked up the 2021 Google Student Axis Award; scored a portfolio pick at the 2021 D&AD New Blood Awards in London; had 23 finalists at the global AdStars Awards and went on to win trophies in the Creative e-commerce, Diverse Insights & Social & Influencer categories; aced the 2021 Student Orca award; received two out of three nominations in the shortlist for the 2022 Google Student Axis competition; and (in news just in) won the October round of the International YS (Young Shits) competition.
All achieved in a year that started in weeks of lockdown and ended in months of more lockdown. These are results that Media Design School couldn’t have achieved without a very special bunch of students and, of course, the industry’s tireless and generous support of those students.
So, a huge shout-out from David Bell and yours truly to each and every individual in industry who supported, nurtured and grew our fledgling creatives, including all the local and overseas people who came in throughout the year to critique the students’ ideas; to the mid-year & end-of-year industry panels who marathon-ed it with all of our portfolios; to the 24 creatives who put up their hand to mentor the students for their final 10 weeks (you guys were transformational); to Peter Vegas, Leisa Wall, Beth O’Brien, Thom Darlow & Haydn Kerr who answered my urgent SOS to come in and speak to our NZQA monitor; to the Student Orca judging panel and to Sheridan Hill & Peter Richardson from TRB for organizing the competition; to the Google Student Axis judging panel & James Wotton from the Comms Council for organizing everything; to everyone from industry who swung by with their avatars to attend our end of year show gathering; and to Andy Blood not only for your critiques but also for that student discount on your utterly brilliant book Full Bleed.”
And, last but never least, a youthful fist-bump from the entire class to student team, Jonno Entwistle & Jack Pfizster (Jono & Fist), for saving our sanity and our EoY show during lockdown, not only for your tireless setting up and running of our Gather studio, but also for coming up with the concept for the show invite, executing it and sending it out all within a sleepless 72 hours.
6 Comments
Congrats again and again. Lots of work culminating in a huge successful outcome for everyone.
The biggest most mega fist bumps, high fives, hugs, cheers and thanks to you Kate. 🙂
Heck of a fun year. Crazy cool group of young creatives, led by the electric genius that is Kate Humphries and the rousing 2IC David Bell. Adschool ’21 bout to take over the industry.
Most wild and rewarding experience ever. Huge thanks to Kate and David for moulding us all year, owe it all to you. Will forever be indebted to your endless guidance and expertise. 11/10, would ad school again. Huge thanks also to Jono and Fist for all your work that made the high level of achievement possible amidst lockdown, allowing us to all communicate as naturally as possible in the digital realm.
EPIC YEAR! Big ups to Kate and David for guiding us through the rollercoaster that has been 2021. Can’t thank you enough for all you do for us, your passion for our success is evident! Ngā mihi nui! And what an awesome and generous class that we now get to call colleagues.
What a year! COVID lockdown couldn’t stop amazing idea after amazing idea from blowing me away every week. Looking forward to seeing how high and far we all can go!