The Modern College of Design is proud to recognize its student marketing team for earning second place at this year’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC), the premier college advertising competition hosted by the American Advertising Federation.

This year’s NSAC competition was selected to take place on The Modern’s campus, bringing together students, instructors, and industry professionals for the event. Five colleges competed, each developing and presenting a fully integrated campaign for a national brand. This year’s client, the National Football League, asked teams to create a campaign focused on youth health and wellness.

The Modern’s team responded with a campaign designed to encourage both physical activity and mental well-being among younger audiences. Their approach supported existing NFL initiatives while also standing on its own, creating a concept that felt both connected to the brand and meaningful to the audience. Through strong research, thoughtful strategy, and creative execution, the campaign highlighted the importance of building healthy habits both on and off the field.

In addition to their second-place finish, the team earned two major honors: Best Collaborative Q and A and Best Collaborative Presentation. These awards reflect the team’s ability to work together, think critically in the moment, and present their ideas with clarity and confidence.

Guided by instructors AJ Busé and Clancy Boyer, the students spent months developing their campaign from initial insights through final presentation. The experience challenged them to collaborate at a high level, refine their thinking, and bring their ideas to life in a real-world setting.

"The passion, creativity, and teamwork this group brought to the competition were exceptional," said Jessica Barry, President of The Modern College of Design. "This team worked more collaboratively than we have seen in the past, and it showed in every part of their campaign. The strategy was smart, the creative was thoughtfully crafted, and the presentation was delivered with confidence. It was one of the strongest performances we have seen."

This year’s team included Christian Clark, Corrick DeBoard, Zoe Enochs, Grace Gabriel, Issa Muñoz-Chan, Parv Nema, Gabe Salazar, Emily Woodworth, Bridgette Bible, Tey Davenport, Carly Goodman, Sav Pegram, and Diane Tolentino.