Sarsha Drakeford was named New Zealand’s top AWARD School student this week at a graduation ceremony at Little Easy, Auckland on Friday. Second place went to Geordie Wilson, followed by Simone Ward in third.
More than 50 creatives and industry supporters attended the event, which showcased the best pieces of work from the 2014 class of 16.
School head Rory McKechnie (CD at DDB NZ) congratulated all of the students on their achievements while guest speaker Damon Stapleton (chief creative officer, DDB NZ) offered words of advice on taking the next step in the industry: “Advertising is still the most fun you can have with your clothes on. But getting into advertising can be no fun at all. You have to hustle and have a bit of luck. You also have to realise the harder you work the luckier you will get.”
The Australian Communications Council, which runs the AWARD programme on both sides of the Tasman, tutors were Zac Lancaster & Tom Cunliffe (DDB) and Freddie Coltart & Matt Williams (FCB).
Guest speakers on Friday were Josh Lancaster & Jamie Hitchcock (Assignment); Damon Stapleton (DDB); Cory Chalmers (Saatchi & Saatchi); Dave King (Whybin\TBWA); Daniel Wright (Colenso); Shane Bradnick (DDB); Brigid Alkema & Erik Hay (Clemenger BBDO); Regan Grafton (FCB); Jonno McMahon & Lisa Fedyszyn (Whybin\TBWA); Nick Worthington (Colenso) and James Mok (FCB).
About the AWARD School
This programme has now been running for more than 30 years; the 2014 graduates follow in the footsteps of many of today’s creative leaders, including past students David Droga, founder and creative chairman of Droga5; Matt Eastwood, worldwide chief creative officer at JWT New York; Craig Davis, ex-chairman of AWARD and co-chairman & chief creative officer of Publicis Mojo.
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