2025 Compeition FAQ
When are entries accepted?
We are accepting AAF Local Competition entries for students and professionals January 1 through February 28. No entries after February 28 will be accepted.
How do i submit my entries?
All entries can be made and paid for online through the AAF Portal on the National website: AAF Fort Wayne Entry Portal.
1- Visit the Portal and login to begin, or click to “submit a professional entry” or “submit a student entry”.
2- View the category list to find where your work should compete, and follow the simple dropdown menus to enter your information. Make sure you credit the members of your creative team, so that they will be recognized properly in press releases and other AAF winner publications.
3- Review your information. Trophies are engraved based on information submitted at time of entry. Please make sure all fields are accurate.
Members are eligible for various entry benefits/discounts.
where do i find the categories?
For Professionals, a list of categories along with additional competition requirements may be found in the AAF Rules & Categories document. Categories begin on page 8.
Students may find their categories listed in the AAF Student Rules & Categories document. Categories begin on page 5.
For both documents, a table of contents for a faster search can be found right after the cover page.
What work is eligible?
All work entered in the American Advertising Awards competition must have first appeared between January 1, and December 31, 2024 . This applies to both professional and student divisions.
For Professionals:
With the exceptions of Pro Bono Advertising and Advertising Industry Self Promotion categories, and student entries, work entered must have been the result of paid creative services and/or media placement in the normal course of business.
Entries must be submitted in the CBSA, DMA or MSA where the work was created (as defined by Arbitron or Nielsen for your local market) . If multiple competitionsare in the same CBSA (Core-Based Statistical Area), DMA (Designated Market Area) or MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) the Chapter located nearest to the entrant geographically will be the entry site.
In the event there are entrants located in markets not served by a local American Advertising Awards-affiliated show, the acceptance, processing, judging, forwarding and fees of those entries will be decided by the governing body of the district in which the entrant is located . Additional geographic considerations are covered on page 6 of the AAF Rules & Categories Document .
For Students:
Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited U .S . post-secondary educational institution .
Work may be developed specifically for this competition or submitted from previous projects or competitions .
Work must be created while entrant is a student not employed in the advertising industry . Student intern work is eligible if it is not used by or paid for by a client . Work developed for paying clients will not be accepted .
Entries may be entered into only one local American Advertising Awards competition, which is determined by the location of the school at which the work was created . If an affiliated competition does not exist in the CBSA (Core-Based Statistical Area), DMA (Designated Market Area) or MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area), the district will direct the entrant to the nearest affiliated competition .
Recent graduates are eligible to enter as long as the entry was created while the entrant was a student during the 2024 calendar year and the entry meets all other requirements .
how can i be eligible for district and national compeitions?
Forwarding of Winners
Our local compeition is the first of a three-tier, national competition. Concurrently, across the country, local entrants vie to win ADDY Awards—recognition as the very best in their markets. At the second tier, local ADDY winners compete with winners from other local chapters in one of 15 district competitions. District ADDY winners are then forwarded to the third tier, the national stage of the American Advertising Awards. Entry in your local competition is the first step toward winning a national ADDY.
Only work that has won a Gold ADDY or a Silver ADDY in the AAF Fort Wayne local competition will be eligible for entry into the District competition. Only work that has won a Gold ADDY or a Silver ADDY in a district competition will be eligible for entry into the National American Advertising Awards competition.
Auto-Forwarding
If your entry wins a Gold ADDY at the local chapter competition, it will be automatically forwarded to the district competition with fees paid by the local chapter. Should the entry win Gold again at the district level, it will be forwarded to the national competition with fees paid by the district.
If your entry is awarded a Silver ADDY at the local or district level, you have won the right to compete at the next level of competition and may choose to pay the applicable entry fee in order to be forwarded . You will be contacted with information regarding your entries that qualify to be forwarded to the next level of competition, including entry fees, due dates and how to submit payment.
Great!…But I have more questions
Our local club will host a Tips & Best Practices presentation on January 18, 2025. We invite you to join us for this presentation, or take a look through the competitions Rules & Categories provided for each division: