2025 American Advertising Awards Recap
Everybody’s amped about the AAAs.
Not just because it was the most anticipated night of the year for the Buffalo advertising community, but because it was truly electric. (Watch your step near that Tesla coil).
Our fearless leader, AAF Buffalo President, Lindsay Neilson, put it best: “This was a year unlike any other show we’ve done before.” But it was also one of the more rewarding ones we’ve put together. With so many of our Buffalo agencies getting involved this year, this truly felt like a show for – and by – everyone in our ad community.
And what a brilliant, dazzling, radiant, additional-electrical-adjectives-looking community it is. If you haven’t seen the photos or the slow motion video from that night, check ‘em out. Y’all look positively conductive.
The night began with a greeting from Edison and his candy-filled light bulbs – such a bright idea. We had some supercharged snacks, buzzy bevvies, and a slow motion glambot wired to capture the energy of the night. Everything from the decor to the show reels to the fits, food, and Saxman Slim made for a night to remember.
We recognized an up-and-coming whippersnapper in Sean Donovan for our Future Star Award. Our Joe Crowley Award for Service went to Chelsea Carney – whose dedication to the board is unmatched. Riveter Design brought home the Mosaic Award for everything they bring to not only the advertising community but our community at large. And we honored the incomparable Tricia Barret of Crowley Webb with the highly coveted Levy-Osborn award for Excellence in Communication for being the ad badass she is.
And the honors for Crowley Webb didn’t stop there as they also took home the Best of Show for the Highmark Stadium Talegate Trailer! Congrats to them – and everyone – for their achievements. The Martin Group took home a show-topping 53 awards as well as being a Best of Show Finalist for their Health Lives Here campaign. Rounding out the finalists was Stronghold Studio for the supercool Listening Bar Branding. And congrats to Henny Zack from Villa Maria for taking home Student Best of Show!
We had five judges from across the country evaluate 477 professional entries. They had a ton of glowing things to say about the craft here in the Electric City so our thanks go out to Chris, Amy, Eva, David, and Mick. You were all thoughtful and purposeful in your judging and discussions – we were lucky to have you.
The thanks continue though, as we could not have put on such a stunning event without the help of Crowley Webb for tackling the show reels, Farm for their killer showbook, Agency 15 for making all the social and comms look effortless, dPost for the intro, gallery reels, and slow mo booth, Riveter for kicking off the Entries for All initiative, Frank Coppola for his mother-fluxing decor, Mr. Smith and In-Room Plus for their help in developing the kickoff and branding elements, and of course all the board members that made the evening possible: special shoutouts to my stellar co-chair Hailey for tackling her first year as AAA co-chair like an experienced vet, to Lindsay for keeping this train of insanity on the rails, and to Mike, Kit, and Devan for their endless support in keeping this thing on budget and on brand.
And an extra special thanks to our host, Electric City, and our sponsors NBC Universal, AI Digital, and Digital Table Advertising. This show could not have happened without you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Cheers, all. Thanks to you all for coming out and making our 2025 AAAs absolutely voltaic. (That’s a word, right?)
