GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Last year was a busy year for the West Michigan advertising community, and it showed at the annual Addy awards.
More than 150 awards were handed out to professionals and college students at the American Advertising Federation of West Michigan's annual award show.
The evening awards gathering on Thursday, Feb. 27, at Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in downtown Grand Rapids, drew more than 400 people.
There were 308 entries this year, up from 301 last year.
The event is considered the industry's version of the Oscars, and the competition is the first level of a three-tiered national competition conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation. Gold winners will go on to to compete at the regional level.
Judges gave out 36 gold, 46 silver, and 45 bronze Addy Awards. Students at Kendall College of Art and Design and Grand Valley State University collectively took home 7 gold and 11 silver, and 9 bronze Student Addy Awards.
The big winner of the night was Extra Credit Projects. The Grand Rapids firm won 32 awards including the 2015 Best of Show for its "Art Everywhere US" Outdoor Campaign.
"We worked super hard," said Rob Jackson, owner and creative director of Extra Credit Projects. The firm landed some high-profiled work, including the National Association of Theatre Owners campaign.
The agency also made time to do the creative work for the Addy Awards show, which centered around a well-received canine theme, Calling All Ad Dogs. The work included printed invites and a video of dogs as ad executives introducing award winners.
Gorilla Pictures, a film and video production company, collected 12 awards, after taking a few years off from entering the contest. Gorilla recently expanded operations to the West Coast with the opening of a Santa Monica, Calif., office in January.
The agencies Full Circle Marketing & Design, Grey Matter Group and The Image Group each took home 8 awards.
The 2015 Judges' Choice Addy award winners went to Blue Flame Thinking for typography on "TIC Gum New Orleans Invitation," and to PB&J for copywriting on its "Maxbauers Market Poster Campaign."
The student Best of Show was given to KCAD senior Deanna Lucas for her "This is Me" Non-Traditional Campaign. Her tear-away collage was meant to illustrate the depth of her work.
"Everything has layers and meaning and that's how I feel about my work," said Lucas, who hoped the accolade will help her land a graphic design job when she graduates.
Three KCAD students swept the 2015 Judges' Choice ADDY Awards. They were Michelle Rose for identity on her "Bar Divini Rebrand"; Donna Karadsheh for her concept on "The Tooth"; and Katrina Meppelink for overall execution on "Movements: Poems by Katrina Meppelink."
The late Christina Bivins was recognized as the 2015 AAF West Michigan Silver Medal Award winner for her contributions to the West Michigan creative community. Accepting the award were her parents, Fred and Gina Bivins.
Shandra Martinez covers business for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email her or follow her on Twitter @shandramartinez.