In the wake of the 2018 midterm elections and a statewide ban on greyhound racing, more than 7,000 dogs needed new homes. The need for adoption was immediate, and word had to spread fast.

Three University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications advertising students, senior Nala Velez and juniors Katherine Ryan and Vanessa Wong, were inspired by this need  for adoption and decided to take action. Although all three work at The Agency, a strategic communication agency housed at the College, and have roles in the student-run Ad Society, they decided to combine their creative abilities and work independently to make a poster campaign calling for greyhound adoptions.

The three posters painted greyhounds as lovable indoor pets in the hopes of persuading skeptical adoptees. The collection of posters earned the three students a Gold Addy Award and “Best-In-Show” in the student category for the Gainesville region. The campaign will now move to the 4th District AAF Addy Awards competition.

“We wanted to play up the fact that we all voted for this dog-racing ban, and now we have to adopt them,” Wong said. “We collectively knew we didn’t want these dogs racing anymore, and it needed a campaign.”

An Ad Society meeting about the Addy Award competition by AAF Gainesville, a chapter of the 4th District American Advertising Federation Florida/Caribbean, sparked interest in the three students. While the larger greyhound cause was their inspiration, the women had winning a Gold Addy as one of their primary goals. They then set off on their own to make the dream a reality.

“Honestly, we were all just really hungry to win,” Wong said.

The entire campaign took the women 12 hours from start to finish. They worked until 4 a.m. one night to ensure all of their ideas came together perfectly. Ryan worked on copywriting, Velez worked on illustration and Wong worked on the graphic design and strategy.

“Everyone brought something to the table for this project and it showed,” Wong said. “We were all super passionate about this.”

Ryan, who came up with the idea for the greyhound focus, said the target audience was college-aged students who are considering adopting. While the three women first thought a bus wrap advertisement would be most effective, they quickly switched their focus to posters.

“We wanted to choose a medium that would resonate most with the target audience,” Ryan said.

With the target audience of college students in mind, the three students set their sights on an overall message of greyhound behavior and their relaxed nature.

“People think greyhounds are very active and high maintenance,” Ryan said. “But in reality, greyhounds are just big couch potatoes. They are the perfect dog for a college-aged student.”

Working apart from any organization gave the three students an opportunity to really flex their creative abilities, Ryan said. They were able to work independent of any restrictions or setbacks. “There really were no guidelines. If we wanted to go an entirely different direction halfway through the project, we could do that.”

By Max Chesnes, Journalism senior

Posted: March 21, 2019
Category: College News, Student News
Tagged as: AAF Gainesville Addy Awards, The Agency