By Brian St. Denis

The first annual AdSTARS competition went off without a hitch Wednesday at Loyalist College, with plans to make it bigger and better next year already in the works.
Developed by the Loyalist College advertising faculty, AdSTARS challenged local Grade 11 students to create a media campaign using a variety of media. Presenters used PowerPoint, videos, commercials, radio ads, posters and billboards to get their message across.
“The competition has been thought about for a few years, but this year we actually invested the time to make it a reality,” said Robert Kranendonk of Loyalist’s advertising faculty.
The winning team was from Prince Edward Collegiate in Picton, consisting of Brittany Pearsoll, Calvin Terpstra and Kiersten Vandenburg. Their presentation focused on the way teenage smoking negatively affects male and female relationships.
Each member of the winning team receives $1,000 in tuition fees to Loyalist College, as well as publication of their campaigns in local media. The Loyalist website will also be featuring the winning campaign in the near future.
Terpstra, a member of the winning team, said he is definitely considering attending Loyalist for marketing, stating the award is showing him he must be on the right track.
Second place honours were awarded to a team from Bayside Secondary, consisting of Colin Creamer, Valerie Eyers, Tiffany Harley and Alisha Hoard.
The five final teams presented their campaigns to a panel of professional judges, fielding questions afterwards from both industry experts and Loyalist professors.
Three teams were from Bayside Secondary School and three were from Prince Edward Collegiate in Picton. Two other teams from Centennial Secondary were also in the running until last week, when they missed the submission deadline.
The presentations were judged chiefly on creativity, as well as how they pitched their campaign and their written supporting documents.
AdSTARS was specifically focused towards students in English and communication, media, marketing, business and art classes. Department co-ordinator Charlotte Conrad said the competition was designed to create an outside challenge that fits with curriculum being taught in schools.
Teams were given criteria that the advertising campaign would be focused around tobacco products and smoking. The students took this in several different directions, with campaigns presented on secondhand smoke, peer pressure and quitting altogether. The winning team got their idea for looking at smoking and teenage relationships after seeing a girl at school waiting inside for her boyfriend while he had a smoke, says Terpstra.
“We wanted it to be a public service campaign, not promoting goods,” said Harvie Brydon, another advertising faculty member at Loyalist. “And with smoking its important as its still a leading cause of death, and kids start so early.”
Although the winners may use their tuition towards any program at Loyalist, Kranendonk admitted he is hoping to see more interest in the advertising and media studies programs.
“Numbers are down across the province, but it’s to promote the college in general,” says Kranendonk. “We chose to focus locally because so many don’t recognize Loyalist because they just want to get away from home. They don’t realize what a gem they have in their backyard.”
Loyalist partnered with They Integrated, a Belleville advertising and design firm, to bring the competition to life. The company’s clients run the gamut from healthcare to retail, and serve across Ontario and New York State. Brian Freeman of They also served as a judge on the panel.
“The competition was Harvie’s idea, but I was interested in supporting it and supporting the community,” said Freeman.
Brydon said the choice to keep the competition local for its first run was a conscious one, but hopes to branch out further in following years. Schools as far as Brampton this year expressed interest and will likely be included in years to come.
Freeman is also looking see more schools and more competition involved for the second round of AdSTARS, encouraging those that think they might be interested in advertising to get a hands-on taste of what it is like.
The event was sponsored by QuintEssential Credit Union.
“This competition gives our high school students the opportunity to break
out beyond the borders of traditional education to tackle real-world social challenges, and to explore an inspiring career direction. We know that when it comes to planning for your future a little help can go a long way,” said Ron Harrison, president of the credit union.
Anyone wanting more information on the competition or advertising in general should visit www.adstars.ca, as well as www.theyintegrated.com.