The Kids Are All Alright—And They Just Crushed a $75M Telecom Brief

I was in New York City this past weekend where I judged twelve teams of college students pitching advertising campaigns for AT&T with the kind of intensity usually reserved for Supreme Court arguments or reality cooking show finales. This was the American Advertising Federation’s District 2 National Student Advertising Competition, where caffeine meets creativity, and undergrads in blazers and pant suits attempt to out-strategize and out-execute the nation’s top young marketing and advertising minds.

Each year, AAF partners with a brand brave enough to hand over its reputational keys to students. This year, that brave soul was AT&T. Their mission to the students: make Gen Z pay for their wireless services. No small task when your competition includes Verizon, T-Mobile, and a generation more interested in TikToks and staying on their parents’ family plans as long as possible.

District 2 is also a pressure-cooker. The district spans New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. — a who’s who of high-caliber communication programs like Penn State, George Washington University, Syracuse University, Rochester Institute of Technology, St. Bonaventure University, Ithaca College, and Pace University, where the competition and judging took place. Important side note: the judges only knew these teams as numbers until we literally handed the winners their trophies. The rub with being in such a stacked district? Only one team advances, but let’s be honest—anyone who can survive multiple rounds of group work, research sprints, PowerPoint formatting crises, and undoubtedly all-nighters editing their spec creative already deserves a trophy. And some well-deserved naps.

Now, back to the pitch-a-palooza. Each of the twelve teams submitted a hefty plan book (judged and scored prior to arriving for the live presentations), then presented their plans live in twenty-minute slots that were part strategy, part performance art. Imagine Shark Tank, but with less yelling and more media flowcharts. My fellow judges—Gretchen Carswell (a freelance creative director from D.C.), Lynne Field (Head of Strategy, Futurebrand North America), and Nancy Yim (Lead Marketing & Advertising Manager at AT&T)—joined me in watching, listening, and, occasionally, wondering how students can be this polished and still remember to do laundry.

And let me tell you: these students brought it. I’m talking beautifully presented, professionally executed plans that didn’t just shine—they had strategic backbone. They connected the dots from research to insight to idea, working within AT&T’s existing platform, "Connecting Changes Everything." If you’d told me that a few of these plans were polished by a seasoned agency team with espresso running through their veins, I might’ve believed you. But nope—this was pure Gen Z student brilliance on full display. 

Teamwork Makes the Pitch Work

Of course, not everything went perfectly. A few hiccups happened—slides clicked too fast, a stat or two got stuck in someone’s throat—but what mattered more was how teammates stepped in. Gracefully. Supportively. Like they’d rehearsed the possibility of disaster. It was like watching the Olympic synchronized swimming team of ad presentations. And it humanized the team and displayed that they had each other’s back. Please take that learning with you as you enter what sometimes can feel like a dog-eat-dog industry. Your departments will value you more as a team player than as someone only looking out for your own hide.

It's Not Just About the Sizzle: Why Strategy Still Wins

Now, as a creative person myself, I’m of course partial to the creative reveal—the big idea, the slick visuals, the emotional video executions. But these students reminded me that the very best work isn’t just creative—it’s complete. Research methodologies, budget rationales, media strategies, KPIs, optimization plans—these weren’t just tacked on. They were baked in, like raisins in an oatmeal cookie. (Unpopular opinion: I like raisins.)

The Power of the Polish: Keep Refining, Always

The teams that impressed most didn’t stop at “good enough.” They refined, edited, and rehearsed. Even after submitting their written plans weeks prior to the live presentation round, they kept polishing their presentations and making their work sing—well, more like hum professionally in a Swiss timepiece kind of way.

Make This Moment Work for You

To the graduating students who took part: use this experience to your advantage. Seriously. Put it on your resumé, bring it up in interviews, and when you’re asked to describe a time you worked on a team under pressure, unleash this story like a case study-shaped secret weapon. Just remember: be honest about your role. Credit your teammates. No one would believe you did the whole thing solo, and pretending you did will only make you look like that person in the group project who brought snacks and took credit for the strategy. And if you were a supporting team member and not one of the four team presenters, find your own way to present your team's case study in your interviews with the agency of your dreams. Know the data. Know the creative strategy. Understand the recommended media plan. I guarantee it will set you apart from the lobby full of nervous contenders for the junior role you're all competing for.

Didn’t Compete? Make Your Own Magic

To those who didn’t participate: create a team project. It doesn’t have to be this exact competition, but gather a crew of your friends or fellow interns, tackle a problem, and make something together. Group work in advertising isn’t just preparation—it’s the job. And learning how to disagree respectfully over an idea, a headline or simply which font says "bold but trustworthy" is a life skill.

Stay curious

Your curiosity and your willingness to lean in has got you this far. In a field that changes faster than you can say "generative AI chatbot campaign integration," curiosity is your greatest asset. It’s the secret sauce that keeps ideas fresh and keeps you relevant. Think of it as mental sunscreen—protecting you from the harsh rays of strategic and creative stagnation.

So yes, connecting changes everything. But curiosity? That changes you. Keep asking, keep wondering, and keep showing up. The rest will follow.

Congratulations graduating seniors. I’ll see you out there.