In a close battle for the prize, this year’s annual MLK Poster Competition brought out work from a wide array of talented advertising students from the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. The purpose of this competition was to promote the theme “Overcoming Obstacles,” which challenged students to design posters that encourage, influence and inspire dialogue about important topics such as diversity, inclusivity, social justice, unity, civil rights and/or cultural differences.
The winners were determined by a public vote on the college’s Facebook page. The three finalists with the most ‘likes’ at the end of the voting period were the winners. The top three posters will receive scholarships of $1,200, $800 and $500. The winners from the MSU Department of Advertising + Public Relations include:
- First place - Marissa Siegel, senior
- Second place - Alison Mass, junior
- Third place - Adam Awdish, senior
Students feel that the best way to get real experience in creative advertising is to find a way to bring their ideas to life in a way that will get a public reaction. In collaboration with MSU Federal Credit Union, ComArtSci received submissions that took several different angles on the theme.
Marissa Siegel, First Place
“The inspiration for my poster comes from the Americans that peacefully stand up for their beliefs every day. Martin Luther King Jr. stood for peace and equality throughout his life, and paved the way for the present generation to do the same,” said Siegel. “In a turbulent world, race, religion, party affiliation and gender threaten to divide us, but when we come together to support a meaningful cause, these barriers dissolve. MLK said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere.’ Carrying on this legacy of advocating for justice is so vital, and that’s what I aim to show in my poster.”
Alison Mass, Second Place
“My piece is simple and bold and my inspiration came from TV pixels. Each individual one is a different color but together they are all seen as one cohesive image. I wanted it to be easy to read with an easy message to understand. My goal was to defy the hearts and flowers idea of ‘diversity’ and make it a bit more realistic,” said Mass. “I was motivated to enter this contest because I wanted to promote the beauty of diversity and inclusion without exploiting all the liberal views and media hype happening in society today.”
Adam Awdish, Third Place
“I wanted to create a simple, powerful piece. I tried to play off old propaganda posters and chose to stick with minimal copy so I could let my imagery speak for itself. Using different shades of a fist was my way of showing that, together, we are all more capable of solving problems if we put our differences aside and work together,” said Awdish.“I figured the best way to show unity and the ability to overcome obstacles together would be with this simple, powerful imagery and short, to-the-point copy.”