Testimonials

I put so much stock into winning this award. The Addys was everything to me. My obession with winning put my marriage on the line and brought out the worst in me in front of my team. My health also suffered tremendously. My lack of sleep due to working through the night on perfecting our projects caused me to have narcaleptic episodes during meetings and even while crossing the street at an intersection. Even though it wasn't a car and only a bicycle that hit me as I slept on the asphalt, I decided that my obession with winning had taken a turn for the worse. I immediately decided to take charge of my life and sought out help. That's when I stumbled upon the ARAA. The support from fellow Addy Rejects was the comforting arms that I needed to get through the night. I am a creative individual! I am intelectual and talented! I can move forward with my life and my career!
~ Mike Harding, Creative Director @ Hi-5

“I spent over $2,000 on entry fees for the ADDY Awards.... 4 years in a row. I thought for sure 2010 would be my year, considering it was MY idea to enter our coffee cup sleeve design for our local Key Club’s advertising campaign (we’re their AOR.) Anyway, to my surprise we did not win. I suspect sabotage by the adjacent county’s Key Club, but that’s another story. I remember that fateful day a few days later when someone slipped me ARAA’s card as I waited for the bus... they must have seen in my eyes that I was considering stepping out in front of it. At first I thought, “how does this guy know I’m in advertising, let alone the creative department?” then I remembered my tortoise shell ‘prescription’ Ray Bans, thrifted plaid shirt and Toms slip ons. I decided to give the group meetings a shot, and I’m glad I did. I’ve never been asked to share my deepest creative fear before (that Veer’s website goes down), and it felt so good to finally get it out. Am I going to enter the Addy’s next year? Of course, but thanks to ARAA, I won’t give that speeding bus a second glance if I don’t take the gold.” - Trey Reeme, Creative Director for Reeme (www.Reeme.me)

I won’t be ashamed to say it: I literally had a small altar built to the ADDY awards; that awesome little star logo I printed from the website staring back at me from the corner of my cubicle, backlit with Christmas lights. She was beautiful and I’m pretty sure that she smiled at me while, like a fool, I worked my ass off filling out the ADDY entry forms. But I realized that what I believed to be a smile of approval was merely a smirk of condescension. My heart shattered to pieces when I lost her and as a result I ensured that my little altar in the corner did the same. I’m still trying to get the burn marks out of the blue-gray fabric. Anyway, I was just plain mad. But then I discovered ARAA and have totally chilled out. I’ve really felt a sense of release and peace. I’m accepted here and all that hard work that got me rejected by the ADDY’s has made me a real star amongst my real peers. I may have re-constructed a small altar, so you guys at ARAA better not screw this up.
~ Gene Burmester, Principal, Burmester:Cole:Dobish:Frankmeyer Creative, LLC

Times are tough. Many of our clients cut their advertising budgets to record lows this year. We truly believed in the power of our campaigns but with so many limitations, it was looking really bad for us at BLD. If it wasn't for the resources and programs put in place by The ARAA we may have lost the will to move forward. Things are looking up now, flowers smell sweeter, and we have a new perspective on the future of our company. I no longer feel like a loser...Thanks ARAA!
~ Belle Cofield, Copywriter @ BLD Advertising

“As a graduate of The New School, an intern at Wexley School for Girls and a daily reader of The Stranger, I saw no reason NOT to start my own creative agency at 22. So you can imagine my surprise when I lost the 2009 Addy Award competition after submitting my outdoor campaign for my non-profit client. A 10’ high public installation made entirely out of used needles to bring awareness to the dangers of used needles? How is GOLD ADDY not written all over that? Hearing I had lost while being surrounded by used needles wasn’t my proudest moment, either. Needles to say, coming to the group meetings at ARAA has shown me that winning an Addy isn’t the only way to get validation in the creative industry... After all, my application to the National Association of Professional Women was just accepted!!!”
~ Anonymous

What they wanted, baby I know I got it. And I know I had what they needed; all I was asking for was a little respect. Just a little bit. I was giving them all my money and all I was asking in return was that they would give me my propers when I got to the ADDY ceremony. I was tired and I kept trying; I’m not lying I was out of fooling. But thanks to ARAA, I feel like I was able to get the respect I needed socked to me. I thought an ADDY award was sweeter than honey but ARAA found out what respect meant to me. Yeah, baby. All I needed was a little respect.
Take Care - TCB