CHC Marketing Campaign Earns Best of Show and Gold at American Advertising Awards - Crafton Hills College
Skip to main content

Publish Date: April 20, 2026

CHC Marketing Campaign Earns Best of Show and Gold at American Advertising Awards

Crafton Hills College’s Fall 2025 Stop Motion Campaign, developed in partnership with advertising agency HYPHEN, earned top honors at the American Advertising Awards, receiving both Best of Show and a Gold award in the Social Media Campaign category. 

The American Advertising Awards, often referred to as the ADDYs, are the advertising industry’s largest creative competition, recognizing excellence in advertising and marketing across local, district and national levels. Awards honor creativity, strategy, execution, and effectiveness. 

As a partnership, Crafton and HYPHEN wanted to make something that felt fresh, memorable, and visually engaging. The idea was to create a visual metaphor that helped potential students picture themselves being pulled out of their everyday lives and into a new chapter at Crafton. The creative team at HYPHEN chose the stop motion style for its unique look and connection with Crafton’s largest target audience. 

According to HYPHEN account director, Douglas Madaris, Crafton Hills College’s openness to bold creative ideas played a key role in the campaign’s success. 

“Working with Crafton Hills College on the Stop Motion campaign was a great creative partnership, and it’s always exciting to collaborate with a client that’s willing to push creative boundaries,” Madaris said. “That openness made it possible to develop work that felt fresh, distinctive, and worthy of recognition from the American Advertising Awards.” 

The campaign relied on traditional stop-motion techniques, a labor-intensive process that emphasized craftsmanship and authenticity. HYPHEN designer and animator, Sarah Valenzuela, described the project as one of the most meaningful creative experiences of her career. 

“Working with Crafton Hills on this project was honestly one of the most meaningful creative experiences I have had,” Valenzuela said. “In a time where so much content is driven by AI and automation, we chose to lean into something more human. We built this campaign from the ground up using traditional stop motion, bringing together old techniques with modern ideas to create something that felt real and personal.” 

She said the hands-on nature of the work helped define the campaign’s unique character.

“From working with real college students, to organizing photo shoots, to physically cutting out and assembling every piece by hand, it was a lot of work but in the best way,” Valenzuela said. “There was something special about embracing those unconventional connections and letting the imperfections add character. It felt risky at the time to take this approach, but it ultimately paid off, winning Best of Show and a Gold award for Social Media Campaign at the AAF ADDY Awards.” 

Valenzuela added that the project represented more than a marketing campaign. 

“What we created together did more than just promote the campus,” she said. “It showed the value of slowing down, being intentional, and making something with care. That human element is what made the campaign stand out and what made this partnership with Crafton so rewarding.”