Doritos/PepsiCo “Telethon Hawkins” Wins Best of Show for Branded Content & Entertainment
Miami Ad School Student Captures Best of Show in the Student Division (“NPC’s for NPC”)
WASHINGTON, June 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A campaign from Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P) for Doritos/PepsiCo (“Telethon for Hawkins”) was named “Best of Show” at the 2026 American Advertising Awards, conducted by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). It’s the second year in a row that work from GS&P has won Best of Show Professional. The Awards are widely recognized as the largest and most representative competition of its kind in the U.S.
The winner was announced at the National Gala Awards Ceremony as part of AAF’s ADMERICA annual conference held in Austin, TX. The event was hosted by Emmy-nominated television personality Trish Suhr. A campaign from Miami Ad School student Saul Birmaher (“NPC’s for NPC“) was named the “Best of Show” winner in the Student division of the competition.
Conducted annually by the AAF, the American Advertising Awards is a three-tier competition. Entrants must win at the local and regional levels to advance to the national tier. Winning a National ADDY is highly selective. This year, for example, less than 50 national, professional Gold ADDYs were awarded. Proceeds from the American Advertising Awards support the entire advertising industry as they help fund programs at the local and district levels in public service, internships, advocacy, education and consumer awareness. Winners are selected by a jury of industry creatives.
“Year after year, we are impressed by the quality of entries and the rigor with which these campaigns are evaluated by our judges,” said Dawn Reeves, Executive VP, Membership and Programs at AAF. “We’re thrilled to honor and see so much exceptional work being recognized through the ADDYs.”
“Telethon for Hawkins” from Goodby Silverstein & Partners for Doritos/PepsiCo, was a branded entertainment idea created to reinforce Doritos’ partnership with the final season of the hit series “Stranger Things.” It involved a real telethon meticulously recreated for the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, as if it aired in 1987. It marked the second year in a row that work from GS&P was awarded Best of Show at this competition.
A campaign from Miami Ad School’s Saul Birmayer (“NPC’s for NPC”) won Best of Show in the student portion of the competition and played off the dual meaning of the initials NPC (National Physique Competition and Non-Player Character) to help build excitement for gaming.
In addition to the overall “Bests of Show,” Mosaic Awards for work that exemplifies a spirit of diversity and inclusion were presented to FCB Chicago for “Caption with Attention” and to BYU Ad Lab (“Equlity Now: Hear Her Out”) and Jessica Barbosa (“Mexico Typography Book“) in the Student portion of the competition. A series of Special Judges Awards were also presented. These included General Mills (“Fruithead”) and Saatchi & Saatchi (“Uncensor Your Health”) for Cinematography and Copywriting, respectively. In the Student category, special judges awards went to Christina Pearson (“Alaskan and Hawaiian Airlines Co-op”), Kristine Ahmadi and Estella Call (“Drain Weasel/Hair Clog Tool”) and Lucas Venega Cabrera (“Kaiju Beer“).
A listing of all of this years’ American Advertising Award winners can be found at https://americanadvertisingawards.com/winners.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN ADVERTISING FEDERATION (AAF)
The AAF’s Board of Directors guides and oversees the Federation’s signature events and initiatives, including the Advertising Hall of Fame, Advertising Hall of Achievement, American Advertising Awards, Advertising Day on the Hill, Most Promising Students Program, HBCUs for Advertising, National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) and Student Advertising Career Conference – all serving the Federation’s 35,000+ professional members nationwide, 4,000+ students and educators, and more than 65+ corporate members spanning media and tech companies, advertisers and agencies. Established in 1905, the American Advertising Federation (AAF) acts as “The Unifying Voice for Advertising.” Visit https://aaf.org.
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SOURCE American Advertising Federation
