Adams & Knight wins annual billboard competition

Adams & Knight took first place at The Advertising Club of Connecticut’s annual Out of Home Creative Competition, held February 26 at the Park Road Playhouse in West Hartford. This year’s outdoor billboard competition asked Connecticut advertising professionals to inspire state residents to reduce their carbon footprints.

This year’s competition garnered a record number of entries, but in the end, Patrick Dugan, Associate Creative Director of Adams & Knight, won for a billboard design that he both photographed and wrote. The ad features Dugan’s daughter standing barefoot in grass, next to the headline, “Less carbon footprints. More grass ones.” Adams & Knight Creative Director Don Carter provided art direction.

“At its most basic, being green is about making sure our children and grandchildren are able to enjoy simple pleasures like the feel of cool grass beneath their bare feet,” said Dugan. “And that’s really what inspired the idea for the billboard. I wanted to get to the unique essence of enjoying the outdoors and the environment.”

The winning billboard will be displayed on digital billboards on I-84 and I-91 in Connecticut. The judges of this year’s competition included Jon Antal of CBS Outdoor, Mike Goodrich from Out of Home America, and Dan Giordano of Lamar Hartford.

“Like all compelling advertising, Pat Dugan’s concept was simple and emotional,” said Bill Knight, Principal of Adams & Knight.

Adams & Knight has promoted the messaging for environmentally conscious clients such as the Connecticut Fund for the Environment and NLR (Northeast Lamp Recycling).