AT&T AD Campaign
Connecting changes every(little)thing.
AT&T has been a pioneer in telecommunications. However, in today’s times, they have lagged behind the industry’s lead competitors, T-Mobile and Verizon. So, for the 2025 National Student Advertising Competition, the AAF asked 92 teams to help make Gen Z crave AT&T as a brand and service provider, and celebrate its commitment to supporting businesses, first responders, and local communities.
For JWU ADTEAM, the answer was simple: create a campaign strategy highlighting Gen Z‘s love for empathy and authenticity. We focused on more humorous and informative advertising across digital and out-of-home media, bridging the digital divide between traditional and mainstream marketing.
The Journey
We took their slogan — “Connecting changes everything” — and elevated it to highlight the small, everyday moments. Connecting doesn’t just change everything. It changes every(little)thing, which became the heart of our campaign. From a conversation with your grandmother that changes gears to a bus shelter that tells you when your next bus arrives, we spared no expense in heralding the average person living the day-to-day.
The Protagonist
As a member of the creative team, I was tasked with bringing the team’s research and strategy to life. We asked ourselves: “How does connecting change everything?” From there, we took AT&T’s slogan and made it a fill-in-the-blank. “Connecting Changes…” became a pedestal for big ideas about small changes. After hundreds of possible scenarios and solutions, we came up with six ad spots, three OOH activations, and one anthem spot that best applied and represented our team’s campaign. I was responsible for three of the ad spots — “Gears,” “Moves,” and “The Game” — which sought to explain what people love about small moments. This was also a way to connect AT&T to its digital footprint and how telecommunications factors into their slogan.
However, our team’s work would not have the same staying power if not for my help in delivering our campaign’s plans book cover, anthem spot, and client presentation. From the start, I knew the anthem had to encapsulate everything the team had been working on since the fall semester. From there, I wanted to tell a story. Life’s smaller moments are often what lift us at our lowest points, and our campaign could deliver that message through a lens of compassion and empathy. I approached the spot with this in mind, and stitched together something that not only tells our team’s story, but teaches us what the small moments are all about.
With my eye for storytelling, I soon became a candidate to present our campaign to judges. It was not an easy task, as performative skills often rely on one’s confidence in the material, but I knew the message our team wanted to send to the judges and AT&T. So, alongside three other presenters, I got to work on drafting, revising, and rehearsing our presentation. Our performance aligned with our campaign—simple, authentic, and engaging.
The Lesson
Our campaign’s plans book, advertisements, and presentation impressed competition judges from across the industry. A win at districts led to a third in semifinals and a fifth at nationals, with every member of the team learning from and reflecting on a job well done. A little team from Providence, Rhode Island, went on to accomplish something big. It empowered us, challenged us, and helped us define our strengths as strategists, media planners, copywriters, presenters, and creatives.
For me, working on JWU’s ADTEAM as a designer was one of the most fulfilling experiences I have had as a creative. It demonstrated how far I can take an idea and how well I can understand it. Connecting with the team and the NSAC didn’t just change everything. It’s made me more confident in who I am and what I can do in the future.