JUDGING FOR IE AD AWARDS STARTS THIS SATURDAY

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) “More than 450 entries for the 2008 Inland Empire Addy Awards have been received from Inland Empire advertising agencies as well as IE college students,” said Inland Empire Ad Club Education Chair Michael Swank, Academic Director of Graphic Design & Interactive Media at The Art Institute. “This is the first tier of the national competition, and the judging will focus on professional submissions as well as student work,” said Swank.

The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire will host the first level of competition for the annual Addy advertising awards on Saturday, February 16 at the Inland Empire campus. Judging will take place from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. by industry advertising professionals. Regional and national ADDY advertising awards will be announced later.

The Art Institute was selected to host the judging because of its ability to preview TV, online and radio entries in real time, said Andrew Wilkin, Managing Partner, Wilkin Guge Marketing of Ontario, Calif. “The technology at The Art Institute allows for previewing, screening, judging and scoring the entries. The campus is also a good central location for this competition, and allows us to showcase the growth of the Inland Empire,” he said.

For the first time, The Art Institute is also sponsoring the 2007-2008 student ADDY awards competition for all Inland Empire Colleges. The college will sponsor the first entry by students and pay the $20 entry fee. Swank reported that entries have been received from students at Cal Poly Pomona, La Sierra University, The Art Institute, Cal State at San Bernardino and Westwood College.

Wilkin said that a panel of judges from the advertising industry outside the Inland Empire will evaluate each entry.

The 2008 ADDY Awards Gala will be on March 14 at the Mission Inn in Riverside. For more information: www.ieadclub.com .

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Game Art & Design, Culinary Management, Graphic Design, Web Design & Interactive Media, Interior Design and Media Arts & Animation. There are also Associate of Science degrees in Graphic Design and Culinary Arts. Each program is offered on a year-round basis, allowing students to work uninterrupted toward their degrees.

It’s not too late to start classes. Courses begin March 31, with offerings in the days, evenings and on weekends for new and reentry students. For details or a tour of the campus call (909) 915-2100, or go on line to artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is one of The Art Institutes (artinstitutes.edu) with 40 educational institutions throughout North America providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.

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