LSU Manship School Digital Advertising Senior, Public Relations Alumnus Win 2021 American Adverting Federation Awards

March 26, 2021

BATON ROUGE—LSU Manship School of Mass Communication senior Catherine Carpenter and 2009 alumnus Josh Howard took home top awards from the 2021 American Advertising Federation of Baton Rouge Awards. Carpenter won a Silver ADDY for a print advertising campaign, while Howard was honored as this year’s Mosaic Champion Award recipient for his continuous support of diversity and inclusion within the creative and advertising industry in the Greater Baton Rouge area.

About 350 professional and student entries were submitted to AAF-Baton Rouge’s annual competition, which recognizes the best creative work in advertising, marketing and graphic design in the Greater Baton Rouge area. AAF-Baton Rouge presented its annual awards show on Feb. 27.

Carpenter won a Silver ADDY in the student division for her print advertising campaign, “Pair with Krave.” She created the campaign in an advertising design class taught by Manship School doctoral student and 2015 alumna Nichole Santee. Digital advertising junior and LSU Advertising Federation (LSU AdFed) president Lauren Leonard was also credited for her participation in this work.

“I was honored to win this award because it has shown me that my work is award-winning work,” said Carpenter. “It means that the hours and long nights are more than adding to my portfolio. The advertising work I put myself toward is a passion I truly love doing. The ADDYs are a prestigious award that many cannot obtain, and it is extremely amazing to have others recognize the dedication I have put toward pursuing a passion I found many years ago.”

Carpenter, who is a native of St. Amant, Louisiana, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mass communication with a concentration in digital advertising and a minor in leadership development. She is involved in various on-campus organizations including LSU Student Philanthropy Council where she serves as director of communications and LSU AdFed where she serves as fundraising and membership chair. Carpenter currently works as a marketing and communication intern at Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation (LWCC).

Howard, who graduated from LSU in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication with a concentration in public relations and a minor in Spanish, was honored to be the recipient of AAF-Baton Rouge’s 2021 Mosaic Champion Award. The award recognizes companies, agencies and individuals whose commitment to diversity and inclusion is evident through their creative work and organization-wide initiatives. As the director of community for the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition (BRYC), Howard oversees nearly 700 under-resourced high school and college students of color, facilitating access to mental health, career and social capital resources.

“Advertising is about representation,” said Howard in a prerecorded speech for the livestreamed awards ceremony. “No Black person can speak for the Black community, but I would not be worthy of this award if I did not speak for Black creatives who, like me, pay for diversity with dignity. Our charge—my charge—is to make it so this award’s days are numbered. Its obsolescence will signal that diversity, equity and inclusion are not in our industry’s DNA, but rather that they are its DNA.” 

While at LSU, Howard was involved in various organizations including Manship School Ambassadors, Association of Black Communicators, the Black History Month Committee and Leadership LSU. He also served as an LSU Men’s Basketball manager for the 2006 Final Four team. In addition to his role at BRYC, Howard has maintained a social media and graphic design consulting firm since 2014, working with clients such as the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office, Cristo Rey Baton Rouge, NewAperio and the 100 Black Men of Baton Rouge. He also co-created the national adventure brand 2BRokeGuys in 2012.

See the full list of the 2021 AAF-Baton Rouge winners in the organization’s online winner book. A link to the virtual awards ceremony can be found at AAF-Baton Rouge’s Facebook page.

For more information, contact acharbonnet1@lsu.edu. 

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LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication ranks among the strongest collegiate communication programs in the country, with its robust emphasis on media and public affairs. It offers undergraduate degrees in public relations, journalism, political communication, digital advertising and pre-law, along with four graduate degree programs: Master of Mass Communication, Ph.D. in Media and Public Affairs, Certificate of Strategic Communication and a dual MMC/Law degree. Its public relations students were recently ranked the #1 team in the nation, and its digital advertising and student media teams frequently earn national recognition.