Online Entry
& Judging Portal
Don't have an account? Choose an entry category below to begin. Logged in users may also click these to submit additional entries.
Returning Entrants: click here to access your past submissions or select a category from above to make an additional entry.
Judging for the American Advertising Awards will be conducted online.
In some categories, entrants are allowed and/or required to upload additional digital examples of an entry. This is intended to provide more appropriate content for the judges.
Please carefully follow all online submission guidelines provided within the entry system, to ensure that your work is properly represented during all three tiers of the American Advertising Awards competition.
AAF-Houston's 2025 American Advertising Awards Competition
Join us for the Show & Silver Medal Award Presentation, Thursday, February 20th, 2025
Step right up to witness the Greatest Show in Advertising – The 63rd Annual American Advertising Awards.
For creative professionals, the adverting industry can seem like a three-ring circus – a high-wire act balancing strategy and originality, all the while juggling budgets and deadlines. Whether you’re taming lions, bending over backwards, or simply working with a bunch of clowns, from agencies, to in-house or freelance, navigating the thrilling highs and lows of a life in advertising can leave you feeling like you’re swinging from a trapeze or being shot out of a cannon!
The American Advertising Awards is the chance to showcase your courageous concepts, dazzling visuals, precision production and awe-inspiring end results. Take center stage, and shine the spotlight on your most amazing work. Then, take in the admiration of the astounded crowd – and take home some well-deserved hardware – you earned it!
We’ll see you at the show!
SUBMIT PROFESSIONAL ENTRIES HERE
If you have not already read the HELPFUL TIPS and RULES & CATEGORIES Guides, please do so, as well as the FAQs below before beginning your entry process. Please note that the e-mail address you use for the entries will be used for entry questions and the notification of the winners after January 22, 2025. Once you are ready to start, click the link in the left column for either the PROFESSIONAL or STUDENT COMPETITION.
AAF-HOUSTON'S TIPS FOR ENTERING
2025 AMERICAN ADVERTISING AWARDS RULES & CATEGORIES - PROFESSIONAL
2025 AMERICAN ADVERTISING AWARDS RULES & CATEGORIES LOCAL - PROFESSIONAL
2025 AMERICAN ADVERTISING AWARDS RULES & CATEGORIES - STUDENT
IMPORTANT FAQ's
ENTRY DATES AND DEADLINES
· Early Bird Dates: October 1st, 2025 – January 3rd, 2025
· Late Fees Apply: January 4th, 2025 – January 7th, 2025
FEES
· Professional AAF-H Member
o Single Entry: $125.00
o Campaign: $150.00
· Professional Non-Member
o Single Entry: $150.00
o Campaign: $175.00
· Student Entry
o Single or Campaign Entry: $35.00
Late Fees: A late fee of $25.00 per entry must be added for submissions after January 4th, 2025. The late fee applies to AAF-H members, non-members and students.
ALL ENTRIES MUST:
- Meet all eligibility and deadline requirements as explained in the guides above.
- Be entered in the correct category and be correctly identified.
- Conform to defined submission requirements.
- Conform to all copyright laws.
LOCAL ONLY CATEGORIES: In addition to the categories in the guides above, AAF-Houston also includes “local only” categories for Retail, Healthcare, Real Estate and Energy for Professonal entries. These entries only compete with other Houston-area entries, but do not move on to the District or National competitions. There is no "local only" categories in the Student Competition.
ONLINE JUDGING. All levels of the competition – Local, District, and National – will be judged online. NO PHYSICAL ENTRIES WILL BE NEEDED FOR ANY LEVEL OF THE COMPETITION. Disregard the instructions in the "Entry Submission" section of the guide as it does not apply to the AAF-Houston show. If you enter 3-D items such as brochures, books, specialty items, direct mail boxes, etc, that are accepted in the show, you will be contacted after judging to provide one good sample to be displayed in the gallery at our local LIVE event.
ENTRY UPLOADS: ALL entries, including physical, broadcast and digital, MUST be uploaded into the competition software regardless of category and will be judged from the Judging Portal of the competition site. The file format for uploading most entries, including screen shots, is high res PDF. There is no maximum file size. For best viewing of PDFs by the Judges, we suggest also uploading a reduced size PDF. It will not affect the quality of the image. Uploads will also be used for award shows on the local, district and national levels. Digital files or URLs may be uploaded. Screen shots MUST also be uploaded for all DIGITAL entries. These may be used in the show and/or programs.
ENTRY CREDITS: Remember that credits are not just for the local use, but for district and national as well. All credits must be included at the time of your entry submission. Please proof carefully, use proper punctuation and abbreviate where possible if you have a large number of credits. YOU WILL NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADD OR MAKE CHANGES TO CREDITS AFTER YOUR ENTRIES HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED.
NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE ENTRIES: An English translation of the copy or script must be included as a PDF.
PLEASE NOTE: There is no guarantee that medals will be awarded in all categories. This is determined by the judges scores.
INVOICE / MANIFEST FORM
You will be required to sign an Invoice / Manifest Form, listing all of your entries. This form states that by signing below you: 1) Verify that the above information is accurate; 2) Acknowledge that proper rights were obtained for use of any elements of the entry that were not original; 3) Agree to submit documentation deemed necessary for review; 4) Release the entry for Internet, broadcast and/or print (allow reuse of material); and 5) Verify that the entry was created within the local MSA of the competition; 6) Acknowledge that all work submitted becomes the property of AAF and AAF-Houston; 7) Acknowledge that NO REFUNDS will be made for entry or event tickets fees.
IMPORTANT LAST STEP: For your entries to be complete, you MUST print this Manifest form, SIGN it, SCAN it and E-MAIL a copy to: adclub@aaf-houston.org Your entry WILL NOT BE FINAL until this step is completed. Thank you.
Winners will be notified after January 22, 2025, via the e-mail address provided with entries.
Questions, Comments, Concerns:
Email: adclub@aaf-houston.org (preferred) or call the AAF-H Office: 281-684-1159
Once you are ready to start, click the link in the left column for either the PROFESSIONAL or STUDENT COMPETITION.
