Baltimore agencies and creators take the spotlight at 2026 American Advertising Awards
The American Advertising Federation of Baltimore (AAFB) marked their 51st Annual American Advertising Awards, “ABRACA-ADDYS,” presented by iHeart Media amongst a historic crowd of more than 250 attendees on Thursday, March 12, at the historic Engineers Club where they awarded 53 ADDY awards; 24 gold and 29 silver awards, as well as 2 Judges’ Choice and 1 Best of Show awards.
The American Advertising Awards is the industry’s largest and most representative competition, celebrating the creative spirit of excellence in the art of advertising. This year’s competition was judged by Alexander C. Sprungle of Secret Creative Org., Sarah Foley of Amazon Private Brands, and Blain Loyd of HLK.
“This year’s winners reflect the remarkable depth of creative talent in Baltimore” said Kathe Flynn, AAFB Board president and creative director at idfive. “From breakthrough campaigns to beautifully crafted storytelling, the award-winning work shows how our region continues to produce ideas that compete on a national stage. Tonight’s winners demonstrate the collective power of impactful creativity to move audiences and elevate brands.”
Planit received one Gold ADDY for publication design and four Silver awards for campaign and digital work, the most of any organization. The awards recognized work spanning integrated campaigns, digital advertising, and print design for clients including Lebanon Seaboard Corporation, Westlake Royal Building Products and Parklane Group.
“These awards reflect the balance of strategic and creative excellence that is the guiding effort of our work,” said Ed Callahan, creative strategy and co-founder of Planit. “We’re incredibly proud of the partnership with our clients, the range of work recognized, and the results these awards represent. This year’s wins speak to the level of passion and collaboration our team brings to every client and each project.”
Among the evening’s notable recognitions was the Judges’ Choice Award for Mission’s video spot “It Takes Patients,” created as part of the Care Flows Both Ways campaign for the Mid-Atlantic Patient Safety Center. The work also received a Gold ADDY in the video category.
“These awards reflect the strategy and creativity our team brings to every project,” said Todd Harvey, creative director and co-founder at Mission. “From helping reimagine iconic Baltimore institutions to telling powerful stories in healthcare, we’re proud of the work we’ve created with our clients and collaborators. Recognition from the ADDYs is especially meaningful because it comes from peers within the creative community.”
Top honors included:
- Swan Lake Performance by bully! Entertainment for out-of-home as 2025 Best in Show
- Charm City Run x New Balance by Storia Studio for Online Film, Video and Sound Single Spot – Any Length as a 2026 Judges Choice
- It Takes Patients by Mission for Film, Video and Sound PUblic Service Online Film, Video and Sound as a 2026 Judges Choice
The American Advertising Awards competition attracts more than 35,000 entries every year in local competitions. Gold winners at the local level move on to the district competition, competing with agencies from Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, Virginia and Washington, D.C. A win at the district level earns a spot in the National American Advertising Awards Competition.
National winners will be announced at the AAF’s conference, ADMERICA, May 28-31, 2026, in Austin, Texas.
The complete list of winners includes:
Gold Awards
Alexander & Tom, “2025 Lab Week”
bully! entertainment, “Analyst Day | AI Event Co-Host”
bully! entertainment, “Swan Lake Performance” (x2)
Early Light Media, “Add Your Voice”
Early Light Media, “Eastern Shore Land Conservancy”
Lisa Sirbaugh Creative, “10 Years of Branding & Design”
LMD Agency, “United States Coast Guard: Race Day”
Mission, “Ignite the Zine”
Mission, “It Takes Patients”
Mission, “Maryland Science Center”
Mission, “Nike Field Hockey”
Morton.works, “Morton.works 2025 Demo Reel”
Notorious111, “Asses Are Necessary – Industrial”
Notorious111, “Asses Are Necessary”
Planit, “Parklane Look Book”
Stanley Black & Decker, “Concrete Total Solutions”
Storia Studio, “Charm City Run x New Balance”
Sympatico, Media, LLC, “Pacvue”
TBC, “Don’t Think About Propane”
Tribe, “Purerista Packaging”
Unrivaled, “Tecovas – ‘Built for Her’”
Viscul Creative, “Giant Food – Pediatric Cancer”
Wide Angle Youth Media, “Baltimore Beat Uprising”
Silver Awards
ADG Creative, “Quevera”
Alexander & Tom, “Shenandoah Awards”
ANTIHERO, “Katie’s Story”
bully! entertainment, “Data Streaming Revolution
Comcast Advertising, “Pizza Boli’s – ‘UnBOLIevable’”
Coven, “Vino in Vogue”
Early Light Media, “Pati’s Mexican Table S14”
GKV, “Monopoly Scratch-Off TV”
idfive, “Rosedale Bank Brand Redesign”
Lisa Sirbaugh Creative, “10 Years of Branding & Design Book”
Morton.works, “2025 Grand Theft ADDY Awards”
Morton.works, “Morton.Works 2025 Demo Reel”
Morton.works, “U.S. Bank – Peloton Jess Sims”
Notorious111, “Big Ass Fans”
Notorious111, “Notorious111 Brand Launch”
Percepto Studios, “Drawing Under the Influence Trailer”
Planit, “Preventing Weeds Beats Fighting Them: Cowgirl”
Planit, “Preventing Weeds Beats Fighting Them: Golfer”
Planit, “Preventing Weeds Beats Fighting Them”
Planit, “Speakeasy Party Invitation”
Producers, “Timeless – Camry”
Rinck Advertising, “The Safety Dance”
Sympatico Media, LLC, “Short Codes”
Sympatico Media, LLC, “Warp ‘Sever Your Code’”
Sympatico Media, LLC, “Williams ‘Clean Energy’”
TBC, “The First Judgement”
Three Seas Inc., “Fallout 76: Gone Fission”
Tribe, “True Standard Distilling Brandmark”
Unrivaled, “Superior Plus Propane”
Main image by Erica Blake via Planit
