Sponsored by the American Advertising Federation, the ADDY® Awards honor excellence in advertising and cultivate the highest creative standards in the industry. With 60,000 entries nationwide, the ADDY® Awards are the nation’s largest advertising competition.

Each year, the competition begins at the local level with the Call for Entries in late December. A panel of out-of-town judges ranks the entries based upon a point system. The best work in a given category receives a gold award or ADDY. A silver Citation of Excellence recognizes second place winners. Each entry must achieve a certain level of excellence determined by the club’s ADDY rules committee to be considered for an award. The local winners proceed to District 10 competition, and those winners proceed to the national finals.

The awards presentation takes place in February with the annual ADDY Awards Gala.

The Silver Medal Award recognizes men and women who have made outstanding contributions to advertising and who have been active in furthering the industry's standards, creative excellence and responsibility in areas of social concern. Annually, the AAF bestows this honor upon an outstanding member of the local advertising community.

Silver Medal Award Criteria

Silver Medal recipients are selected by a panel of judges made up of former Silver Medal winners. Judges use the following criteria when making their selections:

• Contribution to his/her Company- The recipient must have achieved success in one of the following areas of work: advertising agency, advertiser, media or advertising service.
• Creative Ability- The recipient must have shown a consistent, high degree of original thinking in their field.
• Contributions to the General Advancement of Advertising- The recipient must have worked to increase the stature and raise the standards of the advertising profession.
• Contributions to the Community- The recipient should be someone who has been active in civic, religious, or other groups dedicated to human or social welfare.

The Community Service Award recognizes local businesses that have
made considerable contributions in the field of advertising and
community service.

This award is given to a member who has made outstanding and
unselfish contributions to the growth and improvement of the Club above
and beyond his/her normal duties.