SCAD students make it to SXSW
Photo courtesy of the Dirtbag Project
Composting made easy: The Dirtbag Project. Photo by Rebecca Antonucci
Most students spend the spring break catching up on some much needed sleep or traveling to theme parks or
beaches. For Stefanie Gomez and Rebecca Antonucci, two fourth-year advertising majors, they spent their spring break in Austin, Texas for the South by Southwest festival (SXSW) where they were one of the top three finalists for Team Detroit’s student competition.
The creative brief challenged the students to “make compost matter” in a 60 second video. Gomez. and Antonucci’s idea, “The Dirtbag Project”, proposed using compostable paper bags. At SXSW, the team played their video for the audience, which consisted of the President and Global Chief Officer of Team Detroit and other advertising agencies.
“Then we had five minutes to discuss it,” said Antonucci. “We used those five minutes to convince the judges that it was an idea that was easy to produce, easy to understand and doable. We talked about how we got to our idea based on our insights. We [also] talked about [using] the word ‘dirtbag.’”
“I was actually pretty nervous because I didn’t know how it was going to go down,” said Gomez. “But when the video ended, people started laughing so it was a lot less nerve-wrecking and a lot more personable. The audience loved it, especially this one guy who did not hesitate to tell us how much he liked our idea.”
Although the University of Texas won for their “Compost Committee” idea, that did not stop Gomez and Antonucci from making the most out of their time at SXSW. They went everywhere from the Cathedral of Junk to “as many presentations as we could,” said Antonucci. “We hardly slept.”
Aside from attending advertising presentations from world-renowned agencies such as Deutsch, they went to sponsored parties such as Amy Poehler’s charity, Smart Girl, a John Legend concert, the Cathedral of Junk and a trade show.
“Every brand you could think of was having something going on that day, either an event or a speaker,” added Antonucci.
Since Antonucci and Gomez were at SXSW during the Interactive Weekend, they got to see plenty of new innovations at the trade show, where companies from all over the world showed off their products.
“There was a section that was purely for robotics,” said Gomez, adding that there was a robotic hand made for amputees that could move and do whatever a human hand could do. “NASA had a booth that showed their new discoveries from the past year. There was a lot of new, upcoming wearable technology. There were even young designers who had just invented something and went to present.”
Gomez and Antonucci enjoying the Cathedral of Junk at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Photo by Stefanie Gomez.
There was even a job fair, “which was like our career fair, basically,” said Antonucci. “It was expected of you to network,” said Gomez. They met creatives from Leo Burnett, Publicis and Digitas just to name a few. “You could literally just whip out business cards and start handing them out and it wasn’t weird,” she added.
Aside from networking every day, Gomez and Antonucci enjoyed other booths; the one in particular that stood out for them was from “Game of Thrones.”
“I’m not a huge fan [of the show] but it was interactive,” said Gomez. “You took a picture and it came out in a projection. They handed you a sword and you would slash the screen, which eventually shaped your face into the picture.”
Antonucci and Gomez may not have taken home first prize but they took home numerous business cards and an unforgettable experience.
“You learn how to put yourself out there, how to network even if you feel tiny talking [to CEOs] and asking for information,” said Antonucci. “Because we got to go to the presentations, we learned how to stay ahead of the curb in advertising, the current trends, knowledge on what’s happening now and how to work that in getting employed so that you’re ready.”
“It was a good experience to know that your idea can do something,” said Gomez. “You never know where your idea will get you. Of course, bad ideas will get you nowhere. But once your idea gets you somewhere, it’s your responsibility to make something out of it.”
