Google Creative Lab tops Ad Council and Team Detroit to win $1 million in free media

MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- USA TODAY announced today the winner of the 2012 USA TODAY Print Advertising Competition. Google Creative Lab took the top prize for most creative original print ad and won $1 million in full-page print advertising in USA TODAY. Ad Council and Team Detroit were named finalists. The announcement was made today by the executive sponsors of the competition – Larry Kramer, president and publisher of USA TODAY and Maryam Banikarim, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Gannett Co., Inc.

The winning ad submitted by Google Creative Lab featured the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu coming together for a live broadcast Hangout on Google+. Two finalists were also named in the competition: The Ad Council for an ad for Save the Children; and Team Detroit and Ohio Art for an ad for nanoblocks with the theme "the smaller the blocks, the better the detail." All three ads can be viewed at www.usatoday.com/printcompetition.

The competition was open to advertising agencies, marketers and non-profit organizations. Ads could be part of a new or existing campaign. Judging was based on three criteria:  creativity and originality of advertisement, visual storytelling and clarity of writing. Ads were judged by industry executives including: Chip Kidd, designer/writer, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group; Sean McLaughlin, creative director, Wieden + Kennedy; Chuck Porter, chairman, Crispin Porter + Bogusky; Tiffany Rolfe, chief content officer, Co Collective; Nik Studzinski, executive creative director, Droga5; and Michael Wolff, media columnist, USA TODAY. 

"It takes great creativity to tell a story in a meaningful way and make a consumer want to know more. Print ads offer a unique and powerful canvas to tell an advertiser's story that will get noticed by consumers. We congratulate our winner and finalists on sending us their best creative and proving the type of impact print advertising can have as part of a multimedia campaign," said Larry Kramer.

Maryam Banikarim said, "This competition was an interesting exercise in looking at the role of print in an advertiser's brand story in 2013. Advertising has changed over the years but the objective is still the same – to get consumers to take notice of your brand. Sometimes a simple ad can convey a futuristic idea.  We think our judges did a terrific job of determining what really makes a great print advertisement."

USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. Founded in 1982, USA TODAY's mission is to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation.  Through its unique visual storytelling, USA TODAY delivers high-quality and engaging content across print, digital, social and video platforms.  An innovator of news and information, USA TODAY reflects the pulse of the nation and serves as the host of the American conversation – today, tomorrow and for decades to follow. USA TODAY, the nation's number one newspaper in print circulation with an average of more than 1.6 million daily, and USATODAY.com, an award-winning newspaper website launched in 1995, reach a combined 6.6 million readers daily. USA TODAY is a leader in mobile applications with more than 16 million downloads on mobile devices. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

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SOURCE USA TODAY