Falcon Football + Polar Plunge: Advertising 2022 Winners

These award-winning entries from last year’s Advertising Annual demonstrate how even in the face of Covid restrictions, creativity, community, and sportsmanship can still flourish. 

“Toyota LAFC Banc Of California” (above) is a Gold-winning collection of murals completed by Davis Elen Advertising for both the car company Toyota and the Los Angeles Football Club, which they helped founded. The pieces show the manufacturer’s love and support for the football club while emotionally tapping into something that resonates with passionate Angeleno soccer fans: loyalty. For the murals’ main feature, the agency took inspiration from LAFC’s mascot, the falcon, and created multiple stylized illustrations of the bird, matching it with Toyota’s latest car models and logo as well as using graffiti lettering reminiscent of the street art found around Los Angeles. Not only is the final look featured in different applications and color palettes, but the agency also chronicles the creation of the murals’ iconic bird with pencil sketches. After 15 months of playing to empty stands, the Los Angeles Football Club opened the doors to the Banc of California Stadium, where the hand-drawn mural proudly hangs at the stadium entrance as a reminder that “You can replace most things in life, but not your favorite soccer team.”

Ever heard of a polar bear plunge? Hosted during the coldest part of winter, these events have participants enter a body of water despite the low temperature and are usually held to raise money for a charitable organization. “Polar Plunge” (above) was designed for the Special Olympics of Nebraska by the integrated marketing agency Bailey Lauerman. While the event is hosted every year, the Lincoln-based agency wanted to market 2021 with a humorous approach, depicting a polar bear in an ice bath to communicate to potential participants that due to Covid-19 there is “no right way to plunge—plungers can plunge, however, wherever they see fit.” The agency also created a commemorative poster to hand out to participating plungers to help spread the word. The plunge locations saw great participation across the state as told through participants sharing their experience virtually using #BeBoldGetCold.

You can discover more 2022 winners here, or learn more about submitting your entries to this year’s Advertising Annual at Graphis.com.