Goodby Silverstein & Partners took home the top honor at the 2026 American Advertising Awards (ADDYs), marking the second consecutive year the agency has captured Best of Show at one of the advertising industry’s largest competitions.
The San Francisco-based agency earned the award for “Telethon for Hawkins,” a branded entertainment campaign created for Doritos and PepsiCo in support of the final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. The campaign transformed a marketing promotion into a fully realized 1980s-style telethon for the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, blurring the lines between advertising, entertainment and fan engagement.
The award was presented during the American Advertising Federation’s annual ADMERICA conference in Austin, Texas. Hosted by Emmy-nominated television personality Trish Suhr, the ceremony honored work selected through the ADDYs’ three-tier judging process, which requires entries to advance through local and regional competitions before reaching the national stage.
“It’s the second year in a row that work from Goodby Silverstein & Partners has been recognized with Best of Show, an increasingly rare achievement in a competition that draws thousands of entries from agencies, brands, production companies, and creative professionals across the country.
The ADDYs remain one of the industry’s most competitive programs. According to the AAF, fewer than 50 professional Gold ADDY Awards were awarded at the national level this year.
“Year after year, we are impressed by the quality of entries and the rigor with which these campaigns are evaluated by our judges,” said Dawn Reeves, executive vice president of membership and programs at AAF. “We’re thrilled to honor and see so much exceptional work being recognized through the ADDYs.”
In the student competition, Miami Ad School student Saul Birmaher earned Best of Show honors for “NPC’s for NPC,” a campaign that played on the dual meaning of NPC—National Physique Competition and Non-Player Character—to create a gaming-focused concept.
The ceremony also recognized diversity and inclusion-focused work through its Mosaic Awards program. Winners included FCB Chicago for “Caption with Attention,” while student honors went to BYU Ad Lab’s “Equality Now: Hear Her Out” and Jessica Barbosa’s “Mexico Typography Book.”
Additional Special Judges Awards were presented to General Mills’ “Fruithead” for cinematography and Saatchi & Saatchi’s “Uncensor Your Health” for copywriting excellence.
The American Advertising Awards serve as a major funding source for AAF programs supporting industry advocacy, education, internships and public service initiatives throughout the year.
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