The D&AD New Blood awards category aims to recognise young creative talent with the goal of helping them take their first steps into the industry of their choosing.

Pencils were awarded to Jenny Groenewald and Raphael Janan Kuppasamy for their 'Earn Your Stripes' campaign for adidas, and to Bernice Puleng Mosala and Kyle Marais for their 'Embody Your OS' campaign for Microsoft.

"This will be the second consecutive year that students at Vega have brought home a D&AD Pencil award in this category, which, above all else, is a testament to their own talent, creativity and innovative problem-solving abilities," says Christiaan Graaff, third-year navigator at the Vega Johannesburg campus.

Students formed groups and formulated their own concepts with the help of their course navigators based on a brand brief.

Groenewald and Kuppasamy were tasked with creating a campaign for adidas in keeping with the brand’s belief that sport has the power to change lives.

The pair chose to conduct research into London’s youth. The research shows that, along with being low on disposable income, millennials who live in London don’t volunteer despite having a fair amount of time on their hands.

'Earn Your Strips' adidas campaign

"We then created a campaign called 'Earn Your Stripes', which will give adidas consumers (specifically 17 to 25-year-olds) the opportunity to earn a reasonable discount off their next adidas purchase, by volunteering at specific sports-based and non-sports-based NGOs and NPOs in London," says Groenewald.

Kuppasamy adds, "Knowing that we have an international D&AD New Blood award to our name is still surreal because of how big of an accomplishment this is. We both feel that our work and ideas are good enough for the industry."

'Embody Your OS' Microsoft campaign 

Mosala and Marais’s Pencil-winning 'Embody Your OS' campaign was a result of a brief that required the team to create an inspiring, forward-thinking short film featuring the 'Microsoft Surface'.

"We chose to focus on human experiences that are relevant now, which include gay rights as well as black and female empowerment," says Mosala.

"We then expressed the human truth through spoken word, which is popular at the moment because poetry is an authentic art form that is based on human experiences," adds Mosala.

"This award will provide the necessary stepping stones and exposure for my future in film," says Marais. "As a creator who is passionate about film, this D&AD award shows I’ve got what it takes to create enjoyable and motivational content."

"We salute this year’s group of students for their commendable achievements. Being recognised on a global platform like the D&AD awards is no small feat and look forward to seeing where the rest of their careers take them in the future," adds Graaff.

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