AAF Names Jacki Kelley 2025–26 Board Chair at Annual ADMERICA Conference

The American Advertising Federation (AAF), the 'Unifying Voice for Advertising,' hosted its annual ADMERICA National Conference earlier this month. The four-day event was held at the Westin Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA and attended by more than 500 representatives from advertising agencies, marketers, media and tech companies, suppliers and colleges and universities from around the country. The event was designed to help elevate attendees’ personal and professional approach to excellence.

Following are highlights from this year’s ADMERICA National Conference:

2025-26 AAF BOARD ANNOUNCEMENT

​Jacki Kelley, EVP and chief client officer and chief business officer at Interpublic Group, was named AAF Board chair for the 2025-26 Fiscal Year. She most recently served as vice chair. An acknowledged life-long student of the industry, Jacki succeeds outgoing chair Jack Bamberger, with a goal to help AAF attract the talent through Ad Clubs around the country that can help shape the future of the advertising industry.

Joining Jacki as vice chair is Carmen Graf, global vice president, marketing, advertising, media and events at Indeed. With experience across all of the various marketing and media disciplines, Carmen’s background blends seamlessly with the association’s broad spectrum of constituents which include agencies, marketers, media, tech, digital and education.

​Steve Pacheco, president and CEO of AAF, commented, “I want to thank our outgoing chair, Jack Bamberger, for his leadership this past year, and for setting the stage for the celebratory year ahead which includes the 75th Anniversary of the Advertising Hall of Fame. And I want to welcome Jacki and Carmen to their new roles. We couldn’t ask for two more accomplished or unifying individuals to help guide us forward.”

Both appointments go into effect July 1, 2025.

2025-26 Board chair Jacki Kelley (right) and vice chair Carmen Graf (left)

NATIONAL STUDENT ADVERTISING COMPETITION (NSAC)

The National Student Advertising Competition is the premier college advertising competition that provides more than 2,000 college students with real-world experience creating a strategic advertising, marketing and media campaign for a real-world corporate client. This year’s corporate client was AT&T. The winning team was from Texas State University. Students from the University of Minnesota were the runner up. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill finished third.

Dawn Reeves, EVP member services and programs at AAF commented, “What we’ve received from these collegiate teams and the process is unbelievable. These students are going to impact great change in the advertising industry.”

MOSAIC 10 AWARDS

The Mosaic 10 Awards recognise creative excellence among campaigns that best reflect the heartbeat of today’s audiences. It is recognition voted on by the general public. This year, a campaign created by Gut Miami and Google Creative Lab for Google Pixel – “Javier in Frame” – was voted #1. 'Traditions Shared' from Panda Express and The Many was voted #2. Click here to view all of this year’s Mosaic 10.

BARTON A CUMMINGS GOLD MEDAL AWARD

The Barton A. Cummings Gold Medal Award was established by the AAF board of directors to recognise distinguished individuals for their service to advertising through volunteer work with the AAF. It is AAF’s highest volunteer service award. This year marked the 30th year that the award has been given.

Scott Hamula, professor and chair of strategic communications at Ithaca College, was named this year’s winner. Scott was recognised for his unwavering support for AAF’s educational programs as well as his long-term commitment to volunteer service, dating back to his days as an Eagle Scout.

Ann C. Iverson, committee chair, Barton A. Cummings Gold Medal Award, noted, “Scott’s motto is ‘Get things done and make a difference.’ He’s been a long-term advocate for AAF volunteer service. Volunteerism is in his blood. His many years of service at the AAF local, regional and national levels made him uniquely qualified and deserving of this award.” She added, “Bart would be most proud of this year’s Gold Medal recipient.”

Scott Hamula, 2025 Barton A. Cummings Gold Medal Award recipient

The next ADMERICA conference is scheduled for May 28-31, 2026 in Austin, TX.

“This past year was an amazing backdrop for so many outstanding accomplishments for the AAF. I am so excited to have been able to celebrate the people and their achievements in person at ADMERICA,” concluded Steve Pacheco.