Nam Do of Lycoming College, Pennsylvania Earns 2018 Young Global Award

New York Festivals Global Awards® Young Globals competition & internship program has announced the 2018 award winner. For his work on the “Push Back on Opioid Use” brief, Nam Do, Lycoming College student, (Pennsylvania), will receive the prestigious Young Global Award as well as paid internships with both Global Awards agency partner sponsors, Publicis Health/Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness New York and Calcium, USA.

“This was a banner year for the Young Globals – we received a robust increase in the number of entries submitted from 4 continents, which is a testament to the nature of the topic. Nam, one of the only one-person team entrants, truly deserves congratulations for his stand out entry illustrating the insidious nature of the opioid crisis,” said Fran Pollaro, Executive Director of the Global Awards. “The Global Awards is working in association with The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids to do our part in fixing a spotlight on the epidemic and providing some thoughtful solutions, delivered directly from the vantage of our youth - an incredibly important point of view in this battle.”

“I was able to review the Finalists, and I’m consistently impressed by the talent of young artists, dedicating their time and passion to change hearts and minds about substance use, and finding innovative ways to help turn the tide on the opioid epidemic,” said Kristi Rowe, Chief Marketing Officer, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.

The Young Global award-winning entry “Opioid Gang” was created by Nam Do. Nam was individually responsible for all art direction, copy, and strategy on the campaign. His creative poster “Opioid Gang,”  depicting opioids as an underground gang, was inspired by a challenge brief for the (fictional) National Opioid Addiction Prevention Council  for their project Push Back on Opioid Use.

"The Young Globals was a great opportunity for me to channel creativity into making a positive impact, and it was already rewarding enough for me to be able to support a meaningful cause as the fight against opioids,” said Nam Do. “Truth be told, this is the only mindset I brought to the competition – I was by no means formally trained in advertising, so I did not expect to become a finalist, let alone the 2018 Young Globals winner. And yes, I simply couldn’t help feeling astonished when I heard about the results.”

Nam had this to say about his creative process in designing his campaign. “I realized how similar opioids were to underground gangs: They attract followers with promises of immediate benefits, but initiated members are eventually made dependent on them, despite the dangers, I wanted to remind the viewers of the imminent danger of opioids and ultimately to encourage people to keep themselves and others away from it the way they would from gangs.”

Students achieving Finalist status in the competition were interviewed by Young Globals sponsoring agencies’ award-winning executives, Steven Michaelson, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Calcium USA and Kathy Delaney, Global Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Health/Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness. Representatives from the sponsoring agencies had this to say about the award-winning entry.

"The competition was extremely strong in this year’s Young Globals. However, Nam Do really stood out, strategically and creatively. We're all excited and lucky to have him as an intern at our agency. Calcium is so proud to have been a sponsor of this awesome award,” said Mr. Michaelson.

“Creativity emerges from imagination and curiosity, along with craftsmanship to bring your ideas to life. We saw all those inspiring qualities in Nam Do. As the 2018 Young Globals Competition Winner, we look forward to having him join the team as an honored member of the Publicis Health Internship Program,” said Ms. Delaney.

Nam will begin his internship this June at Publicis Health/Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness New York and this January 2019 at Calcium USA.

The Young Global Award will be presented at the 2018 Global Awards ceremony taking place in November of 2018. The 2018 Young Globals competition will open August 2018. To learn more about the competition, please visit: Young Globals.