Balcom Brings Home Best of Show, Two Special Judges Awards and More at 2026 American Advertising Awards

FORT WORTH, Texas – March 2, 2026 – We were honored to win 21 awards, including the top award, from the local chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF) at the 2026 American Advertising Awards Gala held Friday night. The winning work included Better With Dairy, a Gen Z focused brand launch; a new movers welcome kit for Cook Children’s Health Care System; a digital fundraising campaign for Center for Transforming Lives; and mouthwatering work for BRIANNAS Fine Salad Dressing and Xochitl chips. Categories also ran the gamut from website design, interactive campaigns and social media executions to branding, art direction and illustration.

It takes a village to create award winning work. And it takes the trust of great clients. We’re grateful for the teams, both client and agency-side, who keep pushing for iconic every day.

Best of Show

Dairy MAX Better With Dairy Campaign (Integrated Advertising Campaign Regional/National Consumer)

Special Judges Awards

Cook Children’s Health Care System New Movers Welcome Box (Direct Mail 3D Mixed)

Dairy MAX Better With Dairy Website (Consumer Website)

Gold Awards

Gold ADDY: Dairy MAX Better With Dairy Campaign (Integrated Advertising Campaign Regional/National Consumer)

Gold ADDY: Better With Dairy Website for Dairy MAX (Consumer Website)

Gold ADDY: Better With Dairy Brand Identity for Dairy MAX (Integrated Brand Identity Campaign

Gold ADDY: Better With Dairy Website for Dairy MAX (Logo Design)

Gold ADDY: Better With Dairy Brand Showcase for Dairy MAX (Art Direction Single)

Gold ADDY: New Movers Welcome Box for Cook Children’s Health Care System (Sales Kit or Product Information Sheets)

Gold ADDY: New Mover’s Welcome Box for Cook Children’s Health Care System (Direct Mail 3-D/Mixed))

Silver Awards

Silver ADDY: Brand Identity Guidelines for Lone Star Film Festival (Art Direction Single)

Silver ADDY: Festival Campaign for Lone Star Film Festival (Art Direction – Campaign)

Silver ADDY: Brand Identity Guidelines for Lone Star Film Festival (Art Direction - Campaign)

Silver ADDY: Better with Dairy Social for Dairy MAX (Social Media Campaign)

Silver ADDY: Sometimes Wings Look Like for Center for Transforming Lives (Public Service Online/Interactive Campaign)

Crystal Awards

Crystal ADDY: Perfection Per Forkful for BRIANNAS Fine Salad Dressing (Social Media Single Execution)

Crystal ADDY: Say Si to Spice for Xochitl, Inc. (Social Media Single Execution)

Crystal ADDY: Better With Dairy: Flavors Stickers for Dairy MAX (Illustration - Single)

Crystal ADDY: Better With Dairy: Stickers for Dairy MAX (Illustration - Series)

Crystal ADDY: The Perfect Bite for BRIANNAS Fine Salad Dressing (Black & White / Color / Digitally Enhanced – Campaign)

Crystal ADDY: Brand Identity Showcase for Lone Star Film Festival (Art Direction - Single)

The American Advertising Awards program is the advertising industry’s largest awards event, with the Fort Worth competition the first of a three-tier national competition. Each year the competition attracts thousands of entries in local AAF competitions. All work is scored and judged by advertising professionals at the local, regional and national levels. National awards are presented at the annual AAF convention held each summer.