The student team from the School of Communication successfully competed in the semi-final round and now will proceed to the final round of the National Student Advertising Competition in Boca Raton on May 29.

The semi-finals consisted of 18 district-winning teams, each of whom completed a 15-minute Q&A with four judges via conference call. Only eight of 18 teams advanced to the final round, and more than 130 college and university teams entered the competition.

UM previously won the District Four Championship on April 5 in Orlando. The team is vying for its second consecutive NSAC championship, said adviser Alyse Lancaster, chair of the Department of Strategic Communication. 26 students from various departments in the school strategized, wrote, designed and pitched the campaign, which will be be presented in the championships.

The National Student Advertising Competition is a program of the American Advertising Federation in which students across the country develop a complete campaign for a corporate sponsor. Mary Kay is the 2014 sponsor, and students have designed an innovative campaign targeted at millennial women for the cosmetics company, Lancaster said.

“This is by far the best campaign we have ever created for NSAC,” said adviser Meryl Blau, assistant professor of practice in the Department of Strategic Communication. “The idea is truly a big idea, one that goes way beyond student level work. This is something I stand behind as a game changer for the Mary Kay business and believe, if adopted, would put this brand on the map for the millennial generation.”

The University of Miami team won the 2013 NSAC with their campaign for Glidden Paint.