Projects from IED Torino and IED Milano receive four awards, spanning social communication and brand campaigns, recognising the work of Communication Design and Master’s in Creative Direction students.
Date
04 November 2026
IED Milano and IED Torino have won two Golds and two Bronzes in the Student category at the ADCI Awards 2026, the awards promoted by the Art Directors Club Italiano to celebrate creativity in advertising. The ceremony recently took place at the Allianz MiCo Auditorium in Milan, as part of Intersections 2026.
The Golds went to The Question, a project by Edoardo Necciari of IED Milano for Médecins Sans Frontières, and The Purrfect Drop, developed for Whiskas by a team of IED Torino students. The Bronzes recognised Hands Down, a campaign for Verizon by IED Milano, and Pet Appeal, also created by a Milan-based team.
The Purrfect Drop: a beauty contest focused on wellbeing
IED Torino’s Gold recognises The Purrfect Drop, a project for Whiskas by Natalia Ruberto, Caterina Carlotta Croci, Eleonora Petiti, Francesca Tangari and Marianna Questa, developed within the three-year degree programme in Communication Design.
The concept turns a common concern among cat owners into an unconventional beauty contest. Nutritional experts assess the cats’ poop, using humour and provocation to shift the focus from outward appearance to health and the role of nutrition.
The project proposes that the winning cat become Whiskas’ new ambassador, featuring on the Purr-cast and the brand’s online Walk of Poop. The contest also extends to digital channels, inviting owners to enter their pets for a chance to win a year’s supply of Whiskas food. Through humour and an unexpected perspective, the campaign challenges preconceptions about commercially produced cat food and offers a fresh take on feline wellbeing.
The Question: a question about the right to live
For IED Milano, Gold goes to Edoardo Necciari, a Communication Design alumnus and the creator of The Question, a project for Médecins Sans Frontières. Through a simple, direct question — “Is being born enough to guarantee a chance to truly live?” — the work addresses one of the most sensitive aspects of human existence, inviting reflection on the gap between coming into the world and having the opportunity to experience it.
Hands Down: an everyday gesture becomes a campaign
Bronze goes to Hands Down, a Communication Design project at IED Milano for Verizon, created by Anna Airoldi, Fabrizio Balzan, Nicole Maiocchi, Cloe Mangia, Chiara Marabini, Tobia Tarekegn Torriani, Erin D’Ulisse and Egidio Toia, with guidance from tutors Lorenzo Picchiotti and Fabio Pedroni.
The campaign starts with a familiar gesture: raising your phone when you cannot get a signal. Images of people searching for a connection become billboards carrying the line “Raise your hand if you use our competitors.” Users’ own behaviour becomes a message about network quality.
The idea continues through QR codes placed high on the billboards: to access offers and switch to Verizon, users have to raise their phones one last time. A spontaneous gesture brings together behavioural insight, humour and audience interaction.
Pet Appeal: Bronze for the Master’s in Creative Direction
A further Bronze goes to Pet Appeal, a campaign created by Anita Artioli, Diego Demartis and Sara Levada, students on the Master’s in Creative Direction. The concept brings together Tinder and ENPA, the Italian animal protection organisation, to turn online dating into an opportunity for adoption. Drawing on the insight that featuring a dog in profile photos increases the chances of getting a match, the initiative invites users receiving fewer interactions to meet shelter dogs and take new profile pictures with them. The project helps people get noticed online while, above all, giving greater visibility to animals looking for a home.
The 2026 ADCI Awards brought together 15 juries and more than 150 professionals to assess projects across the different disciplines of communication. The four awards recognise the work of IED’s young creatives in engaging with different forms of expression, audiences and objectives.
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